February, the month for lovers, music lovers especially! It’s time to heat up those venues with warm bodies and support as much live music as possible. I had an amazing month filled with tons of music, travel, fun and shenanigans galore. There is never a dull moment in my life and for that I am grateful. Big news that happened in January was the nominees for the 5th Annual CPMAs were announced. Now in February, the official voting begins on February 4th. If you want to support the favorite musicians in your life, make sure you get ready to vote for your favorites!
This month’s article starts a long time ago on New Year’s Eve Day at Snapper’s with Matt Jameson Acoustic. Snapper’s decided to do an early New Year’s Eve Party and it was a huge success. Snapper’s was absolutely packed! The party started at Noon and had a line at the door waiting to get in. Matt played from 1-4pm, with a countdown til 3pm. It was a perfect time that allowed Snapper’s to still have their special New Year’s Eve dinner, and still allowed people plenty of time to get home or to New Year’s Eve parties with family and friends. Matt did an amazing job at playing requests and he even learned Auld Lang Syne for the toast at 3pm. Congrats to Matt Jameson for being nominated for the Male Cover Artist of 2023 in the CPMAs.
After a super relaxing trip to Florida with my hubby, it didn’t take long to get back Out and About supporting music. My first stop was on a Wednesday, Derek Henry was playing on the new trainwreck deck at Flinchy’s. I met up with Angie and had a great night getting the gang all back together again! Poor Derek has to put up with all of our shenanigans, but he is always a good sport and handles are craziness with ease! Derek is nominated for the Best Male Vocalist and the Best Rock Band (Observe the 93rd) at this year’s CPMAs.
On a Thursday night I headed down to the Carlisle Moose for Matt Jameson. My good friend Mark Snyder came down to join me, it’s always fun seeing someone experience Matt’s show for the first time. I take for granted the huge variety of songs Matt covers, but hearing someone be amazed every time he starts playing another genre, or generation of music, it really helps remind me how versatile he is and how awesome and rare that is, especially from a solo musician. Matt also had a very special guest join him on stage, Ted Frengel with the band, Mid-Life Crisis, brought his bass to join Matt on stage. It was pretty awesome to see how talented they both were, and how awesome they sounded playing together. Ted also sang with Matt and could harmonize flawlessly. It was a very awesome night of music, and I’m glad I didn’t miss it. Ted also had a huge crowd there celebrating his retirement, congrats Ted! He might’ve retired from a desk job, but hopefully it will allow him even more time to play music!
On a Friday night I was able to stay close to home, but hear lots of music. I started off early with a trip to Copper Pub to have some delicious dinner and listen to Dave Gates. Even though the night was young, Dave was already taking requests, getting the ladies on the dance floor, and things were already getting crazy! Dave recently started his own podcast, the Solo Musician Podcast. As of today he has 3 episodes, and all 3 are amazing! If you are a gigging musician, and you want some super helpful advice, check it out for yourself at davegates.org. Congrats also to Dave for being nominated for Best Male Cover Artist in the CPMAs.
Next up I headed down the street to the Linglestown Legion for Ten Ton Stone. It’s been a while since I saw them, and they’ve really been building a fan base, and bringing the party to venues all around central PA. Ten Ton Stone had the Legion packed and tables had to be moved to make more room for dancing! It’s always awesome when you see a crowd being so involved, singing and dancing along. Ten Ton Stone really brought the energy to the stage, and it showed! If you’d like to read more about Ten Ton Stone, check out their cover story in this month’s issue. Do yourself a favor and get these guys and gal booked at your venue or private party before it’s too late!
Well the night still wasn’t over, next I zoomed out to Grantville to see the new Vertigo Vultures line up at Hollywood. Their new lead singer OwenX had big shoes to fill, and I’m glad to say he filled them! I was a little scared when I heard that Kyle was leaving, but these guys definitely didn’t miss a beat. I’m so glad these guys can continue to bring one heck of a show while rockin’ out to all of your favorite classic rock hits!
Next up is a band I’ve been told to check out for quite a few years, but our schedules never aligned until now, that would be Strangest of Places. I caught them playing on a snowy Friday night at Grotto Pub. Grotto was absolutely packed! It was the first time I saw them carry the tables out, so there was more room for the people! I’ve seen most of these musicians playing in different bands, but never all together! I’ve never witnessed Fred Pellegrini playing the keys before, and that was quite a treat! Mike Banks singing lead, Pete Netznik on guitar, Dave Harris on bass, and Jim Aguzzi on drums! What a line-up. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to see these guys! I’m not a huge “jam band” fan, but I could listen to these guys for hours. What a night! Do yourself a favor and don’t take as long as I did to see these guys! Trust me you won’t be disappointed!
