Upcoming Shows
2026sun22mar7:00 pm7:45 pmFreewheelin' 188
Time
Event Details
“Freewheelin’ with J Oscar” brings you a LIVE free-ranging 1/2 hour of J Oscar original and traditional songs, with video, stories,
Event Details
“Freewheelin’ with J Oscar” brings you a LIVE free-ranging 1/2 hour of J Oscar original and traditional songs, with video, stories, plus occasional guests with attendant shenanigans and blarney.
TIPS accepted (not expected):
https://www.paypal.me/joscarb
BANDCAMP– get Like Kerouac by J Oscar Bittinger – Recorded with Chris Ranney & Mark Hugger
Watch FREEWHEELIN’ on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@joscarb/streams
Virtual Event Details
Event access information coming soon, Please check back again closer to event start time.
2026sun26apr3:00 pm5:00 pm"Ghosts & Spirits" / Acoustic Stew 2026
Time
Event Details
2026 APRIL-26 | J Oscar Bittinger Tickets available NOW > https://grcmc.org/event/j-oscar-bittinger/1126 The “Ghosts & Spirits” show begins with an intimate, “dark wood” acoustic set –
Event Details
2026 APRIL-26 | J Oscar Bittinger
Tickets available NOW
> https://grcmc.org/event/j-oscar-bittinger/1126
The “Ghosts & Spirits” show begins with an intimate, “dark wood” acoustic set – a song arc of hauntings from things past and the present day struggle to find spirits to direct and the guide in misty days ahead. The “ghosts and spirits” are not so much “spooky things”, but unsettling ones of the current age and aging. The mood will be underscored with sound design and story.
Set 2 will feature songs to brighten up the afternoon with a free-ranging FM-radio-style playlist of J Oscar’s “FolkRockicana”. Groove and grit provided by musical compatriots Mark Hugger (bass), MVH (drums + vocals), and Chris Ranney (keys).
- General admission – $20
($15 for GRCMC members*) - ONLY 61 SEATS – get your tickets today!
- SUNDAY afternoon – 3:00 PM
- Doors and Bar open at 2:30pm
NOTE: must be GRCMC member to buy beer or wine
*Purchase one-year membership for $15 at the door
$5 discount on ALL GRCMC events – including Acoustic Stew shows
2026sun17may3:00 pm5:00 pmAmericana Sundays: An Afternoon w/ J Oscar Bittinger & Dan Bracken
Time
Event Details
Americana singer/songwriter song swap! J Oscar Bittinger toured the Midwest as a singer-songwriter in the late 70s, then cofounded the ‘80s/’90s Musician Magazine recognized pop-rock
Event Details
Americana singer/songwriter song swap!
J Oscar Bittinger toured the Midwest as a singer-songwriter in the late 70s, then cofounded the ‘80s/’90s Musician Magazine recognized pop-rock band Pillar of Fire. As his need for fire and noise quelled in the beginning of the 21st Century, JOB began to delve back into traditional acoustic styles. First with The Folk Bros (founded with Bruce Zeeuw and Steve Aldrich) – purveyors of hard-edged folk with a sense of humor; followed by Oxter/Mahone, a rotating party of “Celtic Roots, American Rhythms”; and continuing in the singer-songwriter duo Dublin Station (with Lauran Hardin) – that combined traditional Irish tunes with original songs that “leaned Celtic” – and sometimes adding beats and grooves.
Songwriter and finger-style guitarist Daniel Bracken plays music informed by his rich history as a recordist and producer for Public Media, and as a performer in the US and Ireland. In recent years, Dan has delved deeper into personal songcraft, a wholehearted mix expressing the crossroads of spirituality, wistfulness, and humor. His songs embrace many of the storytelling qualities of traditional Irish and American roots music.
- General admission – $25
- EVENTBRIGHT TICKETS
- SUNDAY afternoon – 3:00 PM
Upcoming Shows
2026sun22mar7:00 pm7:45 pmFreewheelin' 188
Time
Event Details
“Freewheelin’ with J Oscar” brings you a LIVE free-ranging 1/2 hour of J Oscar original and traditional songs, with video, stories,
Event Details
“Freewheelin’ with J Oscar” brings you a LIVE free-ranging 1/2 hour of J Oscar original and traditional songs, with video, stories, plus occasional guests with attendant shenanigans and blarney.
TIPS accepted (not expected):
https://www.paypal.me/joscarb
BANDCAMP– get Like Kerouac by J Oscar Bittinger – Recorded with Chris Ranney & Mark Hugger
Watch FREEWHEELIN’ on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@joscarb/streams
Virtual Event Details
Event access information coming soon, Please check back again closer to event start time.
