Denver-based, alternative-folk band, King Cardinal plays during Music in the Canyon at American Legion Park in Redmond in 2016. (Colby Brown/Spokesman photo)

The future of a long-running free summer concert series in Redmond is in question.

Music in the Canyon, an independent concert series that takes place every other Wednesday between July and September at Redmond’s American Legion Park, might not see a 2017 season. Redmond resident Jim Bullard, who started the event eight years ago, has been paying a majority of the costs to put it on every year and it’s become too expensive.

“It’s a common misconception that the concerts are put on by the city or the county,” Bullard said. “It’s just me and a few other people out there making it happen.”

Bullard said each concert usually costs between $1,500 and $2,000 to put on, and they require a day’s worth of work setting the event up and taking it down. Also, the security and sound company that Bullard owns in Redmond provides the sound equipment for the shows for free, so he’s not getting paid for that service either.

“I’ve never been paid for being the booking agent, the sound guy, the everything,” he said, noting that he’s grateful for people who support the series when he “passes the hat around” at shows. “I don’t want to take away from people who have given money — whether that’s a dollar in the basket or 500 bucks. But it’s never enough.”

The concert series isn’t sponsored by the Redmond Chamber of Commerce like its summer counterpart Music on the Green is, but Eric Sande, executive director of the chamber, said Music in the Canyon is still a valuable seasonal event that complements the chamber’s series.

“They’re very complementary to each other,” Sande said. “They take place on alternating Wednesdays, so Music in the Canyon made it possible to have a concert every week throughout the summer in Redmond.”

Music in the Canyon, Sande said, has a little bit of a harder edge than Music on the Green does — some of the music at Canyon shows contains swearing, he said — and the concerts regularly attract more than 500 people. The music typically includes rock and country acts, and last year bands such as Jeff Crosby and the Refugees played the park’s amphitheater stage, as well as Streetlight Moon, which covered Led Zeppelin’s second album in full.

A couple of years ago, Bullard set up a nonprofit called Music in the Canyon Foundation to help facilitate tax-deductible donations, and he said the 2017 season hasn’t been officially called off yet. He’s hoping to raise $10,000 by May 1, which will pay for five concerts this year.

“If we get this together we can make it happen,” he said. “We just have to have the money. I do love putting on music, and the people who go to the shows are a great crowd. It’s just a cool deal. We want to keep doing it if we can.”

Anyone interested in donating can visit www.musicinthecanyon.org for more information.

— Reporter: 541-617-7829,

awest@bendbulletin.com

“I’ve never been paid for being the booking agent, the sound guy, the everything.”— Jim Bullard, Redmond resident who has been running the Music in the Canyon concert series