By: Rachel Rocks
September… ahhhh… my birthday month. I’m starting it off a few days early and I’m writing a very condensed article this month. I am cut very short on time and energy, afterall, I am getting old!
This month started out a very long time ago at the York Fair. If you haven’t been to the York Fair for live music you should definitely make plans to check it out next year. They bring in amazing talent in all different genres, there is literally something for everyone. The first show was on Triple Play Tuesday, I saw was Kix, Slaughter, and Warrant. You could tell by the shirts in the pitt that most people were there for Kix! Steve said enough people complained about Kix being an opener that they already booked them to headline next year on a Wednesday. Kix put on one heck of a show, as always, and in my opinion they were the best act of the night. It’s hard to believe though that Warrant was celebrating 30 years of Sweet Cherry Pie! Overall it was an awesome night of music, and I loved hearing live music on a Tuesday!
Then on Thursday, it was time for Silvertung, Seven Year Witch, and Adelita’s Way at XL Live. It was crazy to hear how hard these bands have all been working even during the Pandemic. They were willing to travel anywhere in the world where they could perform, and in the process they built up quite a following. My favorite band this night was Seven Year Witch from South Carolina. I love the nitty gritty rock n’roll! These guys had crazy energy and an amazing stage presence. When Adelita’s Way took the stage they still had a line at their merch table!
Friday night I wasn’t going to go down to Halestorm and Small Town Titans at the York Fair, but then Brandon from the CPMHOF asked me to come down and shoot some pictures of him giving them their Hall of Fame plaque, so how could I refuse. I’ll let Brandon tell you about our amazing backstage experience! All I know is Brandon was doing shots with the band while I was standing on an X with 7 foot Mr. T watching me closely.. Hmm.. ya think he might know me or something?!? HA! It’s RITT’S FAULT!! I have to admit it was awesome seeing STT on a big stage, and it was super awesome when Lzzy came out and performed with them. If you missed check the WWW, there are tons of videos! It was also cool to hear Lzzy reminisce of the good old days starting out here in PA.
Like I didn’t have enough excitement for one night I did swing in to XL Live for the Amish Outlaws on my way home. I caught the last couple of songs. Those guys are great performers and had XL Live packed! To FINALLY end this crazy first week of my article we headed to the Guns n’ Roses concert at Hershey. What can I say, it was definitely the week of hair bands and rock n’ roll. After a long day of tailgating parts of the concert were a blur, but I do remember bumping into Addi Grace’s parents. If you haven’t checked out Addi Grace yet, she’s the youngest winner of a CPMA this year, and it is well deserved. That girl is a rock star!! Watch out Lzzy Hale!!! Addi Grace is coming for ya!!!
As if one crazy week was enough, it was Carnival Time! After missing out on all of the carnival fun last year, I made sure I hit up a few; played some Bingo, listened to some music, and ate lots of yummy foods, supporting the Firemen, Lions Club, or whatever I could! Carnivals are awesome! On a Thursday night The Marysville Lions Club Carnival had Back in Black! Say what?!? Yep.. I couldn’t believe the crowd when I got there. If you’ve never been to Marysville for a band, it’s kind of my dream set up, right underneath the band they sell delicious pizza! Pizza and Bands!!! And right behind that is root beer floats and funnel cakes.. Again, I love carnivals! Back in Black did an awesome job of keeping the fans very young to very old and everywhere in the middle rockin’ the night away!
Friday night it was road trip time!! Down to Racehorse Tavern for Blind Accuracy and From Dawn Til Death. Blind Accuracy has advertised since their inception, but they are so patient with me, and never even harassed me to come see them, they just keep faithfully advertising. Well I’m thrilled to say all of their advertising paid off, and I finally made it to a show, and WOW I’m glad I did. What a great show! I haven’t heard some good punk rock in a long time. It’s awesome to see how all 4 of the guys groove together on the stage. They just have an awesome easy flowing vibe that made them super fun to enjoy! It was the first time I noticed a drum player having a kazoo mounted near his microphone, as if singing and playing drums isn’t hard enough, Austin also plays the kazoo while drumming too! Next up From Dawn Till Death took the stage. These guy play a great mix of your favorite modern rock songs. Louis has an amazing voice and signs the songs so effortlessly! I’m glad I took the drive to Racehorse. It’s always a great place to go listen to music, this night I also had some delicious quesadillas!
On my way home from Racehorse Tavern I did another quick stop at XL Live for a little bit of the Colt Wilbur Band. The Colt Wilbur Band had the dance floor full and everyone was having a great time. Another band I caught the tail end of Honeypump at the Annual Fredericksburg Eagle Hotel Customer Appreciation Party. I wish I wasn’t so busy that day because again, Mike totally outdid himself with free food, booze, and entertainment! Since he tried to have it at the Sportsmen’s Club for more space, he also enlisted a couple van drivers to shuttle people from the Hotel to the Club. The food was so delicious and the music was awesome too. Honeypump always puts on an amazing show.
