By: Chris Rider
April has come and mostly gone…quickly, at least for me. I didn’t get out for as many shows as I’d have liked to due to some personal scheduling conflicts, but I did get out for a few and they were all great. As the weather warms up, I’m seeing more and more outdoor shows announced as well as bigger shows as venues that had to be closed until now are allowed to finally open back up, although with still diminished capacity. We’re slowly getting there.
My first trip out was up to Sunbury to see my buddy Dave Gates play at McGuigans Public House. Dave played a great mix of covers including Hotel California, Feel Like Making Love, I’m Yours, No Woman No Cry, as well as a handful of his originals. The food and beer was great, the crowd loved the music, what more can you ask for? Definitely add this place to your list if you’re in the area.
Next up was a stop in a Isle of Que Brewing in Selinsgrove to see Jason Yoder play with Caleb Minium under the duo named Axe & Fiddle. Playing with a sound that mixes folk, blues and classic rock, the guys covered a number of songs including John Prine’s Angel From Montgomery and REM’s Losing My Religion, as well as a couple of Jason’s originals. I had a great night hanging out with the guys from Que Brew, as well as some other local musicians that came out to support a great venue with some great live music. This place never fails to have a great crowd. Oh…and they have Animal 54. Trust me…try it…you don’t even have to thank me later, but you can if you want. By the way…a Battle of the Breweries was recently held online at TheBeerThrillers.com. After 4 rounds of competition (I mis-spoke in last month’s article saying there was 5 rounds by the way) against 47 other breweries (including some big names!), Isle of Que was voted #1! Don’t take my word for it, take the word of thousands of other people that voted and check this place out!
The next time I was able to get out, we headed back up to Sunbury to catch Diane Gidaro at Iron Vines Winery. She played a solo acoustic set to a full house. Covering songs from Jewel, Elle King, Alanis Morissette and John Mayer; Diane sings with a soft, sweet voice with a great flow to it. David, the owner of Iron Vines, is always bringing in great local musicians, and he’s recently added to his menu as well including a new cheese tray which goes great with his tasty variety of wines, as well as a Ribeye steak sandwich. You can’t go wrong here.
My last trip out for this article was to a “new to me” place that I’ve been meaning to get to for a while…and after this night, I regretted that I haven’t been there before now. I caught The Mighty River Band down in Enola at Grotto Pub. Leading up to this, the band had shared the pub’s specials for the night. I spent all day drooling over the Fish Tacos I was planning on having and praying I wouldn’t be disappointed. Long story made short, I was far from disappointed. Phil runs a very cool place with great food and an outstanding beer selection. Marcy and the boys rolled out for a killer set of Grateful Dead tunes, including a personal fav of mine “I Know You Rider” lol. This place was packed to capacity, unfortunately to the point that they had to actually turn folks away based on current limitations. For those that couldn’t make the show or were turned away, keep your eyes open…more are coming!
So there it is…a short month, at least music-wise for me, through my eyes and ears. I’m definitely planning on seeing and hearing a lot more this month and I hope you are too. Just a reminder: if you’ve got a show coming up that I should see, make sure to send me an invite, shoot me an email or a message, let me know about it. Venues: please don’t hesitate to reach out to me as well. The majority of the shows that I go and shoot I find out about through invites from all of you or your friends. Hit me up on facebook: @chrisriderphotography or email: chrisriderphotography@gmail.com, stop me if you see me out & around and say hi. Until next month…go find some live music and give them and the venue your support, they truly need it more now than they ever did.