By: Rachel Rocks
Wow! What a great month! Welcome back live music!! We’ve missed you!! It was awesome to see so many events and invites popping up all month long. Of course, sense things are opening that also means we are busier as a family, so I was out of town almost every weekend this month, but I did manage to squeeze in a couple of shows. It was so nice to sit at a bar again and have a drink without taking up a table for 4!
My first night out this month started back at Newfangled Brew Works for Corina Rose. I’ve caught pieces of shows before but this was her first full show I was able to enjoy. Corina might be little, but she’s loud, and she definitely draws the attention of anyone in the room with her amazing voice and well written original songs. It was awesome to see a full house at Newfangled enjoying the show. Corina recently submitted a song to the Central PA Music Hall of Fame to be considered for their special Cover to Cover Award. Corina reached out to her good friend Ryan Alan from Whiskey On The Rocks and covered a song he wrote called “Whiskey Highway”. Corina even created an awesome video to go with the song. You can check it all out on her Facebook page. We are really hoping to get to have the Central PA Music Awards (CPMAs) on July 3rd, and that’s where/when we will finally find out who all of the big winners are. Corina plays quite a bit throughout central PA and beyond, hopefully you’ll get lucky and catch a show soon for yourself!
Next up was a Thirsty Thursday night at Boneshire Brew Works for Jason Carst. Jason was all set up, so he was streaming live while he was playing. I’ve seen quite a few people doing this now.. it’s so smart! Not everyone is comfortable heading out to public places yet, so this is still a way everyone can enjoy the show, and of course give you a tip if they are so inclined to do so! I got there in time for the all request hour, but Jason is smart, he hands out lists of songs for people to pick songs that he knows instead of just yelling out “FREE BIRD!” Although people still do… of course. It was a great night to just chill and drink a few beers with my friends and listen to great music. I’m always guaranteed to have a good time at Jason’s shows. I’m glad I got there in time to hear Atlantic City, by Bruce Springsteen, because not only is it a great song, but I also love Atlantic City, so since he told me to go to the beach, that’s what I did the next day with Mom! Jason is also back in business with his day job, booking big shows up at Spyglass, and other big venues in the area. Keep your eyes peeled, the shows are coming back, big and small.. I want to see and hear them all!
You might see a pattern here.. but on another Thirsty Thursday I headed to Boneshire again, and this night Dave Gates was playing. As a side note, I actually went on Facebook and saw that we’ve been friends since November 2018. I think that Dave should win an award for being the most persistent musician at keeping me in the loop of all of his shows, and finally.. I was able to show up to one! This was a super special occasion because I also got my hubby Kris to come with me! Dave doesn’t mess around either, not only was he also going live during his show, but he even brought his own lights and really made it a show! He had the whole room singing and chair dancing along and having a good time! Dave did an amazing job at reading the crowd, and once we all started getting rowdy, he kept that train rolling and throwing out every sing a long song he had left in his arsenal. It was a great show! And I’m so glad our paths finally crossed.
I was bummed to miss the opening night of XL Live with all of my favorite metal/hard rock bands! But I’m sure Josh did a great job covering that show. I was there the following weekend for the country night! I was so excited I got there early enough to see the whole show. Devon Beck was the first one to take the stage. She took some time from her busy life down in Nashville to come up and entertain her home crowd. It was awesome to see Devon on that big stage singing her heart out in her sparkly boots. It’s also super awesome to hear that she’s still writing and playing all over the place. She is obviously willing to travel and would love to play your venue or special event! You can check out her ad in this issue for all of her websites and booking information.
Garrett Shultz took the stage next. Garrett has been playing throughout the midstate, but he’s another one that I was finally catching for the first time. A few of his songs were rock enough that I even got Angie up dancing for a bit! Garrett was celebrating the release of a new single “Always Be” from his upcoming album American Made! It’s a great idea to release this song right before Mother’s Day, Garrett definitely knows what he’s doing. He has videos with the song on youtube and you can find his single on any of your favorite streaming platforms.
Next up was the Colt Wilbur Band. You could definitely tell from the crowd response, that this is the band a majority of the people were here to see. As soon as Colt took the stage, the dance floor was packed. It quickly became a “normal” show. People were dancing, drinking, and having a great time! The Colt Wilbur Band is lucky to not only have all great musicians, but all of their vocals are great too! It really helps their band be more versatile, and no one ever gets too burned out either. They always put on a great show and you can see that by the size of their crowd!
The last band of the night was Road Case. It was truly magical to see a full rockin’ band back on the stage at XL Live. It was hard to believe that Road Case’s show didn’t even start til 11:30. For a post Covid show, that is super late! Ha! My body is used to going to sleep at 10pm, even though I was exhausted, it was awesome to see the smiles on the guys’ faces back on the stage doing what they love to do! Every time I see a band and think about how much down time they’ve had I’m always super impressed by how tight they all are musically, never missing a beat! Maybe now that I’m a “musician” myself I can appreciate the musicianship of a band even more! I’m glad they had a night of the local bands at XL Live. I’m so glad they are back!! And we finally have a place to see real, live bands, all plugged in and rockin’ the night away! Road Case had to be at their next show less than 12 hours later at Susquehanna Harley Davidson. I’m sure they were all feeling it by Sunday, and hopefully they had a nice, super chill, Sunday Funday to recover from all of their band shenanigans! Road Case will be playing at Dad’s Celebration of Life and Music Festival on June 19th! If you want to come to a free show with quite a few great bands, check out the ad in this issue with all of the details!
May looks to be about as busy as April for me and my family, but I hope to catch a few shows here and there. I’ll be in a wedding on May 1st that has Nineties Entertainment System for their after party, so I know I’ll see at least one band! I’m really looking forward to see my best friends Matt and Holly tie the knot! I also want to give a super special birthday shout out to my nephew Robert Greene turning the BIG 16 on May 3rd!! It’s truly hard to believe, but time flies!
If you see me Out and About please stop me and say Hi. If you have shows coming up, make sure I know about them. Hit me up on Facebook, or email me at RachelRocks@pamusician.net, or better yet, ADVERTISE!!! The PA Musician Magazine depends on ad dollars to stay in business. Without you, we wouldn’t be.. so Get out there and Support Local Music, but also get out there and Support Small Businesses, like us, the PA Musician Magazine. Check it out online at www.pamusician.net.