'Heart' sounds ... Saturday The aptly named "Music from the Heart" concert, happening Saturday at Faith United Church of Christ, 1204 Wabank Road, features a bunch of musicians donating their time and talents to help children and youth. The third annual event, which benefits Schreiber Ped......

Jon Anderson, a great believer in truth in advertising, wants everybody to understand that he won't be surrounded by four virtuosic musicians when he takes the stage Friday at the American Music Theatre. Anderson, whose soaring vocals helped drive the classic Yes albums "The Yes Album," "......

The last Steve Miller Band album to include an original song by Steve Miller was "Wide River," released in 1993. Not only that, but Miller took a 17-year break from recording of any kind after releasing "Wide River." When he did return in 2010 with "Bingo," Miller, like a lot of a......

Once again it's time to rock and roll with Rios and Roberts, the two guys who keep you up to date on the local music scene. It's August, but no one we know seems to be going on vacation. There's music everywhere we turn. And that suits us just fine. • Singer-songwriter and we......

Salsa & Art Unveiling ... Friday This Friday's Music Friday summer concert will be a feast for both your eyes and your ears. The Latin sounds of Cuban musician Melena will fill Lancaster Square beginning at 5:30 p.m. The percussionist plays congas, timbales, bata drums and shekere, me......

Danny Kortchmar might not be a name that trips off the tongue, but his fluid guitar playing helped shape the singer-songwriter sound that dominated the airwaves during the 1970s. Among many other albums, Kortchmar played on "Sweet Baby James" by James Taylor, "Tapestry" by Carol King, "Cr......

Once again it's time to rock and roll with Rios and Roberts, the guys who keep you up to date on the local music scene. There's so much good news out there for local musicians that we hardly know where to start. • Good news for August Burns Red. Its fourth album, "Lev......

The five members of the Press Club are saddled with the anxieties one would expect from band mates who last performed together in public eight years ago. Mark McCollom, the band's singer and guitarist, first worries about the performance. "Everyone's taking it really seriously," M......

They've had to replace some parts along the way, but the Drive-By Truckers keep hurtling down the rock 'n' roll highway. The hard-working rock band based in Athens, Ga., will release its 11th studio album on Tuesday, the day before it performs at the Pullo Center on the campus of Penn Sta......

In case you haven't got the $130 or more to see the real Rolling Stones on tour, you might want to check out the next best thing. Satisfaction, a top Rolling Stones tribute band, will hit the stage of American Music Theatre Friday, filling the hall with the loud, edgy guitars and the ofte......

The competitive juices, along with a lot of testosterone, will be flowing when Disturbed and Korn join forces Tuesday night at Hershey's Giant Center. The two hard-rock bands, along with Sevendust and In This Moment, are embarking on a 45-city trek across the United States for the Music a......

Once again it's time to rock and roll with Rios and Roberts, the two guys who keep you up to date on the local music scene. • A new year brings us a new venue. Stubby's Bar & Grille, 254 E. Frederick St., is now a music venue. Every Friday evening this month Stubby's will......

A muddy cassette tape Charlie Starr found lying on the ground helped the guitarist unlock his musical future. When Starr, who was about 11 at the time, went home and popped the cassette into his tape player, Aerosmith's "Rocks" came roaring out of the speakers. "It was a life-chan......

Once again it's time to rock and roll with Rios and Roberts, the guys who keep you up to date on the local music scene. • Angelo's struck gold! The Songwriters Association of Washington (SAW) recently announced the winners of its 27th annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest, and our......

Drummer Bill Kreutzmann played every single show performed by the Grateful Dead during its 30 years of existence. Though he has no regrets about the time spent building the Dead's towering legacy, Kreutzmann admits he sometimes wished he could have stepped away and tried his hands at othe......

Don't look for Ringo Starr to return to Lancaster in 2011 (the ex-Beatle only tours every other year), but the American Music Theatre still has a dynamite line-up of stars on tap. Topping the list of first-timers is the immortal Tony Bennett (June 24), still going strong at age 84. ...

