MarchFourth to Close Music on the Half Shell Season Tuesday

ROSEBURG, Ore. - Music on the Half Shell will wrap up its 2026 summer season Tuesday night with a performance that promises to be as much of a spectacle as it is a concert.

MarchFourth will take over the Nichols Band Shell at Stewart Park on Tuesday, Aug. 11, bringing a combination of horns, percussion, rock, funk, dancers, acrobatics and stilt walkers to Roseburg. The free concert begins at 7 p.m. and is scheduled to run until 9 p.m.

The Portland-born group is difficult to fit into a traditional musical category. MarchFourth mixes the sound of a large brass ensemble with electric bass and guitar, a four-piece percussion section and a seven-part horn section. The musicians are joined on stage by dancers and other performers, turning the show into something closer to a traveling musical circus than a conventional concert.

MarchFourth traces its roots to Portland, where the project began more than two decades ago around a Mardi Gras celebration. Since then, its rotating collection of performers has expanded beyond Oregon, with members coming from throughout the Pacific Northwest and as far away as New Orleans.

Musically, the group pulls heavily from funk, rock and jazz while incorporating rhythms and influences from around the world. Most of its material is original, and the large horn and percussion sections give the band a sound that draws from New Orleans brass traditions without remaining tied to any one genre.

The visual side of the performance is just as important.

MarchFourth performs in elaborate costumes and has built its reputation around shows featuring movement throughout the stage, acrobatics and performers on stilts. The band's own description of its touring production includes musicians, dancers, a live visual artist and a full performance crew traveling together aboard a 47-foot tour bus called "The Highway Star."

Tuesday's appearance also comes at the end of a busy stretch for MarchFourth. The band's current tour schedule includes shows in Salem, Mount Shasta and Ashland immediately ahead of its Roseburg performance.

Final Concert of the Summer

MarchFourth is the eighth and final artist in this year's Music on the Half Shell lineup.

The season began June 23 with the John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band and continued with Amelia Day, Paul McDonald and the Mourning Doves, Jujuba, Garret T. Willie, Bella Rayne and Jackie Venson before reaching Tuesday's finale.

Music on the Half Shell has become a longstanding Roseburg summer tradition, bringing free performances to Stewart Park on Tuesday evenings. Concertgoers gather on the lawn around the Nichols Band Shell along the Umpqua River for performances from touring artists who might otherwise require a trip outside Douglas County to see.

Organizers have specifically promoted MarchFourth as a high-energy way to end this year's series, describing the group as part brass band and part circus.

For anyone who has spent the summer sitting back on the Stewart Park lawn, Tuesday may be one of the harder nights to stay seated.

MarchFourth performs Tuesday, Aug. 11, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Nichols Band Shell in Stewart Park. Admission is free.