September! My favorite month of the year! Haha! September is a month full of fun! It’s all kicking off with Open Mic hosted by Megan and Dave on Sept. 2nd, my Birthday! Then, I’ll be zooming off to Florida! It’s also Eric Hoffman’s birthday month too! I’m sure he’ll be out there on the scene celebrating, so if you see him, please tell him Happy Birthday! Hopefully you all can hold down the live music support for me while I’m gone! This past month was a busy one, but I did manage to see some live music.
The month started off with a trip to The DogHouse for open mic. This was a special night because Chris Auxt was filling in as the host. We had some great entertainment as always at open mics. I only caught the few final acts, but I did see Megan from Megan and Dave practicing her guitar skills, I am so proud of her! Then, Morgan Smith belted out a few songs. An awesome harmonica player and a visiting guitar player jammed together, and then I got up there to strum a couple chords on my trusty ukulele! Last but not least Chris Auxt got up there and finished off the night. Open mics are always so much fun. I love hanging with my peeps listening to good music!
After an evening of delivering the latest issue, I stopped by Copper Pub on my way home to hear some Ragged Grace. Rachael Thomas and Slade Heller are so much fun, and their performances are so tight. Rachael does a great job on lead vocals, keys, and guitar, and Slade, as always is amazing on percussion and vocals too! If you haven’t seen Ragged Grace yet, check out their schedule in this issue and get out there and see them for yourself! You won’t be disappointed.
After their show a bunch of us zoomed over to The DogHouse to check out Blues Power – Eric Clapton Revue featuring Mike Hess. This band was so tight and so awesome! We all had a blast singing and dancing along. Sharon was filling in for the band this night, but what a special treat! At one point shoes were even flying on the stage because Sharon was amazing us with her vocal talents, all while being backed by the amazing band! What a special treat to my ear holes! I’m so glad I made it out to see these guys and gal!
On a Sunday Funday Crash & Cross were jamming at Flinchy’s on the trainwreck deck! It was a super busy weekend, but I couldn’t resist and had to make my way over there. It had been quite some time since I saw these guys. As usual the deck was packed on this beautiful Sunday and fun was had by all. Crash & Cross have been staying very busy! Another awesome duo, that you can check out their schedule in this issue and get out there and support these guys too! Crash has also been pulling off solo acoustic shows when “Cross” isn’t available. Crasher has been really honing in his skills on the guitar, it’s awesome to see him be able to play a full show on his own.
On a Tuesday night I got a house call and had to work late, but on the way home I ran over to the Copper Pub for the end of Megan and Dave’s open mic. I got there in time to hear Jacob Vettori share some originals with us. I’ve seen Jacob play before with his band Rule of III, but it was awesome to see him playing on his own. Quincy Rogers was up next, he also shared his witty originals with us and had us all laughing. Then Merve rocked the mic covering some of his favorites. Next was another new player to the area, Zach on banjo! Better known on the interwebs as Project 13. Next up was Trent, he was visiting the area, and stopped in to share his talents. Chris Auxt loved hearing Zach on banjo, that for his set, he got Zach to come up and jam with him! Then finally, Luke Miller, I’ve heard of Luke, but it was my first time seeing him. He was originally from PA, but went and played down in Florida for a while, but now he’s back and looking for gigs! He’s a great performer, and when he’s not playing, he’s also a server at Copper Pub! Another amazing night of music! I’m telling you people, if you haven’t went out to check out an open mic yet, you really should!
On a Saturday afternoon after cleaning, I swung in to the 1st Duncannon Block Party to hear a little bit of the sweet sounds of Dr. Nyce. I was on my way up the hill to Abundant Harvest for our special Revival Services, so it was on the way! The town of Duncannon, aka FUNCANNON put on one heck of a Block Party! I saw the hot dog eating contest.. I was so proud of Izzy, he was jamming 2 hot dogs in his mouth at the same time!! Then I caught a snippet of Dr. Nyce playing outside the Doyle Hotel. I also saw my new nephew Fig, Copper’s brother! There were a lot of vendors, food trucks, live music and fun! It was cool to see so many people show up for this event! I’m sure there will be another one!
For those of you that don’t follow me on Social Media, we had a HUGE event to attend this past month, my son, Zack, graduated from Army Basic Training! We all traveled down to see his graduation, what an amazing ceremony! I’m so glad we were able to spend some special time with him, and we were able to transport him to AIT. This whole thing of being an Army Family and Mom is still a shock to my system, but we are all figuring it out day by day. After AIT he will be going 3 years Active Duty, so this whole thing has just begun, but we are so unbelievably proud! He’s doing amazing things and I can’t wait to see where his Army career takes him!
After our amazing time with Zack I got home in time for Matt Jameson Live at Flinchy’s for Sunday Funday! It was a long time since Matt played at Flinchy’s and the people of Flinchy’s showed up to prove to him how much he was missed! I love spending time with my family, but man I missed my friends! Cindy did an amazing job Fracheling all around the area. I’m so glad my love of music has rubbed off on her. She does such an amazing job supporting music with or without me!