4 Voices, 4 Centuries ... Saturday Anonymous 4, considered by many to be one of the greatest period vocal groups in the world, will be bringing "Noel: Four Centuries of Christmas" to Leffler Chapel & Performance Center at Elizabethtown College Saturday at 7:30 p.m. It's part of the Mu......

Once again it's time to rock and roll with Rios and Roberts, the two guys who keep you up to date on the local music scene. • This or The Apocalypse (www.myspace.com/thisortheapocalypse) is heading out on a tour to sup......

Rich Ruoff never would have booked solo pianist George Winston for a gig at the Chameleon Club. The atmosphere at the downtown Lancaster club, which Ruoff owned from its opening in 1985 until he sold it in 2002, would have been all wrong for an act like Winston. Not to mention the......

When Shannon McNally needed cash to finance her latest album, she turned to her fans. Utilizing an online pledge system called Kickstarter, which helps artists fund creative projects, McNally appealed for money to make an album called "Western Ballad." In return for their donation......

When it came time to record his latest album, "Dream Attic," British musician Richard Thompson decided to reverse the process. Most musicians record an album in a studio and hit the road to support it by showcasing the new songs during concerts. If things go well at the concert venues, they ......

When it comes to theater, it's the Joseph of the Old Testament who gets all the attention, what with that flashy coat of many colors and all his adventures. But what of the Joseph from the New Testament, the man who becomes the earthly father of Jesus, teaching him carpentry skills and th......

Harvest Days ... Saturday, Sunday The weather may not have cooperated too well during the county's fair season, but autumn's crisp temps and clear skies are a good possibility for this weekend's annual Harvest Days and Pumpkin Patch at Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum. On Saturday an......

Brandi Carlile defies easy categorization, and that's just the way she likes it. At various times during her career, Carlile has been described as a folk singer, a rocker, a country artist, a pop act and an indie star. Carlile, 29, admits to all of it. "We're always aiming......

Once again it's time to rock and roll with Rios and Roberts, the guys who keep you up to date on the local music scene. • Feeling festive? Then you've come to the right place. Have we got some festivals for you. ...

A lot of people move to Nashville, to try and make it as a musician. Kellen Wenrich moved to Nashville to get an education but soon found himself playing in a band. It's really not much of a stretch as Wenrich, who graduated two years ago from Lancaster Country Day School, enrolle......

If Ed Kowalczyk misses his former band mates, he's not letting on. Kowalczyk, Live's lead singer for about two decades, returns to the Chameleon Club Friday night, but this time as a solo artist. "I'm over it," Kowalczyk says of any difficulties he had adjusting to life on-stage w......

  South Africa is famous for fine wine, was infamous for apartheid and was the focus of the world this summer during the FIFA World Cup soccer competition. What South Africa isn't necessarily known for is rock 'n' roll. So moving to the United States was a natural progression fo......

Hang on, Lancaster. Alice Cooper's Theatre of Death Tour is coming to town. The original shock rocker and all his minions will be at the American Music Theatre for one show only on Saturday. The four-act show is "sort of an autobiography of Alice," says the 62-year-old singer, bor......

Chairwoman Linda Bell has a pretty basic philosophy about the Mount Gretna Outdoor Art Show that's served her pretty well."If it ain't broke, don't fix it," she says with a laugh.For the past 35 years, the show has been running quite well, thanks very much. And......

Chris Smither has landed in a nice place.At 65, Smither can finally relax and kick back a little.The road can still get lonely, but he knows he can always find a room filled with friendly faces. He knows he can sit down, pound out a rhythm with his strong right foot and draw appreci......

Rigs With Bling .... SaturdayWhat has 18 wheels and a big heart? Truckers Day at the Buck, of course. This 21st annual event at Buck Motorsports Park on Saturday features the Children's Miracle Network's "Truckers for Miracle Kids" Safe Truck Drivers Rodeo at 8 a.m. And a......

