August! How did we get here so fast! How is it already the last full month of Summer!?! It’s been a fantastic Summer, and I really hate to see it go! But alas more adventures, good shows, and good times are waiting right around the corner.
The good times started way back on June 30th for Cindy Roger’s 50th Birthday Bash. We celebrated her awesomeness as part of Megan and Dave’s open mic night at Copper Pub. The day before she already jumped out of a plane, and hours before she rode her first roller coasters at Hersheypark, but we still managed to have one heck of a party! The Copper Pub was packed all night long with so many friends and musicians. Luckily it was so hot outside, the party was moved inside so we didn’t have to be done by 9pm. Dancing and Singing and having a good time, I can’t think of a better way to close out Cindy’s birthday!
Wednesday I was still in recovery mode from a crazy Cindy birthday, but my friend Michelle called and wanted to go out and hear some music, so she picked me up and we headed down for the tail end of open mic at Blue Sky Tavern hosted by Matt Jameson. When we got there Zander Reed (@zreedmusic) was on stage rockin’! He’s only been playing out out at open mic the last few weeks, but it’s awesome to see all of the support he has from family and friends. I have to give a HUGE shoutout apology to Zander, last month I spelled his name, “Xander,” which was a mistake, and I greatly apologize! Next up we saw Bill Lang. His originals are always so much fun and watching him pick away at the guitar is always a cool thing to see and hear! Don’t forget Bill also has a very cool guitar shop, BL Custom Guitars in New Cumberland. Stop by, check it out, tell Bill I said Hi! Merve stepped up next to rock out and wake us all up! Then last but not least Ben Darrow stepped up to the stage. We are so lucky to have so much talent in our area. I know these open mics happen everywhere all of the time, get out there and support them. You never know what you will see, but it’s always an adventure!
My July 4th weekend started out with a special delivery from Cindy. She went down to the Fresh Market at Hershey and had lunch at the Market. While there at Shy Bear Brewing’s vendor area, she noticed they had “Dry Bear” their very own line of Non-Alcholholic beverages. She picked me up some, it was all sooo delicious! The White Birch Beer was my favorite. It never ceases to amaze me how many awesome non-alcoholic choices are out there. Thanks Shy Bear for creating this whole line of fun beverage choices!
America’s Pre-Birthday Celebration night was a successful one! We first stopped at Fratelli’s for Matt Jameson Live and we saw tons of friends. It was awesome to see the tables full and the fun flowing through Fratelli’s. After Matt’s show we zoomed off to the Horn Pub for 1st Friday with Hank the Buffalo. The dance floor was in full-swing there and good times were had by all! Hank had quite a few guest musicians and everyone was rockin’ and rollin’ all night long!
The following Wednesday meant another trip down to Blue Sky Tavern for open mic, hosted by Matt Jameson. Zander, once again, won the award for having the largest fan base there! It’s awesome to see how much support this young guy has behind him! Uncle Frank and Bob jamming together is always magical! Then of course Zander himself got up there to sing for us. He has to have surgery and will be missing for a few weeks, but will hopefully be back up there behind the mic again soon. Next up was a new face to Blue Sky, Maddie, jammed for a bit, then JY, another new face from Lititz, then Johnathan just jammed out some tunes while The Jacks got set up to rock the stage! Then Merve jammed some tunes with our new friend Kevin Kinard. A pretty cool side story is that Kevin showed up last week just to check out the open mic, and when he saw Merve jammin’ he knew he wanted to jam with him too. They exchanged numbers and song ideas, and then showed up and jammed together! How super cool is that! Last but not least, Shannon Bobb, layed down some beautiful tunes for us all! Shannon will also be the guest host next week for open mic. Don’t miss it!! Ya never know who’s gonna show up!
On a more serious note, our dear friend Carrie Cleary had a terrible house fire. She luckily is alive, and she’s rebuilding, the town of Duncannon and beyond, came together and had a benefit for Carrie at the Doyle Hotel. Many musicians donated their time and talents: Hank the Buffalo, Dr. Nyce, Dave Gates, Colin Alvarez, Derek Avalon, Turk Nick, Drew Hall, Logan Bedard, and I’m sure I’m missing a couple! Carrie Cleary we love you! Your speech was so beautiful and so true.. Give Love and you will receive love!! You will rebuild and we will be here right by your side!