After their show I zoomed to Johnny Joe’s in Mechanicsburg for Observe the 93rd. Johnny Joe’s just started having bands again, and it was my first time back since the pandemic. It was still just as crazy if not crazier. People were smooshed in dancing, moving, and groovin’ to the music. Observe the 93rd shows are always nights full of lots of shenanigans, and this night definitely didn’t disappoint!
On a Friday night I headed down to the River House Bar and Grill in Middletown for Devon Beck. I actually got an extra surprise when I got there her friend Nick Minahan was on stage playing a few songs while she took a break. Nick just recently started playing live and I have to say I admired his bravery! Devon is having the time of her life, splitting shows between Nashville and home. She’s been learning so much and having tons of fun in the process. Devon just keeps writing and releasing original music, I’m blown away by her talent! Do yourself a favor and like Devon’s page on Facebook and keep up with all of her music and releases!
On a Thursday night after band practice, wait what? Yes folks, it’s true. A friend asked me to play some ukulele at a benefit for the Millerstown Community Pool on October 2nd. I definitely did not have the guts to do it myself, but Holly’s husband, Matt, will be joining me on stage. He will be playing guitar while I strum along on the ukulele. My hats are off to all of the true musicians out there, it is not easy learning new songs and retaining old songs. Matt and I are calling ourselves MRRocks. So get ready folks, it’s gonna be a hootenanny of a good time. I just know it will be awesome getting Dad’s ukulele back up on stage! Hopefully I can give it some kind of justice.
So anyway, on a Thursday we bopped over to Boneshire for a little live music and pizza. Boneshire recently added pizza to their menu, and it is so delicious! Dave Gates was on stage and we had a blast singing and dancing along. It was a great pitstop for good food, delicious beer, and awesome music!
On a Friday night I did another pitstop in at XL Live for Smooth Like Clyde. I was glad to see the dance floor hopping with people have a fantastic time. I think the Smooth Like Clyde boys must be hanging out too much with D’Bo. You should see some of their choreographed dance moves. If I wouldn’t know any better I thought they were “Doing the D’Bo”!
To finish off the night we zoomed out to Hollywood Casino for Latimore Sky. It’s awesome seeing new bands get some stage time on the Hollywood Stage. Latimore Sky was having a blast up there, and we had a blast dancing along on Hollywood’s nice big dance floor! Latimore Sky has really been climbing the music charts with their original music. Give ‘em a like on Facebook and follow along on their journey, or better yet, check out their ad in this issue and get out there for a show!
One band I’ve been waiting patiently to see again was Steel. I’m thrilled to say they are finally hitting the stage again! I heard them at Rockin’ the Hill to support the local fire company. It was a great show with three bands. We unfortunately didn’t get there in time for the other two bands, but I heard everyone put on a great show. Steel put on an amazing show and I didn’t want the fun to end. They just played one really long set, and it felt so good to dance, headbang, and sing along! Steel has some other shows coming up throughout September and October. I’m so glad that music is back and in full swing!
I ended the month with another special Wednesday night show at Mt. Gretna Hideaway to see DMC Duo. One thing I’ve greatly learned to have lots of respect for is musicians that keep a good tempo. Darrell has the tempo down to a science, so much so that they even had country line dancers dancing along! DMC Duo’s schedule is packed full of shows. It’s awesome to see them doing so well in the Duo Land.
Whoo! That’s it.. Short, sweet, and to the point. I can’t stop talking about how awesome it is to have so many amazing music choices every Friday, Saturday, and beyond. I think my good friend Sabrina summed up my life pretty good: “Girl! You’re like a spring that’s been let go now that there’s live music, you’re running around and gobbling up everything that you can after not being able to go out for over a year!”.. Yep, pretty much sums up my life. I am just trying as hard as I can to get out there and support it all! I wish most nights I could clone myself because there are so many places I want to be!
This month looks like it’s going to be off the hook crazy with even more choices. Labor Day Weekend kicks off with not only the Kipona Festival in downtown Harrisburg, but also the Musica Health to Wealth Festival at the South Mountain Fairgrounds! That’s also 3 days worth of music and fun! There are camping options and plenty of hotels nearby, so party safe! Sept. 11th is not only my baby, Zack Boob’s 19th Birthday, but also The Fogleman’s Wounded Warrior Benefit Show, that is an annual show that keeps getting bigger and crazier every year! Then the 18th it’s time for Space’s Annual Children’s Miracle Network show with live music from 11am to 11pm! Those are just 3 major shows that I can quickly spout out, I’m sure there is even more going on. Please pick up a magazine and get out there and support our advertisers! And make sure and tell them you saw it in the PA Musician Magazine!
That’s all for this month! If you see me Out and About, please stop me and say Hi! And then get out there and dance the night away with me!