Hard to believe January is very quickly coming to an end and it’s already time to write my article. I’ve been busy as usual, but still managed to squeeze in some amazing music along the way!
This month kicks off with ringing in the New Year of 2026! The shenanigans started early with the “It’s 12 o’clock Somewhere” New Year’s Eve Day party at Snapper’s Bar and Grill, where they had a Countdown til 3pm. Matt Jameson Live and Crash Acoustic both played amazing music and kept us all entertained! They had Crash in the dining room and Matt in the bar area. You could just float between the music. So many people packed the place! The tickets for this event were sold out in the first 8 minutes! After the countdown I zoomed home, scooped up Cindy, and my hubby to go have dinner at Ted’s. Then, Cindy and I went to the Beerded Goat to party with The Swisher Sweets. Poor Phil was home sick, but we had a great night dancing with friends and rockin’ out with Joey and Swish! Finally, I ended the night home before midnight to ring in the New Year with family!
January 1st!! What better way than to spend the day with a FULL DAY of music at Shermans Creek Inn!! The fun started at 9am with Dale Stipe kickin’ things off. Then Mike Foltz Music played us some country music from 11-1, Ragged Grace, Rachael Thomas and Slade, rocked the room from 1-3, and a one song amazement of Marshall Stone, followed by Thom Lewis Music to finish it off. We all had a blast all day long!! A bunch of us got together to just hang out and be entertained by these amazing musicians. Shermans Creek Inn has every month jammed full of musical merriment! From solo shows to full bands, Karaoke, DJs, Naughty Bingo, Jello Wrestling, I could fill up this whole magazine with everything they have to offer. Just check out the magazine every month, and their schedule will keep you updated, and help you make your plans!
You would think that would be enough music for one day, but no, that wasn’t enough.. most of us went to The Sturges Speakeasy for Dr. Nyce to finish off the night!! Again, more shenanigans and so much fun!! It was awesome to see so many people Out and About supporting music on the first day of the year!!
For the 1st Friday Out & About! I kicked things off with a trip to Fratelli’s for Derek Henry. He had the guys from DEAD! there, so we got the special treat of some acoustic MCR.. gearing up for their show at Tellus360 on March 7th! It was very cool to hear them singing amazing harmonies stripped down like that!
After Fratelli’s, I finished the night with Matt Jameson Live at Flinchy’s! It was great to see so many friends out supporting live music! I love that Flinchy’s still has music til 11pm. When we all walk in there for the tail end of a night I always wonder, are the bartenders truly happy to see us, or do they wish they could close early and go home! I hope we all help the bartenders and staff have a great night, and they don’t internally dread every time they see us come through the door!
After delivering the mags, it was time to reward myself with a bit of music! Crash & Cross were playing to a packed Sierra Madre Saloon! It was standing room only, and it was a super long day already, so I didn’t last long. After a few songs I zoomed on down to Horn Pub for a little snippet of Dave Gates. It had been a little while since I caught one of Dave’s shows. Dave definitely has a good system and can easily flow from one requested song to the next. And even no matter the genre, he doesn’t complain outwardly, but I know sometimes he’s dying inside. HA! Ya gotta’ appreciate musicians that can handle playing the same requested songs time and time again. Good times and great tunes! I’m glad I made the effort to extend my night a little bit longer!
On a Tuesday night I was super late to the open mic party at Copper Pub hosted by Megan and Dave but did make it for the last few acts! It was a great first open mic of the year. Thankful to Cindy for showing up on time to capture all the fun!! It’s so awesome to have a friend that has my back no matter what! I did see some great talent though, Julia Denne, and Lily Mast, both amazing young women getting out there and sharing their talents with us, Cool Beans Duo, two guys that are that, “Cool Beans”.. their harmonies are amazing! You can tell they’ve been jamming together for a while. Jacob Vettori from Rule of III, Long Acre Hollow, a bluegrass/folk family band, their daughter jammin’ on the mandolin, singing her heart out.. super cool! Chris Auxt regaled us with his musical magic, and then finished up with the mighty hosts Megan and Dave! So glad they play at the beginning and the end because it’s always nearly impossible to catch the beginning of anything! What a great night!
