So, Harrisburg, are you up for something a little different?
Then you’re in luck, as June is shaping up to be a month in which the city will try to shed its image as being a bit uptight.
On June 14, look no further than ABC’s Abbey Bar to catch the March Fourth Marching Band for a healthy dose of different.
M4, as the band is popularly known, combines spectacle, performance and genre-busting music to give fans an earful and an eyeful. If M4 reminds you of Bourbon Street at Mardis Gras, there’s a good reason for that. The band was founded at a Fat Tuesday celebration nine years ago and has now evolved into one of the country’s top touring acts. It’s definitely a must-do for June.
Speaking of spectacle, Dolchnakov Brigade makes a colorful stop at HMAC’s Stage on Herr on June 22. Dolchnakov Brigade can be best described as one part electro-punk, mixed in with generous doses of free-form poetry and performance art.
The band claims that it was formed after member Yon Yonson was awakened one night by “sub conscious messages from a divine force called Palevish!”—which is pretty much all the background you need.
If you enjoy electronica, surrealism or just some cool sounds, head to this show. For one night, you’ll free yourself from the tight little box that is the 9 to 5 life.
But this month is not all spectacle and flash. Midtown Scholar Bookstore has earned a well-deserved reputation as a regional center for acoustic music, and this month will be no different. In addition to the weekly Folk Music Café, held each Friday, the Scholar will play host on June 8 to singer-songwriter Meg Hutchinson, who is known nationally for sensitive, socially conscious lyrics backed by a soft, precise vocal style. She will be joined by Lancaster native Dietrich Strause.
Speaking of folk, the Susquehanna Folk Music Society hosts its fundraiser, the Susquehanna Folk Cabaret, at the Abbey Bar on June 24, with music by Voxology, Hot Club du Jour and Acoustic Stew.
And, for jazz lovers, June is always the month for the Central Pennsylvania Friends of Jazz annual Jazz Festival. This year, the festival moves to Lancaster for a three-day stint, June 15 to 17.
If your taste leans more to the smooth, sexy side of jazz, wrap up the month with Brian Culbertson and David Sanborn at Whitaker Center on June 30.
