Happy New Year!! The first article of 2025. 2024 was a year full of many ups, downs, and all arounds, but I’m so glad I always had music to rely on. Thank you so much to an amazing year of way too many performances to count. Thanks to all of you performing your hearts out, I’ve made so many friends, and I’ve also had the opportunity to hear some really amazing music! Thanks also to all of the venues for hosting live music, and all of their staff for being patient with all of our shenanigans! I definitely finished off the year with a bang!
It all started many Fridays ago at Hook & Flask for Matt Jameson. This visit he also had TJ Frengel jamming with him on bass. Matt has had the amazing opportunity to jam with quite a few musicians this year. It’s awesome watching musicians collaborate together, sharing the stage, and just letting the music flow. It was also Mark Farrell’s birthday, so the crowd was out in force to party the night away! The next night also started with Matt Jameson at Stoney Creek. The tables were all reserved and no one was budging, because everyone stuck around to enjoy the show. It’s awesome to see reserved on so many tables when he first gets to his shows to set up, and then watching the room get filled with friends, family, and fans before the show starts! We’ve definitely learned our lesson, if you want to enjoy the show, no matter where it’s at, it’s best to snag reservations!
After Matt’s show, Cindy and I zoomed over to Flinchy’s for Dan Mowery’s solo performance. Dan regularly performs as part of the Exactly’s. I’ve heard their music online, but unfortunately still haven’t gotten a chance to see them live! One of these days! Dan put on a great show and had the whole bar singing along when we got there for the last set of the night!
On a Sunday afternoon I had a few minutes to bop over for the first set of Crash & Cross at SpringGate. Per request I was able to see Crasher pick up his guitar and play a few songs before I had to go. I’m happy that Crasher found a new duo partner, and can continue on his musical journey. Crash & Cross have really been getting some great shows under their belts, and loving every minute of every show! I love to see so many people out supporting these guys! SpringGate recently got some new owners, they will soon be switching the name to Royal Winery, but will hopefully continue to support live music!
On a Wednesday, delivery day, I came across Shine Delphi at Flinchy’s. Shine is such a unique musician in our area. His guitar skills and voice are so much fun to watch and hear! This night he also had some guys at the bar begging to let their friend sing a song, Shine obliged, and we were all blown away by the guest performer! They were also super nice to Shine and gave him a nice tip in exchange! They hung their 20s out on his mic stand like they were doing laundry! It was a win-win, good music and good money! It was also awesome to see how excited some musicians were for the new issue of the PA Musician Magazine, they actually pulled out their flashlights so they could read the mag in the bar! Thanks guys for the support!
Friday night kicked off with Matt Jameson at Wolf’s Brewing. Holly found Matt a perfect Merch Case, so now at most shows he will have shirts, necklaces, koozies, and any other fun merch he’s got going on at his shows. One of the best ways to support any musician is to buy their merch, their music, or whatever they have to offer!
After Matt’s show we zoomed down to the Horn Pub for Hank the Buffalo. I love that Horn Pub doesn’t only host live music, but they also fully support it. The owners were there once again rockin out and having a good time with Hank the Buffalo. Even the kitchen staff couldn’t resist and they were sneaking out of the kitchen to enjoy the show! I had so much fun at the Horn Pub, that I also went the next day to see these guys at Copper Pub! All of us ladies have too much fun dancing, singing, and just hanging with Hank!
Since the Copper Pub is an early show we had time to run out Hollywood Penn National in Grantville for their tribute band, Slippery When Wet. Do you know that Grantville has an amazing tribute band EVERY first Saturday! Sat. January 4th will be Nicks in Time, a local favorite!
On a Tuesday night we zoomed up to Shermans Creek Inn for their new acoustic night with Matt Jameson! It’s also family dinner night where kids under 12 eat free with a paying adult, so the place was packed! Music was a special touch and people seemed to really enjoy the show. It was packed all night long.
On a Thursday night, I stopped in at Wild Rabbit for some Joey Dalto. It has been a super long time since I got the chance to hear him perform. Joey puts on a great solo show. I love hearing his original music. It was a great place to stop for delicious pizza and marvelous music!
Friday night fun started early with Megan and Dave at Liquid Noise. Megan and Dave have really expanded their set and play over 7 decades of music. They have a little bit of something for everyone, with multiple genres! I love seeing Megan pick up her guitar and play along too! So super awesome!!
After part of their show we headed out to Hollywood Casino in Grantville to see Hank the Buffalo’s debut performance at the Penn Draft House. This small stage is in the food court area of the casino. It’s a nice spot for people to grab a bite and listen to some good music. Then we headed over to the H-Lounge stage for Turning the Tide. They are a super fun party, dance band that I’ve heard a lot about, and I’m glad I finally got a chance to check them out.
On a chilly Saturday Cindy and I headed into Linglestown for their Christkindlmarkt. The whole main road was shut down and the street was filled with vendors. One of those vendors was Jen Auxt with her Bristle & Board stuff. She’s so talented and came up with great gift ideas. She was BUSY. They also had live music, we were able to hear Amber Nadine and Steve Mazur’s Duo, The Strange Agents. It was so cold Steve’s mustache was freezing, but he still put on a great show and danced a jig while he played some crowd favorites!
Next we went to SpringGate for Rocky Allen. Rocky Allen is an awesome country musician. He has some really amazing originals, his most recent one is called “Land of the Free,” check it out on all streaming platforms. While we were there I even got the chance to hear him play some Lee Brice.
