Rhys Langston leads hip-hop show at Churchill School in Baker City

Churchill School will host a hip-hop bill Wednesday, July 1, as Rhys Langston, Fatboi Sharif and Icky Reels bring a genre that rarely lands in Baker City to one of the town’s busiest live-music rooms. Doors open at 6 p.m., with tickets priced at $15 in advance and $20 at the door; seniors, veterans, military members and students ages 16 to 21 can get discounted admission, and ages 15 and younger are free with a paid adult.

The booking stands out because Churchill School has become a regular stop for touring acts in a city where experimental rap is still an unusual draw. The former Baker City public school, built in 1925 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008, now operates as an arts hub with studios, a bike hostel and a concert venue. That mix has helped turn the building into a home base for summer shows, and the July 1 concert adds another test of whether Baker County audiences will show up for nontraditional acts.

Langston brings a background that reaches well beyond a standard rap set. His official bio describes him as a musician, visual artist and writer based in Los Angeles, and Northstar Artists says he has released 20 projects since 2014. His 2020 project, Language Arts Unit, came with a 104-page book examining rap and race in a long-form lyric essay, and he still paints his own album covers. Langston has also toured with Open Mike Eagle and Cavalier, including runs through the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountain region, Midwest, Northeast and Canada.

Fatboi Sharif and Icky Reels deepen the bill’s experimental edge. Venue listings call Fatboi Sharif the Garden State Gargoyle, while Icky Reels is described as a producer and visual artist whose warped, futuristic beat music blends experimental hip-hop, IDM and ambient noise. His debut album, Plips, was named the No. 1 electronic album of 2021 by The Wire.

Churchill School’s July calendar includes more shows later in the month, signaling a summer lineup that reaches beyond a single concert. For Baker City, the July 1 date is a live measure of whether the venue can keep drawing crowds when the bill moves outside the town’s more familiar musical lanes.