2026sun26apr3:00 pm5:00 pm"Ghosts & Spirits" / Acoustic Stew 2026
Time
Event Details
2026 APRIL-26 | J Oscar Bittinger Tickets available NOW > https://grcmc.org/event/j-oscar-bittinger/1126 The “Ghosts & Spirits” show begins with an intimate, “dark wood” acoustic set –
Event Details
2026 APRIL-26 | J Oscar Bittinger
Tickets available NOW
> https://grcmc.org/event/j-oscar-bittinger/1126
The “Ghosts & Spirits” show begins with an intimate, “dark wood” acoustic set – a song arc of hauntings from things past and the present day struggle to find spirits to direct and the guide in misty days ahead. The “ghosts and spirits” are not so much “spooky things”, but unsettling ones of the current age and aging. The mood will be underscored with sound design and story.
Set 2 will feature songs to brighten up the afternoon with a free-ranging FM-radio-style playlist of J Oscar’s “FolkRockicana”. Groove and grit provided by musical compatriots Mark Hugger (bass), MVH (drums + vocals), and Chris Ranney (keys).
- General admission – $20
($15 for GRCMC members*) - ONLY 61 SEATS – get your tickets today!
- SUNDAY afternoon – 3:00 PM
- Doors and Bar open at 2:30pm
NOTE: must be GRCMC member to buy beer or wine
*Purchase one-year membership for $15 at the door
$5 discount on ALL GRCMC events – including Acoustic Stew shows
2026sun17may3:00 pm5:00 pmAmericana Sundays: An Afternoon w/ J Oscar Bittinger & Dan Bracken
Time
Event Details
Americana singer/songwriter song swap! J Oscar Bittinger toured the Midwest as a singer-songwriter in the late 70s, then cofounded the ‘80s/’90s Musician Magazine recognized pop-rock
Event Details
Americana singer/songwriter song swap!
J Oscar Bittinger toured the Midwest as a singer-songwriter in the late 70s, then cofounded the ‘80s/’90s Musician Magazine recognized pop-rock band Pillar of Fire. As his need for fire and noise quelled in the beginning of the 21st Century, JOB began to delve back into traditional acoustic styles. First with The Folk Bros (founded with Bruce Zeeuw and Steve Aldrich) – purveyors of hard-edged folk with a sense of humor; followed by Oxter/Mahone, a rotating party of “Celtic Roots, American Rhythms”; and continuing in the singer-songwriter duo Dublin Station (with Lauran Hardin) – that combined traditional Irish tunes with original songs that “leaned Celtic” – and sometimes adding beats and grooves.
Songwriter and finger-style guitarist Daniel Bracken plays music informed by his rich history as a recordist and producer for Public Media, and as a performer in the US and Ireland. In recent years, Dan has delved deeper into personal songcraft, a wholehearted mix expressing the crossroads of spirituality, wistfulness, and humor. His songs embrace many of the storytelling qualities of traditional Irish and American roots music.
- General admission – $25
- EVENTBRIGHT TICKETS
- SUNDAY afternoon – 3:00 PM
....compelling and singable choruses
Here’s what I love: all the sensory images you use that place me directly in the world of your songs and the compelling and singable choruses.
From a song
Glorious Ordinary Day
© 1996 J. Oscar Bittinger
Standing at the window drinking coffee
Twenty stories up
Friday morning and the streets full
Watch the people
‘Scurrying ’round, ’round, ’round, (’round, ’round, ’round)
On a park bench in the sunshine
Sit the mothers
And the nannies minding children
What a thrill then climbing up high
And sliding down, down down (down, down, down)
BRIDGE 1
Sailboats bob upon a dappled bay
Busses hurry by and new leaves sway
Isn’t it a Glorious Ordinary Day?
In the office telephones ring
Paper shuffling
Get to your next meeting on time
Gotta deadline
Deals at lunchtime
Going down, down, down (down, down, down)
BRIDGE 2
Warships sail across an oil slicked bay
Read all about it as your taxi speeds away
It’s another Glorious Ordinary Day
RAMP
Runners wearing headphones
Don’t hear drug dealers or dogs bark
A tearful soldier salutes the names on the monument
In the park lovers laze
Late afternoon haze
Cover’s them until dark
In the kitchen supper’s ready
Smells so good
The waitress offers coffee
To the traveler
Bartender smiles
Sun is going down, down, down
Down, down, down
1996: Spring