The 2nd half of the day started with Roger Bowyer at Copper Pub. Hearing him jam out to everything from Prince to Garth Brooks is nothing short of awesome! After his show we still had time to zoom over to The DogHouse for All About Chuck (Britton) and his partner for the night, Chris Zimmerman. There were multiple birthdays being celebrated so people were dancing and having a great time!
Sunday was the annual Joy to the Burg show. This year they had so many great songs, it was a 2 disc masterpiece! A bunch of local artists submit songs and the CD is created to be sold to raise money for Harrisburg’s homeless. Christian Churches United works together to create shelters for those in need during the Winter through their outreach program. We were able to see performances by Holly Serio, Gr8 EFX, Antonia Andrade, No Last Call, the Starving Musicians, and the Groove Rebels. All performances were awesome as usual, and it’s so awesome to see so many local musicians working together on this project.
On a Tuesday night we headed up to The Doyle for their Open Mic night, hosted by Nick Turk. It was awesome to not only see so many musicians show up, but also people like me, that were there just to enjoy the music. I heard awesome performances by Derek Avalon, Nick Turk, Wayne Lesher, Stephen Robert, Russell, and more! It’s so cool to hear so many people share their talents!
I had another rash of our local acoustic guys all over again.. But finally on a Saturday night, it was a FULL band night! I saw a plugged in Six Bar Break at The DogHouse! So glad I finally got to catch back up with these guys. They are constantly creating new original songs and content, all of which continually amaze me. It’s hard to believe they’ve been jamming for 10 years! It’s also crazy to think the first place I saw them was at Zipper’s, which was my good friend Scott Troup’s old bar, during Gettysburg Rocks. 10 years of content on all of their streaming platforms. Check them out, and support local music, I’m sure you will be glad that you did!
Up next, another full rockin’ band, Back in Black at XL Live. I absolutely love these guys and was so happy to be in town for this special Christmas show. This year marks 30 years since their first show in Harrisburg. John Harris called them to fill in at the Metron, and they jumped on the opportunity. XL was packed! I’m obviously not the only person that loves these guys. I squeezed myself to the front and of course found, Mike Benedict, jamming front and center. He let me squeeze in with him so I could get up close and personal with the band, and we had a rockin’ good time all night long!
The Thursday after Christmas was a night of magic! I had a full day at Point Pleasant, NJ looking for treasures, but made it back in time to go to Sturges Speakeasy for Derek Avalon. It was the perfect night for a show because no one else had one, and all of the local musicians were out in full force to support Derek at his show. Derek’s biggest problem was letting everyone get a chance on stage for a couple of songs. You can check out all of the details on my Facebook page, but it was one heck of a party! I’m so happy that this all lined up the way it did. We all had a fantastic time, there’s nothing quite as amazing as seeing the whole music community come together for just a night of fun, shenanigans, and a lot of great music!
Cindy and I recently found out that sometimes it’s fun to keep the party bus moving and grooving.. That also means we see a ton of music in one night! This night started at The Wharf for Crash & Cross. The Wharf closes in their deck for the winter, and they really have a great area for music all year long! Then we bopped to The Beerded Goat for Shine Thru the Shade. With so many families out and about during the holidays, Shine Thru the Shide were on their best behavior. I never knew they could be so calm, but they still had a great set. I’m sure things got a little rowdier after the families left. Then I HAD to go to Big Bottom Brewery to say “See Ya Later”, to my good friends Sammy, of the Vertigo Vultures and his wife Muff. Sammy is finally getting his turn to retire to Florida. I know the last 13 months have been tough on these two lovebirds, but they are finally back together and ready to enjoy retirement. With Dougie living close to Sammy, I’m sure there will be some jam sessions in the very near future! We all know I love Florida, so now I just have another place to visit! After hugs, it was time for us to move on to Sierra Madre for the final few songs of Jason Carst. I’m so glad they are having music regularly again at Sierra Madre! When we walked in there was a whole table of people who recognized Cindy and I as the crazy, dancing ladies! HA! We sure are!! And Proud of it! Our final stop was at Flinchy’s for Erick Moyer. He had the bar packed and the crowd singing along. It was an amazing night of music, so much fun, that we did it all again the next night!
Saturday night we started with a trip out to the Fredericksburg Eagle Hotel for Roger Bowyer again. Thanks to some obscure requests we heard Roger cover “Beth” by Kiss!! And he gave me a teaser of “All Along the Watchtower”.. Hopefully next time! HA! Then after a set we zoomed to Hollywood to catch the first set of Smooth Like Clyde. Hollywood’s dance floor and beyond were jam packed with people dancing! Then we bopped over to Penn Draft to hang with Shine Delphi for a little white before we once again ended the night with Crash and Cross at Flinchy’s. Crash had his Cheer Tyme “kids” there supporting him which is awesome. I’m sure it’s hard for him to believe some of his “kids” are old enough to drink! They were definitely all there supporting him, singing along, and requesting songs! The last two nights out were a blur this month, but it’s so hard to just pick one or two places when there are so many options to choose from!
Thank you all once again for your amazing support! Not only Out & About by reading my article month after month, but also supporting me through my husband’s recent cancer diagnosis. It was super scary, and I’m glad I could lean on my friends! Kris turns 50 on January 8th this month! I’m sure we will be celebrating one of these days! My big sister Andrea Greene also turns 50! Big birthdays for some of the people I love the MOST!
I hope you all have a super fabulous, new year!! I hope to see you Out & About, supporting or being live music!! Don’t forget turn the page and make your plans for your next night out on the town…see ya in 2025!
