Beats & Eats Kicking Off May 8th

After a year of silence due to COVID-19, Beats & Eats is ready to rock your socks off with live music, vendors, local food and more, beginning May 8th. Other dates include June 26, Frontier Days, and dates to be announced in August and September.

The music series was created in 2019 by local band Homemade Jam in order to bring music to the area - both professional and amateur. Musicians from around the state are invited to attend; an open mic element is also provided to those who want to participate, with a house band available to back them on most musical genres.

In winter of 2019 and 2020, Beats & Eats moved indoors to the Star Theatre where they provided “Give Back Sessions” featuring local non-profit entities, in which all donations made went to those charities. Unfortunately, COVID-19 hit in March 2020 and the series had to be put on hold.

Homemade Jam & Friends have teamed with the Whitehall Chamber as well as Gold Junction Presents to bring the music series back to life now that COVID tensions are beginning to ease.

In case Gold Junction Presents is a name you are unfamiliar with, that is soon to change. The local non-profit, created by Bill Pullman, Ruth Lott, Colton Anderson and Liz Pullman, is working to bring arts and cultural events to the Jefferson Valley Area and Beats & Eats is just one of many events on their calendar for 2021 - stay tuned!

Several changes have been made to Beats & Eats to create a bigger, greater event for the community.

First, location, location, location. Beats & Eats originated at the Chief Motel/Chuchos park area, then moved indoors to the Star Theatre during colder months. The 2021 sessions will be held at the Main Street Green, next to the Star Theatre, with the Star as backup in case of bad weather.

In previous sessions only one local restaurant was asked to be the “eats” portion of the event. Organizers have taken a cue from the Chamber’s Dine Around idea of 2020 and tweaked it to include a featured offering from each local restaurant. Orders will be taken onsite, picked up by organizers and delivered to the park, to avoid long lines.

Vendor booths will round out this event on the outside perimeter of the Main Street Green.

Anyone who wishes to participate in the open mic portion, or the scheduled music set portion, is asked to contact Liz Pullman at 406-498-3807 to get scheduled and see if Homemade Jam & Friends can assist in backup music. Vendors interested in booths may also contact Pullman.