Monday night I was out running errands and preparing for our new puppy, Copper, but I couldn’t resist, I just had to stop in to the Sierra Madre for Hank the Buffalo’s open mic. As soon as I got out of the car, I was excited to hear Slade jamming the guitar and singing us a few songs. Then we were treated with a special duo, Derek Avalon and Megan Yvonne, I missed the name of the next couple that came up, but they were great. You could tell they’ve been singing together for a while. Then I heard Matthias Cabbell rockin’ out once again. Then a call came in from Zack, so it was time to go! I can’t miss any opportunity I get to talk to my son! Because of Monday night football, the Sierra Madre open mic will be moving to Tuesdays, but it’s still happening, so get out there and support it!
Even though we got a brand new puppy! I still couldn’t resist going to see Matt Jameson Live playing right down the street at Greystone Public House in Linglestown. It was so close to home. I was there for maybe three songs until I got an emergency call for one of our properties. I love my new job, but wowzers! I am all over the place! Unfortunately, duty calls, and I had to run out and fix a broken bed! No, I don’t ask questions, I just fix the problem.. HA!
On a Friday night my church hosted an Outdoor Movie Night which was tons of fun!!! But we got cleaned up and out of there in time for me to zoom to Flinchy’s to catch the tail end of Megan and Dave. It was way too long since I saw these guys, and I’m so glad I made it. Megan and Dave play so many songs that I just love and love to sing a long too! It was a great stress reliever after a crazy week! Don’t forget you can always check out Megan and Dave’s ad in the PA Musician Magazine and see where they will be playing next.
On a gorgeous Saturday the Horn Pub was celebrating their 2nd Anniversary with their annual Hornchella Event. Tons of live music, food, and fun!! When I arrived Hank the Buffalo was rockin’ the outdoor stage. Luckily Michele was smart and brought pop up tents to protect us all from the blazing sun. Hank had to zoom off to another show, so next up Derek Avalon took the stage rockin’ all of of our favorites with his buttery voice, then lastly it was Cody Ross Smith. After dark while Cody was rockin’ the stage ,they built up the bonfire, and even had fire dancers performing while Cody was providing the music. What a super fun event!
On a Wednesday night I bopped over to Flinchy’s to see the magical musicness of Derek Henry! Derek is always a special treat. He plays all of our favorites, and of course deals with us singing along. It was recently announced that Dylan, the drummer from Observe the 93rd left the band. Derek has a fill-in drummer to get him through some upcoming shows, but if you are a drummer who would like to be part of a kick-ass original, alternative rock band, reach out to Derek.
On a Thursday night I ran up to the Doyle Hotel for some more Dr. Nyce! When I swung by at the block party, I just didn’t get enough! Ha! Congrats to Dr. Nyce for another “EP/album” release! It’s 7 tracks of instrumental piano music! It’s so exciting to hear Zach continuing to pump out original music. He must’ve been a tea kettle stuffed full of great music, because once he broke the seal, the original music just keeps on coming. We are so lucky!!
After Dr. Nyce, Matt and I zoomed down to Sturges Speakeasy for Derek Avalon. Derek had Sturges packed! The room was also filled with so many amazing musicians, most of which who had a couple minutes to play some songs. One of those musicians was Beka Jones! She plays a lot in the Lancaster area, but I’m glad she got up here to Harrisburg. She just played a song solo, but she just formed a new band called Winged Victory with Mary Emelio and Michelle Lynn. I can’t wait to check it out sometime. Derek does a great job at sharing the mic and giving everyone a chance! It’s pretty awesome how much he is always supporting other musicians.
My final night out for the month was a beautiful night with musicians playing everywhere! So, I decided to take the new puppy, Copper, Out & About with me to meet my friends. Our first stop was over to the Copper Pub for Roger Bowyer and Morgan Smith. They were playing a special “Dueling Guitars” show. Roger and Morgan have known each other for years, and you could tell by how well they played, that this wasn’t’ their first time jamming together. It was a cool thing to see and hear. Next Copper and I zoomed over to Beerded Goat to say Hi to Derek Henry again. I thought puppies could get in the fenced area there, but I guess not. We said Hi from a distance, and then it was time to take sweet Copper home again, so Mommy could really go out! I went back to Copper Pub for some more Morgan and Roger, and then zoomed down to the Horn Pub for Matt Jameson Live. Matt was rockin’ the kilt and had the place singing and dancing along! It’s always awesome to see how much the patrons of the Horn Pub love live music! They are always so engaged. It’s a lot of pressure for a solo musician, but he makes it seem effortlessly as he goes from song to song!
One last birthday wish goes out to my super special soldier! My baby boy Zack turns 23 on September 11th. I guess since he was born on Patriot’s Day, I should’ve known he was destined to be in the Service. My first birthday in 22 years without him home, and his first birthday out of the nest, and being the grown adult that he is! Say a prayer for me and him. Life is a pile full of adjustments, some are a little harder on my Mamma heart. Happy Birthday Zachary Lee!! Mamma LOVES you soooooo much!!! And we are so PROUD! #ArmySTRONG
Well that’s all for this month. September is filled with so many Fall Fests and fabulousness! I hope to see you Out & About supporting or playing some music!! If you do see me, please stop by and say Hi! Don’t forget to check out our website, www.pamusician.net. Happy Fall Ya’ll!
