Jamboree plans still moving forward; ‘definite answer’ in June

Sean C. Morgan

The Oregon Jamboree is about three months away, scheduled for July 31 – Aug. 2, and organizers are still moving forward with plans for this year’s festival, despite uncertainty over whether it will actually happen.

Festival Director Robert Shamek said the Jamboree and the Sweet Home Economic Development Group, which owns the festival, will provide an update after the first of June.

He doesn’t know what will happen, he said, but “we’ll have a definite answer by then.”

He anticipated an announcement this week about whether the Mystery Concert will be a go. He thinks that’s likely. The annual concert, which is held at Oregon State University, was already postponed from April 2 to June 17.

At this point, it’s not clear when restrictions imposed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 will be lifted.

“Obviously, it’ll come from our governor, what kind of condition the state is in,” Shamek said. “We’ll have to kind of play it by ear. I’m hopeful that we can do all of it, but I don’t have any say in it. It’s up to the good ol’ coronavirus.”

If the Jamboree is canceled, the Jamboree organization and SHEDG will put out a statement some time after June 1.

Regardless of what happens this year, “we are already planning for 2021,” Shamek said. That’s not a contingency – it’s normal.

“I have to start pretty early,” he said.

Stay-at-home and business restrictions have had an impact on the 2020 event already.

Ticket sales slumped when COVID-19 began spreading in Oregon, Shamek said. “The good side is we were way up with ticket sales.”

Ticket sales had been running higher than last year’s Jamboree, he said, and now “we’re about where we were this year at this time.”

If not for the virus, “we’d be looking good this year,” Shamek said.

In any case, he is staying optimistic about the future of the Jamboree.

“All I can do is just stay positive,” he said. “The good and bad part is we’re not the only ones.”

People across the entire world are facing the same question marks.

“I can guarantee, in a few months, people will be champing at the bit to get out and see some live music,” Shamek said.

While it hasn’t provided a revenue stream for the Jamboree, the festival has stayed active, recruiting artists to perform weekly on Facebook live streams, with a virtual tip jar for the artists, while many are home under the governor’s stay-at-home orders.

“We’ve had some national artists,” Shamek said. “It’s just as much fun to have the local and regional talent as well. They’re all missing paychecks, and they’re wanting to perform.”

And they’re popular, he said. Even local and regional acts have drawn upward of 4,000 to 6,000 views.

The Jamboree office is sparsely populated right now under the governor’s stay-at-home order.

Everyone is working remotely, Shamek said, usually with no more than one person in the office a couple of days a week. The bookkeeper and volunteer coordinator each go in a couple of days a week, while Shamek goes into the office daily for a few hours.

For the last month, it’s been a lot of computer meetings and phone calls, he said.

“We’re all nice and healthy. Just like everybody, our fingers are crossed that things’ll turn around soon and our great nation will be able to get back to the grind.”

The Oregon Jamboree is a three-day country music and camping festival held annually typically on the first weekend of August. The festival was created by SHEDG to raise funds for economic development projects following the decline of the timber industry in Sweet Home. The event provides the busiest weekend annually for many Sweet Home businesses.

This year’s festival lineup features headliners, Dierks Bently, July 31; Dustin Lynch, Aug. 1; and Old Dominion, Aug. 2.

Supporting acts include the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Gabby Barrett, Niko Moon, Walker County and Jessie Leigh. The Jamboree has yet to announce five main stage acts and the free kick-off party lineup scheduled for July 30. Proceeds from the kick-off party fund school and community arts projects.

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