The nominees for the big Central PA Music Awards came out. I am so proud of all of my friends that got nominated. The list is seriously too long with all of the amazing talent! You can check it all out for yourself at www.cpmhof.com. Also, there will be 5 new inductees into the Central Pennsylvania Music Hall of Fame: The Couriers, Bill Fisher, Martie Maguire, The Ocean Blue, and Eddie Rambeau. The Whitey Noll Lifetime Achievement Award will go to Jay Kirssin, an Educator of Note this year is Dan Brenner. We are looking forward to the big celebration, Wednesday, March 4th at the American Music Theatre. Now it’s just time to go dress shopping. Holly and I discovered Carriage House Boutique in Lemoyne last year. It’s a tiny shop, but it has sooo many dresses, in all shapes, styles and sizes! Feb. 4th they are having a big Sip & Shop event where everything in the store is buy get one 50% off! And they not only have dresses, but everything a woman possibly needs from shoes, to jewelry to fur coats! They got it all, at reasonable prices too!
The Blue Sky Tavern’s 1st Open Mic Wednesday of 2026 was a cornucopia of talent and good times! Ginormous thank you to Eric and his amazing crew at The Blue Sky Tavern for providing such an incredible and friendly atmosphere for locals to shine and, most importantly, for Making Wednesdays Great Again! That was Matt Jameson’s post, and it sounded good to me, and oh so true! I was able to hear ADG, Uncle Frank, Crash Acoustic, Tim even got up and played a couple songs! (he’s usually just a spectator), Brandon, Evan, Merve, Aaron (styling his new Christmas merch), Andre, Ben, and the big jam at the end! It was a night full of talent and fun!
On a Tuesday Cindy and I finally made it back to the Falls Crab Shack, and we were able to sing and dance the night away! I gotta admit the crowd seemed a bit low key til we got there! We spiced things up, and got the ladies up dancing. One we start hootin’ and hollerin’ it’s hard not to join in! Our lungs got a workout from all the smoke, but it is a good time for a Tuesday!
The fun was happening once again at The Sturges Speakeasy with Megan and Dave and a bunch of our musical friends!! I love it when we all get together to hang out and sing along. Megan and Dave graciously share the mic with our friends, and get everyone included in the party. The most hilarious part was when Megan and Dave started singing “Teenage Dirtbag” and all of a sudden Derek Avalon showed up and just grabbed the extra mic and started singing along. Talk about perfect timing! It’s awesome seeing Megan and Dave get so much love from our musical circle. What a great night!
I zoomed to the Fredericksburg Eagle Hotel for some DMC Duo and had a delicious dinner while listening to delightful music! I don’t know why my schedule rarely lines up with their shows, but it’s always great getting a chance to hear them live and in person, and not just streamed on the internet.. although I do love their original music! The Fredericksburg Eagle Hotel’s food is so delicious! If you’re looking for a new restaurant to go have a night out on the town, get out there and give the Hoooootel a try! Trust me, you’ll be glad you did. They got it all, from the best wings to scrumptious steaks, and everything in between! Plus of course the fresh cut fries on the side! Mmmm so good!!! And always quality music.
On a Wednesday, it was back to Matt’s Open Mic at Blue Sky. Another packed night of entertainment! Some new faces tonight, Tim Card, Zig and the Psycho-Cyber Cowboys, Butron, and a bunch of the regulars. I missed the beginning of the shenanigans, but the jam session at the end was cool. Matt even got listeners from the bar involved! Ya always gotta end with a party!!! Open Mic is EVERY Wednesday at Blue Sky! And now Matt also picked up every Thursday at Ridge Run Tavern too! So now he has both sides of the river covered. Matt is truly a great host and makes everyone sound amazing! Ridge Run is over 21 only, because they do allow smoking there, but Blue Sky is all ages and all talent levels. Seriously open mic is how Matt got started, and now he’s a full-time musician spreading his musical merriment all over the midstate and beyond!!
On Friday night my first stop was at Sierra Madre Saloon for some Hank The Buffalo. I know I’ve said it before, but I love watching them grow their herd. It’s awesome to see not only a nice crowd of people, but also how much the people are engaged and truly there to have a good time! Kudos to you guys for encouraging everyone to just, “Be the Buffalo!!”
This month was super busy on weekends and I really didn’t get out much on the actual weekends, but I did make it out to 3 Wednesday open mics! The last night of this month’s article was a special one! We were all celebrating Crash Acoustic’s crossover into the world of being a Recording Artist!!! Scott Crash Braasch’s first original song, “Liquor Cabinet” is officially released on all streaming platforms!! Stream It! So proud of this guy!!! It was cool that to celebrate he wanted to hang with his music peeps! We are family and it truly shows in so many ways!
The first month of the year has officially come to an end.. Hopefully this ridiculous cold ends too! One important thing to remember is dancing helps keep you warm! Ha! Come on out and dance, sing, and live life to the fullest!! If you see me Out & About say Hi and join the shenaniagans, the more the merrier! Check out our website, pamusician.net and SUPPORT LOCAL MUSIC
