April definitely showered a lot of craziness on my family, but alas Spring has sprung, and I’m so ready for some sunshine, mentally and physically. I’m super grateful for all of the music I was still able to see and hear. Music is my lifeline, and it definitely gives me the mental relief to my crazy days!
My first stop this month was down to the Blue Sky Tavern for open mic night hosted by Matt Jameson Live! It happened to be Chris Auxt’s birthday, Jen secretly invited all of Chris’s musical friends and they showed up to jam! It was awesome to see so many friends jamming and having a good time! We also had the opportunity to hear two new young guys, Owen, at only 11 years old, he could already play guitar better than a lot of adults! And then Josiah played some instrumental piano pieces that was also very refreshing. Marshall Stone came up from the York area to sing us a couple of his songs. If you’ve never heard Marshall, he’s definitely a very unique performer(s). Jon from Hat Trick was in the house again and jumping up to jam on harmonica and keys every chance he got. Brock played some originals, and his wife even came up to sing along. We saw the Funcannon crew way out of their element in Lewisberry! Mike even got on the Djembe and played along with Derek Avalon. We saw Hank and Slade, Crasher, and Rob Davis even jammed standing up! Matt even proved that music isn’t his only talent, he also made chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing for the special event!
My next night out I headed over to Copper Pub to hear Roger Bowyer playing with his good friend, Rich Moore, from Virginia. It was awesome hearing Roger jam with his friend. Rich was filled with jokes and entertainment. These guys just gelled together like Peas and Carrots. It was a cool thing to see and hear.
The night continued over to Fratelli’s to see Matt Jameson Live! back where it all began almost exactly 3 years ago! Hard to believe he’s only been performing for 3 years! Time flies when you’re having fun, and it’s been an absolute blast watching him grown and develop in the musician he is today! It’s also been so much fun watching his fan base grow, and seeing people enjoying his music at every show! This month he’s going to be celebrating his 500th Show! That’s pure craziness to me, but I couldn’t be more proud!
After Fratelli’s Matt and I zoomed down to Horn Pub for the next Chris Auxt birthday celebration. The Horn Pub was packed, and there were wall to wall musicians. Every song someone new was stepping up on stage to play along. It’s crazy cool to have so much talent in one place, and to see everyone supporting each other and just sharing their talents and good times. Chris definitely had a good time, whether he remembers it or not!
Saturday started out as an emotional one, we moved Mom from the Farm House into the Brookline Manor retirement village with my Aunt Penny. They have an awesome little two bedroom cottage, and Mom is thrilled with her new home! She’s been decorating like crazy and having lots of fun in her new place. After we got her all moved in Holly and Jen came to pick me up, and we all headed to the Carl’s Cabin Party.
The Carl’s are good friends we met at Falls Crab Shack at one of Matt’s shows. Jeff and Kierstin have become great friends, and have had Matt come play on the island, and now at the family cabin in the middle of the woods! Hank the Buffalo was also at the party and all of the guys just jammed all day long. It’s always awesome to see musicians play private parties. They are able to get even more creative and have a blast doing what they love! Unfortunately, we had a nasty rainstorm come through the night before so it was more a mudfest than a music fest, but a little dirt never hurt anyone! There was music, food, and so much fun! Another storm was coming on the radar, so we quickly packed up the outdoor fun and moved inside for more of an acoustic sing-a-long. It was an awesome way to end this super crazy day. I’m so blessed to have such amazing friends. What a great ending to a day I was dreading!
The next day I headed to the Vineyard and Brewery of Hershey for Ragged Grace. I’ve only seen Rachael and Slade perform together, but at this show I had the privilege to see all 3, their guitar player Jeremy also joined them for this show. With Jeremy playing guitar, it freed up Rachael to play even more on the piano. They played a bunch of covers, but also threw in a couple of amazing originals. Ragged Grace has been building momentum throughout the midstate and beyond. Check out their ad in this issue and get out there and check these guys out, trust me, you’ll be glad you did.
After Ragged Grace I zoomed over to Flinchy’s for Derek Henry Acoustic and John Staz. It had been quite a while since I saw Derek. I saw him truly smiling and enjoying my annoying antics! He must’ve missed me too. It was also Michele Rider’s birthday. The whole bar was celebrating her special day with cupcakes! They were so delicious. Great music and cupcakes twice in one month! Talk about being in the right place at the right time! The merch girls now created “Derek Henry Acoustic” shirts! I can’t wait to get mine!! One of the best ways to support your favorite local musicians is to buy their music and their merch! Every penny and every stream counts towards success!
Wednesday night I found myself back at Open Mic at Blue Sky Tavern. It wasn’t quite as crazy as the last time, but there is always so much talent to see and hear. One of the regulars Ben Darrow had a special surprise, Curtis Smith showed up to play a few songs, and also jam with Ben, just like they did back in the day in the band Masque. It was cool seeing band mates jamming together once again. I also met Brandon, another musician who played years ago, but after raising his kids, he’s ready to get back on the circuit and start jamming again! Hopefully he has a classified in this issue! Open mics are a great way to meet fellow musicians. I will never stop writing about how awesome it is to see all of these musicians supporting each other. Also, the music lovers that show up to this open mic speaks to the amazing musicians too. It’s a special treat for everyone, just like the PA Musician Magazine’s tag line… this is the place for not only the people who make music, but also the people who love music!
