Excitement and anticipation continue to build as live music heads back outside for another fun season! A few early season festivals have already taken place, and many more outdoor events involving live music are on the horizon and/or coming together. Make your plans to get out there and support them!
One of this region’s earliest outdoor festivals each year is the annual two-weekend Pennsylvania Maple Festival in Meyersdale (Somerset County). With favorable weather on the festival’s final day, I did the roadtrip to enjoy the festivities, including festival food, various maple cuisine, a classic car show and live music from Screamin’ Blonde at Meyersdale’s Festival Park. A husband-and-wife duo, Screamin’ Blonde – Travis Hutzell on acoustic guitar and Shannon Hutzell on vocals – mixed together a wide variety of country, rock and blues favorites that warmed up the audience. Pleasant and enthusiastic, Screamin’ Blonde sounded very good on all of it – including renditions of Lone Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel,” Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man,” Grand Funk Railroad’s “Some Kind Of Wonderful” and more. Screamin’ Blonde plays regularly at venues throughout Somerset and Bedford Counties – keep an eye out for them.
Celebrating a plant that tends to get more popular around April 20, the annual Cann-A-Toona festival, hosted by Tru Healing Concepts, took place last month at downtown Altoona’s Intowne Square. The festival featured a wide array of vendors with health and cosmetic products, clothing, various arts and crafts; also food and beverage vendors, and a day-long slate of live music. I arrived in time to catch the last couple of songs from area hard rockers the Bomb Cyclones, who did good work on the Metallica version of “Whiskey in the Jar” and Fuel’s “Jesus Or A Gun” to wrap up their set…Next were Altoona-based alternative rockers Toy, who seized the moment and delivered a shining set. Singer and guitarist Christian Douglas, lead guitarist Julian Saborio, bassist Adela and drummer Matt Savino boldly mixed their original song arsenal with select covers. Toy received good response on their original songs like “Pariah,” “Chemical Burns,” “Pens & Paper” and others; as well as versions of the Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” Green Day’s “Brain Stew,” plus songs from Pavement, Back Street Lovers, The Chats and others…In the meantime, area fire performance dancers Higher Frequency Illusions started performing their dance and fire maneuvers near the stage, adding to the excitement of the day. The music shifted gears into hip hop with Johnstown-based solo performer Sijel Bee. Sijel performed several numbers from his just-released full-length album “Jazz Cabbage” such as “Goldblum” and “Parade,” as well as “Broke Boy Blues,” His sound, vibe and bold personality drew increasing applause as his set proceeded…Next up was the PennSoulvanians’ fronting duo of Michael “Duville” Thomas and Chet Denny, who played a short set mixing original songs with select covers. They did numbers from Bob Marley and Gnarls Barkley, as well as their PennSoulvanians original song “Pilgrimage.” As Michael and Chet continued to perform, members of the day’s next group, Clearfield’s Innocent Sin, began to join them on the stage; setting up for a smooth transition as Michael and Chet introduced the group before exiting the stage. Singer Carli Jones, singer and guitarist Adam Caldwell, bassist Robert Misho and drummer Adam Moore introduced a number of new R&B and reggae-toned numbers from their forthcoming debut album expected out later this year. Innocent Sin also mixed in a strong version of the Allman Brothers’ “Whipping Post.” An arriving thunderstorm abruptly brought the music and festival to a close a few minutes shy of the scheduled closing time. Storm notwithstanding, the Cann-A-Toona festival was again a fun and successful event that brought many people out to enjoy the day.
During the early days of their nonstop “Decade of Decadence” tour, 1980s hair band rock practitioners Hair Force One made frequent visits to New Sebastiano’s in Altoona to get crowds to bang their heads and party down. In late March, Hair Force One’s “Decade of Decadence” returned to this venue, now named Funky Claud’s, for the first time in many years. The house was jam-packed when I first arrived, and the current edition of Hair Force One brought the rock – doing ‘80s-era rock and metal from Whitesnake, Def Leppard, Poison, Kix, Twisted Sister, Motley Crue, Kiss, AC/DC, Bon Jovi and much more. Singer Victor Synn’s voice still handles it all, and he and Hair Force One still bring the glam, excitement, enthusiasm and fun party spirit that kept this crowd on the dance floor to dance, groove and headbang for the duration of the night. When the group finished their last set with Motley Crue’s “Girls Girls Girls,” the crowd quickly demanded more, to which the group responded with Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” to end the night. Hair Force One is currently breaking in a new guitarist, Richard Rodd, and will continue to bring their unending tour to stages throughout Pennsylvania and Maryland during the summer months.
