Woohoo! We made it to March! The luckiest month of the year! Well, there’s at least leprechauns, rainbows, and lots of 4-leaf clovers, and hopefully some luck too! One thing there will always be is lots and lots of live music. My deadline is breathing down my neck, so here we go!
The month started off a long time ago with a fantastic night of original music at the Capital City Music Hall! Colin Alvarez Band opened up the night for the Dr. Nyce Band. All of these musicians gelled so well together!! Colin Alvarez on guitar, Jason Mescia on Sax, Drew Hall on Bass, and Logan Bedard on drums. Wowza!! Matt said it best.. “Good thing you’re a doctor, because this was SICK!” A lot of times I mainly see cover bands, with the occasional original song thrown in the mix, but when you hear original bands rockin’ out their own tunes, it’s so different. You see their smiles, their genuine reactions to their own songs being played, and it’s truly magical. Both bands were awesome and it was great to see so many musicians out supporting these bands. I love our music family here in the midstate, we are so blessed!
Sunday Funday I went to the Gather the Guitars Benefit to support the Gather the Spirit for Justice Foundation. The opening act unfortunately got sick at the last minute and Matt called Megan.. and she did her first SOLO show!!! A 45 minute set of singing and playing guitar!! She even broke out “Valerie”!!! PROUD is an understatement!!! She was so amazing and confident!! (If anyone wants to learn how to play guitar, Chris Auxt is one heck of a teacher!) Matt Jameson Live played next and the crowd of course loved him. It was Matt’s 3rd year in a row at this event. Vince Rollins is also a long time supporter and great musician! He had the crowd singing and clapping along too! What a great event and amazing people that run this foundation to support those in our own community who need a little extra help! Check it out and donate if you can!
On a Tuesday I zoomed around town delivering the magazines and then made it to the Copper Pub and Grille for the last half of Megan and Dave’s open mic. It was awesome to see some new talent, and to see so many of our friends out having a good time! Also, super cool to hear Megan jam out and play leads for the first time in public, on “Mary Jane’s Last Dance!” Alongside her teacher Chris Auxt. Chris was beaming with pride! It’s always cool to see so many young kids coming out and sharing their music with us. The Central Dauphin music program must be amazing to see so much local young talent in our area, or maybe just some really awesome parents!
Hoppin’ and Boppin!! Started off at Fratelli’s Towne Tavern for Matt Jameson Live. Holly Holly was there with her Unit, can’t believe I didn’t get a pic! Then the Jared Bolash birthday crew showed up!! Matt loved the surprise!! Then we zoomed down to HORN PUB for 1st Friday with Hank The Buffalo! Shenanigans galore and so much fun!!
Saturday and a nice, chill private party is just what I needed. One thing I miss the most is just sitting in the living room and hearing my Dad play music.. just a nice little private party at Dressler’s Deliciously Disgusting Cafe with Matt Jameson Live! It was such a great time chillin’ with a great group of MUSIC MADE ME DO IT people. Thanks to Chad and Krissy for providing such a perfect place to listen to music!
For Valentine’s Day, the Blue Sky Tavern Open Mic was an absolute love fest!! The theme of the night was love songs.. or for some that meant angst.. haha! So many participants pulled from everywhere! Part of the performers were pulled from the hostess stand, the barstools, etc.. Matt Jameson Live does such an amazing job making everyone feel loved, they all wanna be part of the show! Everyone’s got talent at TBST! Such a fun night!!
I headed down the street to The DogHouse open mic with guest host Jason Carst. It was awesome to see more young artists out showing us their talents once again in the Central Dauphin School District!! One of those young guys was 13 year old Brantley Pankhurst Music, he even had a broken wrist, but that didn’t stop him from cranking out an original song! He’s definitely going places! The DogHouse also had a bunch of people there just to enjoy the entertainment! Another amazing night of music in the Midstate!!
On a Friday I gotta late start, but still managed to have some fun!! Kirk Wise was rockin The DogHouse with his all request show! He even sang some theme song from Frozen! Read all about Kirk in next month’s cover story of the PA Musician Magazine! Then I zoomed over for Derek Avalon at the Copper Pub and Grille. It was cool to see some West Shorians found their way across the river to support live music! Finally it was off to finish the night at the HORN PUB for Matt Jameson Live.. the show never ends at 11pm there, so I knew I still had plenty of time to see some music. Plenty of guest musicians came up to sing a song or two and we rocked ourselves right into Valentine’s Day!!
Saturday Night and we were all feelin’ alright! I started my night at Champions in Highspire and finally saw Stonewood again! They are the rockinest country band! So glad my schedule finally lined up with theirs! You just never know what these guys will sing next! I finished off the night for the last few songs of Megan and Dave at Tequila Willies. I had to at least stop in and see my friends before calling it a night.
Out & About enjoying live music with Matt Jameson Live at Copper Pub and Grille and working at the same time trying to get some lost guests to their destination! Finally got them where they belonged and then headed to Derek Henry Acoustic at Flinchy’s to finish the night! So glad I could finally catch another one of Derek’s show, and a nice visit with Angie and Jane.
Another Sunday FUNday Indeed! So grateful the snow held off long enough so the Open Mic at Ridge Run Tavern hosted by Matt Jameson Live could still happen. The horses were running out of the stable and galloping around to the beat of the music! It was awesome hearing so many new to me performers. I loved seeing them all getting up a 2nd time and creating little mini impromptu jams! It was also super cool to see so many people out supporting music. It really was a great time! I will definitely be back!!
On a Tuesday night We finally made it back to FUNcannon for Turk Nick’s Open Mic Night at the Doyle Hotel. We had a blast singing and dancing with the people of FUNcannon once again! We even got up a time or two! Thanks to Merve music 717 for accompanying us!! The whole night turned into a wild birthday party for Stephanie. Turk used his laptop for karaoke shenanigans, and we all just started taking turns showing off our hidden talents! Ha! Cindy and I have had such crazy work schedules, it’s been so hard to connect and have time to be together. I’m so grateful we finally got it to all work out on a Tuesday!
Next week we are gearing up for the big Central PA Music Awards show. It’s always such a blast seeing everyone just hang out and being together. It’s cool to take the time to celebrate our Central PA Music Community. Not to mention it’s the one day a year we all get the opportunity to dress up and have a good time! I’m excited this year to not have any pressure, but just get to enjoy the moment with good friends!
March is also a ton of bar crawls, shenanigans, and crazy little leprechauns! Remember to party/drink responsibly! Trust me when I say, 30 uber rides is cheaper than one DUI. Party safe me lads and lassies!!
If you see me Out and About, give a shout! Get out there and support local music!!!