Garfield/Ligertwood might sound like a law firm. Actually, Garfield and Ligertwood are two very busy, in-demand musicians.On Sunday, the duo, jazz keyboardist David Garfield and blues vocalist Alex Ligertwood, and its group will be at Long's Park as part of the Summer Concert Series....

Go South ............... SundayGood old-fashioned Southern rock will fill the grounds of Long's Park when the Benjy Davis Project takes the amphitheater stage Sunday night at 7:30. The Project formed as a folk-rock duo almost 10 years ago in its hometown of Baton Rouge, La. Originally,......

Rides 'n' parades ... opens WednesdayIf you didn't get your fill of fireworks and fun on the Fourth of July, you're in luck. The annual Terre Hill Days carnival opens Wednesday and continues right through Sunday, July 18. And Saturday night ends with a bang, as fireworks wi......

Most people think of Mount Hope Estate and Winery hosting assorted knights, ladies, queens and villagers for the Old World Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.This weekend, the estate moves to the New World. The all-American Freedom Fest will bring the sounds of country music, rock 'n roll,......

The touring musicians who entertain from the stage of the American Music Theatre are living lives that are the stuff of Darcie Miner's dreams.Miner, a Harrisburg resident who last October released an excellent album called "Loneliness Anonymous," would like nothing more than ......

It's time to rock and roll with Rios and Roberts, the two guys who keep you up to date on the local music scene.•It's Music Friday and you know what that means. The streets of Lancaster will be filled with tunes.Especially the 100 block of North Queen Street, where Musi......

No question, Wendell Holmes' bout with bladder cancer had a profound impact on the recording of "Feed My Soul," the latest album by the Holmes Brothers.Wendell, a guitarist and pianist, and his brother, Sherman Holmes, a bassist, have been inseparable since their days growing......

Though guitarist Clint Lowery left his Sevendust band mates in mid-tour in 2004, singer Lajon Witherspoon says he never held it against him.After all, Lowery left to join his brother, Corey Lowery, in a band called Dark New Day.Sevendust, which will play Wednesday night at the Chame......

Once again it's time to rock and roll with Rios and Roberts, the two guys who keep you up to date on the local music scene.•Roll out the barrel -- of money.Music For Everyone (www.musicforeveryone.net) will be ho......

Matt Pond swore he'd never go back to South by Southwest, the huge music conference held every spring in Austin, Texas.His band, Matt Pond PA, had previously played there twice -- and both shows had been disasters."The worst shows I've ever played in my life, the two wo......

All Chris Freeman wanted when his family moved from the suburbs of Atlanta to Dayton, Ohio, was to get back to Georgia. He got his wish upon his graduation from high school. "My graduation present was a thousand dollars from my parents so I could move back and join a band," Fr......

Skillet gets yanked in so many different directions it's a wonder the rock band doesn't just fly apart.The secular side of the music industry tells the band it's too Christian and the Christian side says it's too secular.And sometimes things get so confused that nobo......

Josh Clark well remembers the first time he heard the term.The guitarist's San Francisco-based band, which would later become Tea Leaf Green, employed a female singer who happened to be from London.She departed in a huff, however, when her band mates informed her they couldn'......

Had he lived, the King of Rock and Roll would have celebrated his 75th birthday on Jan. 8. Elvis celebrations are taking place across the globe — and in Lancaster the American Music Theatre will honor the rock and roll legend as they do each year at this time, with a birthday bash. T......

Dance Variety...........FRIDAY-SUNDAYThree days, three directors, three shows -- one dance festival. The 16th annual Winter Dance Festival takes place tonight through Sunday at Seventh Sister's Stahr Performing Arts Center, 438 N. Queen St. The celebration, co-directed by Melissa Goodl......

The headliner at this year's Countdown Lancaster event Thursday hopes to set a few fires under the feet of its crowd. The Burning House Band — which acquired its name when the drummer's house burned down on the night of their first job in 1991 — plays No. 1 dance hits fro......

