Wow! It’s insane how fast time just keeps flying, and looking back it’s equally as amazing how many bands I got out to see! People often say, “I don’t know how you do it all…” quite frankly neither do I. HA! Not only did I manage to see tons of music, I also snuck in a beach trip with Holly where I found a 100 person life raft on the beach! That was a beach find I won’t forget! What an amazing month, now let’s get to the music!
The adventure started with a trip up to Shybear Brewing, one of our newest advertisers. Matt Jameson was playing up there on a Thursday night, so I went along for the ride. Shybear is nestled on a ridge in the mountains of Lewistown, it’s a very cool location, located just off of 322. They have an amazing line-up of music already scheduled for the whole year! A lot of their music is free, but they also have some very special ticketed shows throughout the year. If you see something you like, get your tickets FAST, because their events definitely sell out! You can check out their ad in this issue, or their website, shybearbrewing.com, for all of the details.
The next day was delivery day! Katz 22 was on the cover, so I started my night popping in to see Dr. Nyce at the Copper Pub. Dr. Nyce has the request thing down to a science, they were pouring in and he was playing every one! But the funniest part was every time anyone came in the door, he would literally pause and everyone in the bar yells, “Holy S**t! Look who’s here!” It’s very entertaining for the patrons and for the person coming in the door too. Needless to say everyone feels like part of the party, and the party gets crazy! It was tons of fun and I hated to pull myself away, but alas the magazines won’t deliver themselves.
My next musical stop was at Appalachian Brewing Company on Cameron Street. I’m happy to report that Moonpeak Productions have shows back in the Abbey Bar at full force. It’s absolutely amazing hearing music come from the Abbey Bar once again. When I got there the sweet sounds of Cumberland Honey were on the stage. What an amazing group of women. If you’ve never heard them their harmonies match the name, they are as sweet as honey for sure! I got sucked in, and stuck around for the headliners, Dirty Grass Players. The Abbey bar was packed, people were dancing and having a good time, it was truly magical to see. In my regular circle I don’t see too many mandolins and banjos, and it was just awesome to sit back and listen to them jam. It might’ve made my night a little longer, but that’s nothing new!
The next night I started at Funk’s in Palmyra for Addi Grace. Talk about a girl you can literally watch grow up before your eyes! It’s truly amazing witnessing her growth as a musician and as a person. She is getting ready to release her first original, “Not Gonna Make It” on April 14th. I got a little sneak peek, and I can tell ya Addi, you are definitely gonna make it. Her range, her ability as a whole are just crazy! She is a force to be reckoned with, and she didn’t even make it through Middle School! Funk’s was packed with everyone enjoying the music. Cindy and I couldn’t resist, we even had to get up and dance for a few songs! Even though the party was hopping, it was time for me to get a move on!
My next stop was out in Hamburg at Pappy T’s for the Vertigo Vultures Acoustic show. Pappy T’s has been advertising for quite a few months, and I thought it was time for me to get out there and check them out! Located just off the Hamburg exit on 78, it was easy to get to, and an absolute blast! You can tell their regulars love live music, and it’s a perfect spot to just chill and have a good time! Muff was up from Florida visiting Sammy, so it was an added bonus to get to see her too! John was the lead vocalist for the vultures and he did an awesome job, it’s hard to believe he doesn’t sing more with the full band show. The Vultures had everyone soaring through the venue on their dancing feet having a good time! Pappy T’s has live music every Friday and Saturday, and they even have an Open MIc on Thursdays! Check out their full schedule in this issue and get out there and support the venues, that support the music!