On a Friday Cindy and I bopped up to The Doyle for Dr. Nyce. We totally forgot to make a reservation, but luckily a very nice couple let us sit with them, and we were able to sit back and enjoy the music. You can read all about Dr. Nyce in this month’s cover story. He just released his first full length album on April 25th. The songs on his album are all so unique and really show you how truly talented this guy is! Most times when you listen to a CD you get bored because every song sounds the same.. not on this album! He takes you to church, the jazz club, a little bit of Americana, mixed in with some good old Rock and Roll! And I dare you not to cry during “Lullabye”… Dr. Nyce is not only an amazing musician but an amazing friend too. Congrats Zach on this awesome release! Read his cover story, stream his music, go see a show! Trust me this is another one you won’t regret checking out!
This was a busy Friday night so we didn’t let the dust settle under our feet, next we zoomed to Copper Pub for Jason Carst. We got word that Megan was out enjoying some music so we decided to join her! We quickly joined the Copper Pub party and got people up on their feet dancing and singing along! We finished off Jason’s early show, but there was still time left in the night.
The final stop of the night was down to Horn Pub for Matt Jameson Live! Matt had Horn Pub packed and quite a few guests singers in the house, including but not limited to the one and only Jeff Carl! I’m so glad the patrons at Horn Pub love music so much. It always a hootenanny of a good time at the Horn Pub!
Saturday was Crash Acoustic’s first solo show, and he was playing at Flinchy’s, so of course the gang all got together to get out there and support him. It’s hard on a Saturday night because so many people are out performing at their own show, but as the night went on, the musicians kept trickling in. Crasher saved the best for last and shocked us all with is first original, “Liquor Cabinet”. Wow!! What a great song! I’m pretty sure Stephen got some of it on video! It’s hard to believe Crasher only picked up and started playing the guitar a few months ago!
After a long day at work, I swung in to The Dog House for a bit of Erica’s open mic. When I walked in Roger Bowyer was on stage, followed by his friend Morgan (Mo). Mo recently moved back to the area, and is looking forward to getting back on stage and sharing his music! After their performances I scooped up Cindy and we zoomed down to Sturges for Derek Avalon’s solo show. Derek once again had Sturges packed! Derek is so determined to not use a tablet when he performs. He sings so many songs with tons of lyrics. I do realize how much some musicians can get too zoned into the tablet and not put on a show. Derek is doing a great job and can handle the pressure of a million video cameras in his face too! You can catch Derek aka “Frank the Bison” also playing on a couple songs with Hank the Buffalo, but it’s awesome to see him pull off his own whole show!
On a Friday I had to work late, but I was super grateful I made it in time for the last set of Megan and Dave. These guys play so many of the songs of my youth, and also my favorite songs of today! They really play a wide variety of music. I’m bummed I missed Megan’s guitar skillz! But I’m sure I will catch them next time. Megan is another one who has not been playing guitar for very long, but she is quickly adding songs to the list that she can play. It’s awesome seeing the confidence grow in both Megan and Dave. I love seeing them just relax and have a good time on stage! Tues, May 6th, they will be back at Copper Pub hosting the May edition of Copper Pub’s open mic, the fun starts at 6:30!
The next night we zoomed up to The Doyle to celebrate their 3rd Anniversary with Hank the Buffalo. I thought the place would be jam packed; The crowd wasn’t huge, but our celebration was! Congrats to The Doyle on celebrating 3 years! Thank you for continuing to support live music!
The following weeks fun started at Copper Pub with Roger Bowyer. Roger was flying solo tonight, and he put on one heck of a show. I’ve never heard another solo acoustic guy that can do “Purple Rain” like Roger! During his break his friend Mo came up and played a few songs. After Roger’s first set I zoomed over to Flinchy’s for some Dave Gates Music. People kept requesting country music, which Dave just loves.. but he got it done! Dave is over the moon excited to start his new project InnaVibe a Reggae/Rock band based out of Harrisburg.
The next night I was right back at Copper Pub, this time for Keith & Sonya. Keith & Sonya have been advertising for a while now, but unfortunately I don’t made it out to many shows, but I’m glad I made it to this one. Keith handles most of the singing and plays guitar, and Sonya backs him up on vocals and handles a few different instruments; the mandolin, harmonica, saxophone, tambourine! She adds to each song in her own special way! It’s awesome to see a husband and wife combo playing together, there aren’t many of them out there! Check out Keith & Sonya’s add in this issue to get all of their details and see where and when they will be playing next!
The last show of the month was a trip out to the Fredericksburg Eagle Hotel for you guessed it, Hank the Buffalo. Cindy and I both considered heading in a different direction, but for the weeks we had, we just really wanted to have fun, so we knew Hank was guaranteed fun! When we got there we quickly got the crowd up dancing and having a blast. I don’t even know how long the guys played, but they played at least for an extra hour! The people out in Fredericksburg loved them!
The month ended much calmer than it began, with a special Sunday Funday Paint Party with my friends. Jen Auxt owns Bristle & Board, she came to Cindy’s house, and five of us got together and painted a beautiful picture of a sunflower field and a starry night. It was my first paint party, and honestly I was surprised at how much fun I had. Jen is an amazing teacher, and she can make anyone feel like a professional artist! Hopefully we have more paint parties in our future!
What a month. I’m so glad I got out as much as I did. Another month of being amazed by all of the music. I’m so fortunate to live where I do, and being within minutes of so many super fun venues that host live music! Thanks so much to everyone for all of the amazing entertainment and seeing me through an emotional month. I truly don’t know where I’d be without God, Family, and Music!
Have an amazing month friends! If I see ya Out and About please stop me and say Hi! Get out there and support live music!! Check out our website…
www.pamusician.net