Patrick Kirchner has high expectations for the music he makes with Slimfit but low expectations for the Lancaster band's commercial prospects. Truth be told, the five members of Slimfit aren't expecting a major record label to come knocking at their door. And they're not planning......

Ursula Wolfer isn't really a rigid, hidebound traditionalist, but she plays one on the ice.Wolfer, an acclaimed professional and competitive skater and director of the Red Rose Figure Skating Club, says the theme of "Rockin' the Holidays," the club's Christmas product......

It would have been easy for Davy Knowles to accept the blues mantle thrown over his shoulders and learn to live under its weight. Knowles, a gifted guitarist who will perform Friday evening at the Chameleon Club, came roaring out of the gates in 2007 when his band, Back Door Slam, released i......

The Chameleon Club has always cast a wide net when it comes to snagging musical talent for the small stage tucked inside a nondescript building in downtown Lancaster. Over the years, the club has hosted hundreds of bands — veterans acts and up-and-comers, soft-spoken folkies and scream......

Anyone who listens to, loves and appreciates the art of rock 'n' roll owes a debt of gratitude to Les Paul. Upon his death Thursday at age 94, news outlets issued obituaries — one appeared on the front page of the New York Times — crediting him with changing the course of......

For the first time in years, Marcy Playground is booked solid. More than a decade removed from the band's initial success — a self-titled debut album yielding the contagious, slacker-pop anthem "Sex and Candy," which ......

Standing (and playing) in the Gap: Cancer Aid concert to benefit 4 families OK, it's time to Rock & Roll with Rios & Roberts, the two guys who do their best to keep you up to date on the local music scene. Good music for a good cause. The ninth annual Cancer Aid concert and be......

FRIDAY-SUNDAY: Just how into music are you? If today's pop music has you constantly switching radio stations, you might want head to Camden, N.J. this weekend for WXPN's annual XPoNential Music Festival. WXPN is a non-commercial station out of the University of Pa. that's dedicated to di...

Times are tough. But music soothes the soul. So Efrem Yates wants you to "forget your troubles and get happy" at the second annual Musser Park Music Fest from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 27. "Life's not that bad," said Yates, 49, of Lancaster. "Come o......

All Mark Mullins wants is a little respect for his instrument — the trombone. Tired of hearing lame jokes about the horn and its distinctive slide, Mullins and his band mate, Craig Klein, set out to raise the trombone's hipness quotient. Those who show up Sunday at Long's ......

It's Feb. 2, 1959, a chilly night in Clear Lake, Iowa. But inside the Surf Ballroom, the Big Bopper, Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens are heating up the place with their hits, "Chantilly Lace," "That'll Be the Day," and "La Bamba," among many others. The Winter Dance Party was about half-......

Coldplay signaled the seriousness of its intent when it enlisted Brian Eno to produce its fourth album. Rock bands don't hire Eno if all they're interested in doing is staying the course and not upsetting the commercial apple cart. Bands hire Eno if they want to take some chances and......

OK, here's what's happening on the local music scene. -Lancaster's newest musical act got a chance to perform on Lancaster's newest musical venue last Friday. Chrisie Santoni and Craig Smith — aka The Billies — moved to Lancaster last Friday from Point Pleasant, N.J., only to f......

The six-member "organic" rock band, Ripe, celebrates its growth at Bube's Brewery this weekend, when the mixed bag of musicians returns to host their second CD release party, less than a year and a half after releasing their first one. The CD, "Red Fox Reunion," was born......

Joe Cocker remembers getting stoned in Italy — literally. Cocker made the mistake of skipping one of his signature songs during a concert. "People get a bit upset when I don't do their favorites," Cocker says during an interview from his home in Colorado, where he......

BY JON FERGUSON Staff Writer Deryck Whibley believes injury sabotaged Sum 41's last album. The Canadian pop-punk band was adjusting to life as a threesome when it released "Underclass Hero" in 2007. Guitarist Dave Baksh had left the band the previous year and the rema......

