The Valley is rocking, and Steve Jones is in the middle of the action.

Jones runs “Rocking The Valley” (RTV), a combination of podcasts, radio shows and live-streams of performances.

RTV, now in its eighth year, “provides audio and video feeds of the musicians of the Lehigh Valley, showing what they can do.”

“Many different talents are brought together to produce the final product. It is multi-faceted, all in support of live music,” says Jones, of North Whitehall Township.

Jones, who celebrated the birth of his 13th grandchild before Christmas 2021, says, “At one time we had as many as eight shows running during the pandemic. We averaged four bands a week in the past six years.”

It might be a surprise that there are that many bands in the Lehigh Valley. Jones says that many acts share performers. “I know one bass player that is in five different groups,” says Jones in a phone interview.

“‘Rocking the Valley’ started as a one-hour streaming Internet radio. After two years we moved to the Jetport in Allentown. At one time, there was a staff of almost 30 people involved. Now there are 10. There have been well over 50 people involved since the beginning.”

RTV provides “Artist Spotlight,” “Lehigh Valley Showcase,” “Songwriters Alive!” with Tom Cooney, and “Cyber Speakeasy,” which is “music, conversation and cocktails” with Not For Coltrane (Michael Duck).

“We let people do what they do best, unlocking their potential and giving them opportunity and a platform. Our goal is to have a group of people whose voices are respected.”

RTV hosted a concert during the Christmas 2021 season at the Roxy Theatre, Northampton, that featured Jones playing the theater’s organ.

As might be expected, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic created some problems.

“The COVID audience is terrified. They don’t know what to do. There is no consistent setup of procedures. It has to have some normalcy to it.

“COVID has turned live venues upside down. A lot of venues are closed. Changes in zoning have shut some of them down. Some are waiting to reopen. And relationships with many owners are gone. We are just trying to get people to come out.”

Jones says that although there are new bands with younger musicians playing punk and grunge, the Lehigh Valley music scene is blues, rock, acoustic and R&B.

“The biggest problem is that bands are aging. Equipment is not getting any lighter. The average age of band members is mid-50s.”

None of this is stopping “Rocking The Valley”. Jones is developing other platforms and experimenting with shows, dropping old ones and putting out new ones.

“Rocking The Valley” will rock on.

“Rocking the Valley”: facebook, Twitter, YouTube, www.rockingthevalley.com