Here are a bunch of photos and a summary of this year’s third annual Blair Creators Festival, which took place on April 27 at downtown Altoona’s Heritage Plaza. The event was presented by the Sheetz Fellows Program at Penn State Altoona, and by ArtsAltoona. Despite a rainy start, the Blair Creators Festival provided ample arts, crafts, creators, food, beverages, live music and fun.
Eight area bands provided the music. Greeted by a steady rain, The Zuds set the music into motion with their sharp-sounding set of 90s rock favorites. Singer Luke Patterson, guitarist Eric Prindible, bassist Brad Bender and drummer Jared Middleton mixed up numbers from Seven Mary Three, Stone Temple Pilots, Sublime, Eve 6, Greenday, Incubus, Pearl Jam and others. The Zuds sounded solid and sturdy through it all, and were well-received by the rain-braving onlookers.
In between main stage acts through part of the afternoon, programs of the ARC of Blair County provided some music as well. The ARC Drummers – playing a variety of hand percussion instruments such as djembes and ashikos – kept the rhythms on several west African drum songs, led by members of the Joy Drummers. The drummers played during the first two main stage intermissions, before the ARC Singers performed later on. The enthusiasm shown by the ARC performers added sunshine and happiness to counter the rainy conditions early on.
The rain began tapering off during the next performance by Clearfield-based power trio Hardtack. Featuring brothers Ethan and Eli Clark on guitar and drums respectively plus drummer Jake Stiles, Hardtack played a complete set of original hard-rocking numbers. All three members sang, and showed strong voices on such tunes as “Keep Me In Mind,” “Fortitude,” the ballad “Floating,” “Waiting on the Sun,” “I Know You Know,” “Different” and others. Hardtack gave a strong performance, and are a band to keep an eye open for on area stages.
Altoona-based foursome Toy then followed, performing an eclectic mixture of original alternative numbers plus select punk and alternative covers. Formed out of previous projects The Nerves and Wilted, Toy – singer and guitarist Christian Douglas, guitarist Julian Saborio, bassist Tyler and drummer Braedon McCabe – played their own creations such as the first single “Chemical Burns,” “Waterfront” and “Number Two,” and also did numbers from Nirvana and a version of The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog.” Toy is also a rising name on the area music scene to keep an eye open for.
Next were area hard rockers Hot Fudge Mondaes, who cut loose with several new original songs they have been working on, as well as their first single “Sorrow” and a version of the Foo Fighters’ “The Pretender.” Jake Mowery brought the vocal agitation, flanked by the hard-hitting tandem of guitarists Breydon Bremer and Micah Button, bassist Kevin Neely and drummer Justin Burket. As the weather improved, Hot Fudge Mondaes elevated the day’s energy level.
Bedford-based foursome the Bad Luck Lover Boys then brought the punk and pop sounds, mixing original songs with a few select covers. Singer and guitarist Chris Diehl, guitarist and singer Matt Godissart, bassist and singer Adam Lingenfelter and drummer Brad Hengst introduced a couple of new songs, and did earlier original favorites from their catalog like “She’s Why I Smile,” “Corey’s Hangover,” “London Fog,” “Movie Song” and more; they also did songs from Greenday, Killers and Weezer.
Making their Blair Creators Festival return, Altoona’s The Jaded Lips continued with their brand of rock’n’soul ‘lip service.’ This group recently added a fourth member with Greg Larrimore bringing more guitar edge into the mix, joining singer and guitarist Mike Wertz, bassist Hunter Karns and drummer David Applas. The Jaded Lips introduced a few new songs and did several from their “Lip Service” CD such as “Testify,” “Whiskey Breath” and “Shallow Woman”; they finished with their rendition of the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter.” The Lips triggered some dancing and more happy and grooving vibes.
With skies clearing and a good-sized crowd in front of the stage, The Pines then fired up their blend of original tunes, classic and vintage rock’n’roll. They did a few original rock-and-rollers such as “Want More,” “Shoot to Kill” and “That’s All Right,” and did favorites from the Romantics, Beatles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Wild Cherry, Elvis Presley, the Allman Brothers, and their two-song Van Halen finale, with singer Daman Mills leaping high during “Jump.” The Pines again brought high energy and enthusiasm that kept the ever-growing crowd festive and having fun.
Through the course of the day, the Sheetz Fellows students handed out free tickets to everybody in Heritage Plaza, and prior to the final group of the day, they then gave away prizes on the main stage. The prizes included a multitude of gift cards donated by area businesses, and a souvenir Blair Creators Festival T-shirt autographed by all eight bands performing this day.
As the afternoon transitioned into evening, Altoona’s Sweet Desire closed out the festival, merging early 1970s-styled blues-rocking original songs with numbers from the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, Guess Who and more. Singer Jordan McCaulley, guitarist Kenton Lewis, bassist Josh Simpson and drummer Trey Boore again brought the fury to their blues rock, with high-flying vocals, fiery guitar solos, and plentiful heart and passion. The Pines’ Alex Snyder joined in on keys during the latter stage of the set. Sweet Desire provided the exciting close to this day.
The Blair Creators Festival was again a successful event and fun day. The event brought many folks from the Altoona area community together – hats off to the Sheetz Fellows students for organizing and making this day another big success! Here’s looking forward to next year!
Here are a few other photos from the festival, showing vendors, food, people having fun and more.