For a couple of guys with first-level geek credentials, Jim Eno and Britt Daniel of Spoon make surprisingly cool music. Drummer Eno used to make his living as an electrical engineer. Singer-songwriter and guitarist Daniel worked as an a......

Even before the first LAUNCH Music Conference closes Sunday, organizers are planning for the event to become a permanent fixture in Lancaster."We're taking registrations for LAUNCH 2010 already," organizer Jeremy Weiss said. "We've also been working with Downtown Inv......

Hotel Brunswick will be the hub of central Pennsylvania's music scene beginning April 16 when LAUNCH Music Conference kicks off four days of instructional seminars and live entertainment at several downtown venues.Organizers Jeremy Weiss and Rick Gadd said LAUNCH (Logical Advice & ......

Looking back over his 30-year career, singer Eddie Money is realistic: The great adventure, he said, was a mixed bag. "The truth is, being a rock star almost killed me," Money said in a telephone interview from a pizza parlor in Plainedge, N.Y. "I mean, I got to play Madison Square Garden......

Ask singer and AC/DC megafan Tony Charles about his favorite album from the Australian heavy-metal pioneers and he'll sidestep the question: Choosing just one album, he says, is impossible. "People don't realize ... when you're......

To the radio-listening public, Steve Winwood is best remembered as that guy who had a string of sleek pop hits in the mid-1980s: "Back in the High Life Again," "Roll With It," "Valerie," "Higher Love."......

This year's Top 10 stretches across genres and generations: from rap to jazz, from old, established groups that sound new, to new groups that sound old. Here are my picks, with honorable mentions to follow.

10 "Accelerate&quo......

It happens every time the Sharks get together to rehearse for a reunion show. "We have the best time," says lead guitarist and vocalist Steve Wettig, known as Steve Zero during the heyday of the Sharks back in the 1980s. "We'll talk about how we should go back on tour and ......

On a rainy night in December of 2005, Lancaster roots-rock band Slimfit played its final show at the Chameleon. This week, they play there again. It seems this was one breakup that didn't stick. In a roundabout way of celebrating the third anniversary of their final show the group shares th......

Rob Eaton was a Deadhead in good standing. "I probably saw about 400 shows. I didn't necessarily want to go to them all, but I didn't want to miss the one where it all came together," says the rhythm guitarist. "Everyone was there for the same reason. The music wasn......

CONCERT REVIEW

It's a joke that's been around at least as long as classic rock groups from the '60s and '70s have been reuniting. When the singer says "here's a song from our new album," he or she might as well say "everybody go and get ......

Didactic Art
Works of the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design faculty, including this photograph by Scott McMahon, will be on display Monday, Nov. 24, through Jan. 9 during the Faculty Biennial exhibit. The show features artwork of more than two dozen instructors. For m......

THURSDAY: As bands go, rock/alternative country band Everclear is no exception. The longer its history, the more its configurations. Everclear's current lineup — founding member Art Alexakis (lead vocals, guitar), Davey French (guitar), Sam Hudson (bass), Josh Crawley (......

The North Museum is probably not a place you'd expect to hear U2, Pink Floyd, The Beatles or Shania Twain. But they will be blasting through the planetarium during Laserpalooza, running Friday through June 1. No, it's not a huge rock concert camping out at the museum. It's a se......

The first time Gregg Barley saw a live concert, the tickets were free, the band was The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and the venue was The Chameleon Club. The show was "a blast" and Barley, then 21, started visiting the Chameleon so often, "I don't think I cared who was playing, ......

If you plan to catch the High Court at the Chameleon next week, be prepared to hang out. This emerging band is all about getting its music out to new audiences one friend at a time. "After a show, we always encourage people to come to the merch table and hang out, whether they want to buy ......

Few bands have been better named than the Mavericks. The band stormed out of Florida in the early 1990s and found a home in Nashville, where it became one of the most successful acts of that time. The Mavericks, led by singer-songwriter-guitarist Raul Malo, whose tenor is one of the best v......