There is music throughout Tyrone as the summer concert series continues this Friday and premiers on Sunday.
The Fun Friday series continues with the music of Ireland. The Michael O’Brian Band consists of Michael Zerbee and Brian Anderson. They met in the mid-seventies and have performed together in rock bands since 1976. Then in 1998, they had the opportunity of hearing live Celtic music and were inspired by the amazing spirit of the music, and decided to perform Irish music themselves.
Searching for a moniker to convey they were an Irish act, they struck on the idea of using their first names and formed, “The Michael O’Brian Band”. The band offers an audience-participation show laced with humor and Irish pub songs, but also includes ballads and rebel tunes. The emphasis is always for the audience to enjoy their time with the band.
The music is simple with Michael’s guitar work as the foundation, and Brian adding the flute, penny whistle and Bodhran. The final touches are the rich vocal harmonies.
What really makes the act is the cohesive chemistry between the performers. An interesting chemistry, some twenty years in the making, that says to the audience, “These guys are having a good time. Let’s join the fun”. The band’s brand of entertainment appeals to all ages and has been seen at a variety of events including the Johnstown Folk Festival, Johnstown Heritage Festival, State College Arts Festival, Allegheny Portage National Historical Site, Holiday Valley Resort in New York and the Fire & Ice Festival in Somerset.
In the event of rain, the Fun Friday concerts will be held in the Tyrone Community Players Building on Tenth Street and Logan Avenue.
Reservoir Park will resound with the sounds of the South as the Summer Sunday series presents “Summit City Dixieland Band” at 6 p.m. on the amphitheater stage. \”The Summit City Saints Dixieland Band\” specializes in good old-fashioned, but familiar American Dixieland, Ragtime and Blues music evolving since the Roaring Twenties. Fred Lynn, a native trumpeter of Central Pennsylvania, originally formed the band in the Midwest in 1990. In 1996, Fred returned home and reformed the band with some of the Centre Region\’s finest musicians including Dr. Ned Deihl from State College on clarinet, Bill Fatula from Howard on trumpet, Jay Vonada from Aaronsburg on trombone, Dr. Phil Jensen from Boalsburg on tuba, Dr. Frederick Brown from State College on keyboard, Jim Kerhin from State College on the plectrum banjo, and Jim Franklin from Lock Haven on drums.
Contrary to some misconceptions that the \”Summit City Saints\” come from a mountain-top area, the band was named after the very flat-land city in which it originated (Fort Wayne, Indiana), known as the \”Summit City\” because of its relative higher elevation in that part of the Midwest. This eight-piece instrumental ensemble is brightly clad in patriotic red, white and blue Dixieland attire. Their traditional and upbeat style of music has been featured at county fairs, arts festivals, college football tailgates, park concerts, conventions, private parties, corporate outings, professional sporting events, riverboat cruises and award-winning parade floats. Audience participation and good fun is promoted with audience \”volunteers\” given the opportunity to perform along with the band on novelty percussion instruments during selected numbers. They also frequently give away American flags and other patriotic novelties to members of the audience.
The band recorded its first album \”Summit City Saints Dixieland Favorites\” in 1995 and has opened shows for the \”Smothers Brothers\” and other well-known entertainment and sports celebrities. \”The Summit City Saints\” are a real crowd pleaser, with style and selections enjoyed by all ages. Summer Sunday concerts begin at 6 p.m. in Reservoir Park and, in the event of rain, will be held in the Lutheran Church on Logan Avenue and Tenth Street.
All concerts are made possible by a grant from the PA Council on the Arts, a state agency, the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency and Tyrone Borough.
Concerts are free of charge and audience members should bring a chair or blanket for seating. For additional information contact the Artsline office at 684-ART2.
