Chicago to Seattle, listeners on March 30 got their first taste of the prolific results of the 2007 RPM Challenge.

Hosts of listening parties in nine different cities unveiled song samples from more than 850 CDs written and recorded during the month of February. Those who could not attend any of the physical celebrations could participate online through the virtual world of Second Life, which opened the festivities to musicians and listeners across the globe.

In Portsmouth, the evening began with a ceremony at The Music Hall. Participating musicians from the Seacoast and beyond arrived with friends, families and curious fans to witness the fruits of their labor. By the time RPM organizers Dave Karlotski, Christopher Greiner, Jon Nolan and Karen Marzloff took the stage—RPM is a project of The Wire—guests had filled the main seating area and dappled the balcony.

Opening ceremonies included a guest appearance, via the Internet, from Bob Boilen, director of National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” Boilen reassembled a long disbanded group to create his own RPM Album.

“It took the RPM Challenge to inspire us to make a whole album of new material,” Boilen said. “I encourage you all to make great art and make great friends through your art, because that’s what this is all about.”

A video put together by Kathleen Young of Elliot, Maine, included numerous interviews with organizers and participants, accompanied by plenty of new RPM music.

After watching the video and getting a sneak preview of the online jukebox, which will soon be streaming more than 8,000 completed songs, the crowd fanned out to listening parties at The Portsmouth Brewery, The Press Room, Bourbon’s, AK’s and RiverRun Bookstore. Most venues remained packed from 8 to 11 p.m. Participating musicians said the parties rewarded a rigorous month of music making.

“That’s really been the best thing ... walking around Portsmouth tonight and seeing so many locations with so many excited people about the music they created,” said Eric Strathmeyer, of Funkfoot, as he listened at The Press Room. “I’m really happy for all these other people that are having such a great time.”

Gary Fox, who played guitar, bass and drums on a rock album called “Aftermath Hotel,” attended the listening party at Bourbon’s. He said the party provided a bonus on top of the incomparable satisfaction of completing a CD. “The reward was at 5 o’clock in the morning as the sun’s coming up, listening to all eight songs one after another, 38 minutes, and saying ‘Wow, this is actually better than anything I think I’ve done in the past.’ The listening parties are just icing on the cake,” Fox said. “This makes it all worth it from a communal standpoint, but the kick in the arse to just get things done was enough for me.”

Guitarist John McCormack (a.k.a. Blingo Starr, a.k.a. MC Foodcourt) completed RPM albums with Starch and Museum of Science. A veteran of the Seacoast music scene, McCormack said the challenge has helped solidify the area’s musical community.

“I’ve been playing music here since I was 18, which is about 18 years, and to me this whole thing just kind of crystallizes the talent that’s already here,” McCormack said. “It’s an unbelievable amount of talent, an unbelievable amount of music being produced right here under our noses.”

Other parties were held in New York, Cleveland, Chicago, Minneapolis, Austin, Denver, Seattle and Courtenay, British Columbia.