Next up was the Tuesday night spectacular, of the Dropkick Murphys at the Lancaster Convention Center. The Convention Center has their beer lines down to a science, but the rest of the venue planning could use a little help. We did manage to catch the last song of The Scratch. They seemed like they were tons of fun, and I’m bummed I missed them. We got in line at 6, but didn’t get in the venue til 7:30pm. At all of the like 10 beer lines they did have bottled water which is nice, but they also only had one snack line, for pizza, soda, and other snacks. I’m so glad I ate before I got there! Pennywise was the 2nd opener and also a fantastic band. I might’ve actually liked some of their music even better than Dropkick Murphys. The last time I saw Dropkick was about 5 years ago, so needless to say, it was my first sober Dropkick show. It was the first time I honestly felt completely odd being sober. That could explain the extra grumpiness. HA! I of course also wanted to be up front, so that also meant dodging the feet of all the crowd surfers! It was exhausting for the security guards and everyone else. And if you’re going to crowd surf, empty your pockets first!! But overall the concert was great! I might have to catch them at a different venue next time!
Next up were some Matt Jameson shows. The first one was at The Doyle on a Thursday. The Doyle is another venue that just loves live music. It may not be big, but all the tables and bar were full, and everyone was fully immersed and there for the music! It’s always so refreshing when it’s obvious that people are there for the show! For the 2nd set he had Jason Simmons play acoustic guitar with him; just a tad different than a Green Jelly show! HA! It was Jason’s first time rocking out on an acoustic, and everyone loved it!
The next Matt Jameson show was down at South County Brewing Company. That venue is absolutely beautiful. All of the tables were full and reserved when Holly and I got there. Luckily we were able to squeeze into Linda and Andy’s table and enjoy that show. It’s awesome to see Matt’s fan base continue to grow no matter where he is!
After South County I zoomed fast up to Flinchy’s for the tail end of Derek Henry. The fellow musicians were out in full force supporting Derek and having a good time. For a Wednesday night, the deck was hopping and people were ready to party! I think they must’ve had the St. Patty’s Day spirit a wee bit early!
The next night started out early at Wolfs Brewing Company for Jason Carst. I haven’t caught a show for a little while and I’m glad I did. It’s always entertaining watching him use his looper magic. He can literally make himself a one man band! It’s always fun watching people studying him trying to figure out the ways of his magical music! If you follow Jason on Facebook, even if you can’t physically get out to see him, you can guarantee he’s usually live streaming every show!
After Jason’s show I headed over to Lovedrafts for Adrian Blitzer! That’s right, I said it.. Adrian Mother F********ng Blitzer. It felt like a Tubby’s reunion; where have you people been hiding!? It was awesome to see so many head banging party freaks in one room! Needless to say we had a blast rockin’ with Blitzer. We definitely aren’t all as young as we once were, but we did our best! Derek Alan and Marlee surprised everyone, showing up in Bucee’s onesies to surprise Kevin. It was hilarious, and an added element to the Blitzer show.
The St. Patrick’s Day shenanigans started out with finishing the Harrisburg 4-Miler! I’m super proud of us for finishing the race under an hour! We went over to the St. Patty’s Day Party in New Cumberland, but that whole town was NUTS. We then headed to Brewhouse and were treated with some Irish Dancers! After a few drinks we headed over to Copper Pub for Dave Heckman. He had his friend Jeff Kloss playing percussion with him to add even more shenanigans. We ate, we drank, we laughed, we sang, and we danced.. And then it was time to sleep! What an amazing day!
On the actual St. Patty’s Day I headed to Rising Sun for Crossing Abbey Road, a Beatles tribute from right here in the Hershey area. I’m glad my friend Rob Berger invited me to the show. He was invited to sing a couple songs, and he did an amazing job! We had to help him with his mic technique, but he nailed it in the 2nd song! If you are a fan of the Beatles you definitely need to check out Crossing Abbey Road. They do all the hits and they know how important it is to nail every song! What a great show! And that was my first time at Rising Sun! I don’t know why I don’t head that direction more for live music. Funk’s has so many properties that have live music options every Friday and Saturday night!
The following week started on a Wednesday with Pound class with my friend Michele. Pound was at the Spinning Harts Dance Studio. They specialize in pole dancing classes, but they have many different classes they offer. Pound is awesome because it’s basically dancing with drum sticks, it is an amazing full body workout! The studio shares a parking lot with Flinchy’s, so after our class we headed to Flinchy’s for dinner and live music with RJ Moody. RJ belts out all of your favorite country hits from classic to current! He always puts on a great show! Stephen Robert was also hanging at Flinchy’s and got up there to sign a couple of songs too! I took care of Hank while his Dad was busy playing music.