Pittsburgh’s self-proclaimed “Worst Band Ever” – the Legendary Hucklebucks – returned to McGarvey’s in late March to bring their barnstorming brand of high-powered, roots-driven rock and roll. Two bands opened the proceedings; I missed Abstentious’ opening set, but caught much of the performance from Altoona punk-slamming specialists X’s For Eyes. Since 2010, this group – singers and guitarists Tom Noel and Tim Mort, bassist Oob and drummer Justin Fair – have brought the firepower with torrid, fast-firing rhythms, gritty vocals and tenacity. X’s For Eyes introduced several new songs; including “814,” “Nightlife” and “Lights Out,” and kept the crowd in front of the stage moving through it all. At set’s end, X’s For Eyes answered crowd requests for their early anthem and ode to where they came from, “Orchard Street.” The Legendary Hucklebucks soon took the stage and picked up where the earlier two bands left off, often mixing punk rock velocity with rock, rockabilly, psychobilly, hints of country and more into a feverish blend. Tattooed singer and ringleader Ted Bundy mixed a high-flying, fire-and-brimstone vocal delivery with manic harmonica licks and nonstop energy to keep the crowd paying full attention; flanked by Uncle Piddles on upright bass, guitarists Johnny Devil and Dave Fresch, and drummer Brian Gault. The Hucklebucks introduced a new number from their forthcoming album, “Prime Time for a D.U.I.,” as well as established older favorites like “3 Sheets,” “Ballad of Johnny Devil,” “Don’t Feed the Rats” and more. They also threw in a version of The Cramps’ “Soul Crusher.” As always, the Legendary Hucklebucks had the McGarvey’s crowd hanging on for the joyride from start to finish.
Three powerful tribute groups provided an exciting band triple-bill at McGarvey’s last month. This show featured groups from the Scranton-based Eastern Tribute Collective, a collection of musicians who can bring any of 12 different tribute bands to life. As I entered the venue, the first of the tributes was on the stage. Red Cap Assassins, subtitled the Limp Tribute to the Bizkit, had audience members up on the floor as they celebrated Limp Bizkit favorites and captured a similar swagger and attitude to the real group. The group kept the crowd stirred up through the entire set, especially on the incendiary “Break Stuff” and the Bizkit cover of George Michael’s “Faith.” Next up was System Of A Down tribute T.O.A.D. (Tribute Of A Down), which likewise celebrated many songs from the System Of A Down catalog. Their performance was dead on, as they convincingly brought the agitation and energy on S.O.A.D. favorites like “Sugar,” “Toxicity,” “Aerials,” “Spiders,” “Chop Suey” and many more. These two tributes then led up to the night’s headliner, Slipknot tribute Wait and Bleed. All decked out in similar Slipknot-styled masks and costumes, this group too brought the aggression and fury as they focused on Slipknot’s earlier career output. They kept the large McGarvey’s crowd engaged and moving as they did familiar Slipknot favorites like “Duality,” the tribute group’s title song “Wait and Bleed,” “My Plague,” the incendiary anthem “Psychosocial,” “Heretic Anthem” and more. A few of these musicians played in two and even all three of these tributes. In all, this was an exciting show, and it will be interesting to see if Eastern Tribute Collective brings any more tribute band packages to McGarvey’s.
After wintry weather scuttled their last attempt to visit Altoona, Emily’s Toybox made their return to the Concordia Society last month. Emily’s Toybox upped the ante on the craziness this night, even bringing back their toilet paper launcher! Singer Mike Wise brought the irreverence and raunch factor this night, resulting in constant laughter from the crowd from start to end. Mike, guitarist Brandon Reece, bassist Rick Lienhard and drummer Muff kept the music and comedy constant as they fired up original song favorites like “Bionic” and “Back of the Bus,” and a wild mixture of cover numbers spanning the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated” to Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried,” plus songs from Def Leppard, John Mellencamp, Journey, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Van Halen, Buckcherry and many more. Some of the funnier musical moments of the night included Mike’s Eddie Vedder vocalizations on Pearl Jam’s “Alive,” his crazed falsetto on Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” the group’s death metal variation on Sir Mix A Lot’s “Baby Got Back” and more. Needless to say, an insane time! Emily’s Toybox will issue a new CD in October to mark their 30th anniversary as a band, and they return to the Concordia Society on September 27.