Friday night I decided last minute to go with my besties to the Swiftie Showcase at the Allenberry Playhouse hosted by the Central Pennsylvania Music Hall of Fame. It was actually much more fun than I thought it would be! I was amazed at all of the talented musicians. I thought it was just going to be a bunch of young Swifties, but turns out it was all ages of musicians, even some guys joined in the fun! Addi Grace it was beautiful to see your face back on stage! MEOW!! She even took home 1st place! 2nd place went to Izzy Butters, a new voice for me, but she was amazing! 3rd place was Vinny Casey who played a Swifty song instrumental version on a saxophone. The night was all over the place, and a pleasant surprise. Thanks Cindy for convincing me to go!
The night wasn’t over yet thought, Jen, Cindy, and I still had energy so we zoomed to Ted’s Bar & Grill for the end of Jason Carst’s show. Jason did a great job even through it was the end of the night and even played us some bonus songs!
A little shout out to some musicians in our area. Stephanie Grace who I met through BRP Entertainment is a full band based out of the Reading Area, she just released a song called “Called to Serve”. The song started as a letter she never sent to her husband while he was deployed, and now she’s sharing it with the world. The pain of missing him was real, but so was her admiration for him, and for anyone who is called to serve. One line that stuck out to me, “Ya gotta be crazy to have such bravery, and leave it all in God’s hands!” I’m so grateful for my Faith. There is no way I would make it through Zack being in the military without God’s grace and guidance. I’m so unbelievably proud of him, but man do I miss him, so this song really hits home. Check it out on all of your favorite streaming platforms.
My next big shout out is to Julia Denne! She was nominated 4 times for the Josie Music Awards! Best Pop Song of the Year “Player”, Best Pop Album of the Year, “Long Story Short”, Songwriters Personal Portfolio of the Year, and for Songwriter Achievement for her song “I Was in Love” which is still unreleased. I knew as soon as I heard her she’s going places! At only 19 years old, she’s only just begun! Sky is the limit my friend!!! I am so proud of you!!!
On a busy Saturday, Hank the Buffalo was playing right down the street at The DogHouse. Even though I was extremely exhausted I mustered up enough energy to get me there, and then my friends quickly pumped me full of energy and it turned out to be an absolutely hankalicious night! So much fun dancing, singing, and grooving to the music! If you haven’t seen these guys yet, check out their schedule in this issue and get out there to see what you’ve been missing.
On a smokey Thursday night we headed up to the Doyle Hotel in FUNcannon for Matt Jameson Live. He finally had to play some local shows, but don’t worry in August he will be back at the beach two different weekends! It was great to see him back on the stage at the Doyle Hotel. It took him a bit, but before the end of the night he got the dancers filling the dance floor and having a good time. After we got him all packed up we headed down to finish the night at Sturges to see Jessica Batz Music. She had quite a while off the stage after a traumatic brain injury at work. It’s awesome to see she’s feeling better and back to the music where she belongs. What a great show!
Friday the crazy smoke cancelled the Duncannon Movie Night, so instead I was able to make it to The Swisher Sweets big 10 Year Birthday Bash! As Rob Rutz always says, “Music is the Bond”… it was a gigantic family reunion! So awesome to see so many people out supporting The Swisher Sweets! Honeypump opened the show and were so amazing as usual. They brought up the super talented Amy Simpson to sing a couple songs, and then The Swisher Sweets brought up Amy again, plus Glenn Hamilton, Shelby, (finally back on stage where she belongs!), Greg Folsom, and more! At the end of the night everyone got on stage together and rocked out some Journey! So much fun!! I wish I would’ve gotten more pictures, but I was too busy dancing the night away!
I finally got back up to Shermans Creek Inn for their Tuesday open mic. Don’t forget every Tuesday is open mic night at Shermans Creek Inn. All ages and all talents are welcome! The night we made it there was only one super talented musician on stage, Caden Cookus. At only 19 years old he’s an amazing songwriter, and he’s already been signed to a label since he was 14. He’s from right here in Mechanicsburg, but he’s been traveling all over sharing his music. His music is a fine mix of country with a little bit of modern folk. His originals are amazing! Seriously do yourself a favor and check this kid out!
I finished my month with a trip back to Creekside at Liberty Forge for Megan and Dave. Such a cool venue and another beautiful night to enjoy the beautiful sounds of Megan and Dave. The patio was packed and people were enjoying the show. Since it was an early show, I then headed over to The Blue Sky open mic. It was such a gorgeous night, Matt was hosting open mic outside! It was cool to see so many new faces once again at open mic. Also Caden Cookus took my advice and showed up too. The best part about open mics is having the opportunity to network with other musicians and share your talents!
August is filled with tons of music and family fun! Turn the pages and check it all out, and make plans for a music filled month! If you see me Out and About please say Hi!! Don’t forget you can also check out our full issue online at pamusician.net. Just do yourself a favor and get out there and Support Local Music!, it’s good for your soul!