Thursday night was another super awesome night with Observe the 93rd opening for Everclear at XL Live. Hey, if ya didn’t know, Thursday is the new Friday! There is always so much happening on Thursday nights! Observe the 93rd totally dominated the stage! They put on one heck of a show with tons of energy. It was awesome to see the crowd show up early and Observe had everyone rocking along from the very beginning! The merch table was slammed after their set and it was awesome to see how excited Derek was talking with so many people after the show. I really need to dig out some original Observe Hot Shots from at least 10 years ago! Hard to believe I’ve been dancing and singing along with these guys for over 10 years!! Everclear took the stage and the fans were loving every minute of the show. The amount of talent XL Live brings to the stage is truly amazing, and it’s a little bit of something for everyone. Make sure you check out their ad in this issue and make your plans for an amazing night out on the town.
Friday was a little bit calmer with a trip out to the Fredericksburg Eagle Hoooootel for DMC Duo. I love catching up with these two. Marisa and Darrell are both not only amazing musicians, but also amazing friends! They’ve been working hard on finishing up their first EP! A few of their songs are already streaming like crazy online, and getting heard around the world. DMC Duo are playing pretty much every weekend somewhere across the mighty state of PA. Get out there and give them a listen! I also must mention the delicious food at the Hooootel! Their food is so delicious and well worth the drive in itself! It will soon be deck season again and I can’t wait to get out there for live music and wings on the deck!
It’s hard to believe, but I had a “free” Saturday and I took full advantage! Matt Jameson was playing a show from 12-3pm at Battlefield Harley Davidson, so I started my adventure checking that out. They are really bringing in a wide range of talent to Battlefield Harley. If you’re cruising by on a Saturday, stop by and check it out. Since I was down “South” I figured I’d go check out our new advertiser, the Iron Lion, it is the same place where the Public House in Hanover used to be. The Iron Lion has an amazing stage for full bands and tons of tables, and the night I made it there Stonewood was in the house and the house was PACKED. Standing room only. And I had a bonus, Faith Noel kicked off the night. That was the most I was able to hear Faith perform. I can’t believe she’s only 18! Her voice is so melodic, but yet has that bluesy growl too! Her confidence on stage has just soared since I first saw her just a few years ago! Faith has had some amazing opportunities, recording in Nashville, opening for many amazing artists, and playing her heart out wherever she can! She amazes people just out sitting the grass, or the snow or wherever she might be, and singing a song and posting it online! I can’t believe the talent of our youth in this area! Truly awesome!
When Stonewood took the stage they immediately had the dance floor packed! Shannon has so much energy and I always love how she gets right down there dancing with everyone else. She has some amazing cardio training, I’d be huffing and puffing into the mic, but she does it all with ease! Her range of vocals while dancing is super impressive too! It was my first time seeing them play with Ryan Alan, he does a great job sharing the lead vocal duties adding even more dynamic to Stonewood’s show! The Iron Lion is an amazing supporter of live music and the community. Check out their website for their full schedule and get out there and support live music!
As if that wasn’t enough for one night, I got super lucky and made it to my exit in time to swing in and see the last half of Roger Bowyer’s show at the Copper Pub. Roger and I were playing the open mic circuit together at one point and instantly connected. He’s an awesome guy and plays a great mix of country and classic rock! I’m so glad he got the itch and started playing music again after a few years off. He’s playing all around the area, and having a blast doing it.
Whew!! Another busy month comes to a close, but not before the CPMAs!! I have to get this article done, so I can officially go have fun!!! All of my CPMA coverage will be in our next issue. I know it seems like it’s forever away, but that’s how a monthly magazine works! Thanks so much to all of our new and old advertisers!! I love when I’m told to keep it short because we have too many ads!! HA! I better stop typing and get out there and SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC!! See ya Out and About!