Pittsburgh roots rock and alt country performers The Shiners visited Johnstown’s Westwood Bar & Grill early last month. This group delivered stunning musicianship and skills as they mixed their original songs with blues and blues rock, southern rock, country, soul favorites and more. Guitarists and singers Rob Keller and Jim “Slim” Varhola, fiddler Ben Mainhart, bassist Larry Antinozzi and drummer Dave Marshall delivered numerous highlights to the Westwood audience this night; including the round-robin soloing between Rob, Jim and Ben on Marshall Tucker Band’s “This Ol’ Cowboy,” their renditions of Jerry Reed’s “Amos Moses” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Tuesday’s Gone,” and the group’s set-closing medley that started with Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” before delving into the “Hee Haw” TV show double-shot of “Gloom Despair and Agony on Me” and “Where Oh Where Are You Tonight,” then into “Orange Blossom Special,” back to “Folsom Prison Blues,” and then finishing off with the Commander Cody-popularized “Hot Rod Lincoln” – complete with Jim revving up the engine and generating the police sirens on his guitar strings! These highlights were not lost on the audience, as cheers and applause grew louder as the night progressed. The Shiners will be releasing a new album later this year.
State College’s Velveeta celebrates 30 years as a band this year, and they continue to bring musical fun and “80’s Cheese” to audiences far and wide. The group’s latest visit to Altoona’s 4D’s Lounge last month brought lots of 1980s song favorites plus a few surprises. Singer and guitarist Brian Kriley, singer and bassist Adam Becker, keyboardist and singer Brent Martin, and drummer and singer John Harper reliably delivered the 80s tunes, spanning Van Halen’s “Jump” to Men Without Hats’ “Safety Dance” to Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love,” plus tunes from Kenny Loggins, Ratt, Hall & Oates, the Cure, Violent Femmes, The Outfield and more. Some of the surprises included Velveeta unleashing their version of Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher” with John’s blistering drum work, the group’s accurate rendering of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley,” and their powerful and convincing takes on Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality” and Rush’s “Tom Sawyer.” There’s a reason why Velveeta has steadily expanded their fan base, popularity and geographic range of venues – they deliver a consistent, fun and enjoyable night of music every show!
Originally from the Altoona area, Chanz and Paula Hale moved to Nashville and spent 30 years there writing, performing music and entertaining audiences. After returning to the Altoona area a few years ago, the pair – now called The American Mood – has grown into a favorite on area stages. I experienced their fun show again in late March at Altoona’s 33 On Mac; as they performed a vast variety of classic and modern hits and favorites, along with a few of their own songs. Chanz plays guitar; both he and Paula sing. They delivered a bright and pleasant mood and smooth vocal harmonies as they performed numbers from Van Morrison, Tom Petty, the Pointer Sisters, Elvis Presley, Hootie & the Blowfish, Sister Hazel, Michael Jackson, Pink, Modern English and many more. They also did two of their own songs, “Headin’ Down South” and “Till You.” The American Mood welcomed requests, and also welcomed 33 On Mac owner Nicole up to the stage to help sing “I Think We’re Alone Now.” The audience’s cheers grew louder with each song, and The American Mood’s presentation turned into a lively, feel-good party. Watch for The American Mood around the area; they return to 33 on Mac on May 30.
Oak Spring Winery near Altoona experienced its own version of a “British Invasion” in late March during a “Friday Wine Down” event when they hosted English-born singer and guitarist Elton Ron. Presenting “Brit Night,” Ron played a variety of song favorites from both the U.K. and U.S.A., and also spotlighted some English hit songs not normally heard in the U.S. Playing acoustic guitar, Ron sang several numbers each from the Beatles and Elton John; doing renditions of Elton’s “Candle in the Wind,” “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and “Tiny Dancer” as well as the Fab Four’s “All You Need Is Love” and “Something” (as well as Paul McCartney & Wings’ “Band on the Run”). Ron also dug deeper to play songs from Lonnie Donegan (“The King of Skiffle”) and The Marmalade. And Ron performed the song “Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs,” a 1977 English folk song hit for acoustic duo Brian and Michael. Ron’s performance was pleasant, and he was eager to share English music stories with the audience. A unique experience, Elton Ron’s show can be seen regularly on Altoona area stages.