The next night was a trip down to York. I started my night working for BRP Entertainment at Hollywood York with Dance Fever. It was awesome to hear that they had the entire restaurant part of the venue sold out! Before the show even started we already knew it was going to be a great night! The crowd was up dancing from the 1st song of the night, and they never stopped! Dance Fever definitely knows how to party. They thought of every detail, down to their shoes, to make sure their fans would have a night to remember.
After Dance Fever I headed to Racehorse Tavern for The Jess Zimmerman Band. This was their debut performance at the Racehorse, and they had the place packed in tight! It was a beautiful sight to see so many people wearing Jess Zimmerman Band merch. I love seeing fans totally immersed in a band, loving every minute of every song. The Jess Zimmerman Band have been busy winning awards all of the place, one of those was the Josie Music Awards for Best CountryRock band of the year! They performed on the Grand Ole Opry stage as part of the Josie Music Awards show, they sure did represent PA, and they made us proud. They are also nominated in three categories for the CPMAs, Best Country Band, Best Female Vocalist, and the Album of the Year for “Be the Light”. If you want a special treat, give this band a listen on your favorite streaming platform, and get out to a show!
On a much calmer Thursday night, I headed out to Wild Rabbit Pies & Pints to listen to Phil Cannizzaro. The Wild Rabbit has been open quite a while now, but it was my first visit. It’s a pretty cool place! It has a nice long bar where you can order all of your EverGrain favorites, and lucky for me some tasty sodas too. They also have a small arcade in the back with Pinball, Skeeball, and more! There is a little bit for everyone. Phil had a great crowd and everyone was having a great time!
On my way home I decided to stop in and see Chuck Britton at Sturges. Chuck was jamming again with his friends; Steve Jewett on guitar, and John Staz on percussion. The Sturges crowd loves supporting live music. It’s always awesome to see people actually tuned in, listening intently to the music, and clapping when the songs are over. The Sturges Speakeasy is definitely a cool spot to catch your favorite band/musician on a Thursday night.
On a Friday night I headed out right after work down to the Lebanon County Builders Association’s Wine & Chill Night at the Home Builders Show for DMC Duo and Honkytonk Medics. They actually had it set up pretty cool, with two different stages across from each other so the night was constantly filled with music. Each band played for 30 mins and then immediately switched to the other one. They also had a bunch of tables in the middle where you could just chill and enjoy some food and beverages. It was a great mix of music and everyone seemed to enjoy the music as they were checking out the vendors. DMC Duo is also nominated for Best Duo in the CPMAs.
The night wasn’t over yet. My final stop was at Flinchy’s for Matt Jameson’s show to celebrate Ali’s birthday. I was so excited to see how packed it was and that Ali was being well loved from everyone at the bar. Ali has helped me a lot through my sobriety, and my girl always hooks me up with the best mocktails filled with cherries!! Ali also recently got her first nursing job! Way to go girl! So proud of you. I hope you had the happiest birthday ever!!
Last but not least I started off my day super early with an Ice Hike at Ricketts Glen State Park with Missy. We went with an amazing group I found called Women Empowered by Nature. It is a Facebook Group with a bunch of super cool women who do lots of cool stuff! The Ice Hike was as amazing as I thought it could be, even though a lot of the ice melted it was still beautiful. After the ice hike we went to Berwick Brewing Company, not only did they have a vast beer selection, but they also had a Soda Bar with lots of soda choices, including Moxie! I was super excited!! After some games of ginormous Jenga, we hit the road for home. On my way I was being harassed for not being at Matt’s show at the Horn Pub, so I pushed through and made it for the last hour of his show. Another packed and crazy show, and it was a bonus when they paid him to play an extra hour so I got to see even more! So many friends were there and I made my rounds saying Hi to everyone. Matt had guest performances throughout the night, I missed most, but I did get to see Shannon Bob sing us a couple songs! We are “never not having fun!” at a Matt Jameson show! I’m happy the new owners at the Horn Pub are having music once again! What a great ending to a fabulous day!
That’s a rap for this month! Always so much to see and do. February has another family beach trip planned, and a trip for BRP out to Indiana, but even though I won’t be around much, you can guarantee I will still see as much music as I possibly can. If you see me Out and About please say Hi! Any questions or comments, please email me at RachelRocks@pamusician.net. Make sure and check out our website, www.pamusician.net. And last but not least… SUPPORT LOCAL MUSIC!!!