Cumberland, Maryland-based singer and songwriter Briana Merkel has been making her way onto Pennsylvania stages in recent months, and I caught part of her performance last month at the Olde Bedford Brewing Company in Bedford. A folk and bluegrass artist who is also a member of Cumberland-based bluegrass band JiggleBilly, Briana offered solid acoustic guitar skills and displayed a smooth and delicate-edged singing style as she played a mix of her own original songs and select covers. Some of her original songs included “Life Is Like A Song,” “Fever in Me” and “Trouble.” She also took her cover material and made it into her own distinctive flavor, doing renditions of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark,” the BeeGee’s “To Love Somebody,” and Pink Floyd’s “Time” into “Breathe.” Briana performs throughout western Maryland, West Virginia and southern PA.
With an open Thursday night last month, I scratched an itch and did my first-ever trip to Over The Mountain in Rockton (in the wooded wilderness along Route 322 several miles west of Clearfield) to sample some of their food (the hot ranch wings are great!) and partake in their weekly Thursday night Open Jam, hosted by Brandon Giuffre. This was an enjoyable time, as I got to sit in on djembe with a cast of local Clearfield area musicians. The setting was very informal, and perfection was not required; we just randomly picked out different songs to perform and let the muse carry us. I enjoyed playing alongside Brandon (who sang, played guitar and some drums through the evening), singer and guitarist Jim Barnough, bassist Don Short, guitarist and singer Butch Salada, drummer and guitarist Mark Kephart and others. Mark also played a short set of some of his original songs, as did singer and guitarist Alex Haines – who lit the room up when he suddenly slammed out a rowdy rendition of AC/DC’s “Let There Be Rock!” I enjoyed my first visit to Over The Mountain, and return visits are likely!
News and notes…Several annual festivals have announced their dates and slates: Gov’t Mule, Andy Frasco & the U.N. and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong have been announced as headliners at this year’s AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival, taking place on July 25 and 26 in and around Johnstown’s People’s Natural Gas Park…The Flood City Music Festival has also announced the first two performances in this year’s High Mark Blue Cross Blue Shield Free Summer Concert Series; also taking place at People’s Natural Gas Park. The first show will be on Friday, June 20, with headliners Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers with special guests The Desperadoes. The second concert will happen on Saturday, July 5, and will feature western Maryland bluegrass performers The Plate Scrapers with special guests the Hickory Bottom Band…The dates have been announced for this year’s Route 22 Rock & Blues Festival, returning to the Lincoln Caverns Campground near Huntingdon; this year’s festival will take place July 12-14, and the performer line-up for this year’s festival will be announced soon…The fifth annual Upstage Music Festival returns August 7-9 to the Clearfield County Fairgrounds…And the annual Mass N Tha Grass Music & Arts Festival takes place August 8-10 at the Sinking Valley Fairgrounds between Altoona and Tyrone…Somerset-based teenage singer and songwriter Allison Borek has released her debut vinyl record EP, called “Melancholy”…Entries are again being accepted for the 2025 Pennsylvania Heritage Songwriting Contest (PHSC). Since 2008, the nonprofit PHSC has recognized songwriters whose song creations celebrate Pennsylvania, its people, places, history and folklore. Song submissions must have a Pennsylvania namesake, theme or reference. Three winning entries will be selected, with the awards ceremony taking place at the annual Smoked Country Jam Bluegrass Festival, happening June 19-21 at the Quiet Oaks Campground near Cross Fork. Winners receive cash prizes of $300/1st place, $200/2nd place and $100/3rd place; along Smoked Country Jam festival passes and getting to perform their winning songs onstage. Entry deadline is May 15, and there is a $25 entry fee per song with a limit of two per songwriter. For entry form, contest rules and full details, visit www.smokedcountryjam.com, click on “Get Involved” and then “PHSC.”
Please send correspondence and recordings to: Jim Price, 1104 S. Catherine St., Altoona, PA 16602. You can also e-mail me at jptheprofessor@gmail.com. And if you’re into social networking, look me up on Facebook. SUPPORT LOCAL MUSIC!
