The Beach Arabs. Photo credit: Carly Sioux
On various evenings across Harrisburg, crowds gather outside coffee shops, bars and art galleries. The crowds are small—just like the venues—but eager.
Inside, as microphones are tested and levels adjusted, road weary bands chat casually. But who are these out-of-town musicians stopping for an evening at The MakeSpace or Little Amps as they travel the country? With tour dates in far larger locales like Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore or New York, why even bother stopping in Pennsylvania’s modest capital?
I reached out to two bands that recently stopped in Harrisburg while on tour to get a better sense of our city’s appeal.
Good Graeff, a pop-folk band hailing from Sarasota, Fla., is the perfect expression of twin sisters Brooke and Brittany’s incurable wanderlust. They decided to make the transition to full-time music-making after crossing paths in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2012. Since then, they have cut an EP, “Better Half,” purchased a converted sleeper van that they have lovingly christened “Roosevelt” and taken to the road full-time. They made their latest stop in Harrisburg last month at The MakeSpace.
Liz Hogg formed Beach Arabs, a surf-rock band from Brooklyn, N.Y., in 2010 with fellow students from LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts. The current line-up has solidified around bassist Nathanial Sabat and drummer Andrew Orenstein. They have recorded two LPs, “Under the Whale” and “Wild Movement,” while building a loyal fan base by playing shows within New York’s expansive network of intimate venues. As part of their first tour outside of the New York metro area, they played at the downtown Gingerbread Man in August.
Musical Networks
Harrisburg’s geographic placement midway between other venues makes the city a convenient booking. Do-it-yourself bands are touring without the support of labels and typically do not know exactly how much money they will receive for playing. Thus, the mileage between tour stops becomes a concern.
“We are just hoping to make enough gas money to get to the next place,” says Brittany Graeff.
Beach Arabs’ stop was similarly motivated.
“We already had shows in Philly and Allentown,” says Hogg. “In the process of booking those shows, we were given names of a handful of Harrisburg promoters, one being Peter Allan. I wrote him, and he asked us to play at the Gingerbread Man downtown.”
Hogg’s experience illustrates the interconnectedness of Harrisburg’s small music community. Allan serves as a manager at Little Amps and is often instrumental in bringing bands to the city. His own experience as a wanderer has connected him with musical networks in other cities, links vital for the small, DIY band.
Local musicians are also essential for supporting touring bands. Allan’s band, Baby Brains, opened for Beach Arabs; Catamt/Coyote supported Good Graeff during their August stop.
Local acts help draw crowds. Many of these out-of-town bands lack name recognition. Thus, crowds come to see a Harrisburg band they already enjoy while knowing that they’ll also get an opportunity to discover new music. It is no coincidence that Harrisburg’s newfound status as an excellent tour destination correlates with the emergence of excellent musicians that call the city home.
Up and Coming
For both bands, a stop in Harrisburg came with low expectations. However, “the lower the expectations, the better everything turns out,” says Brooke Graeff, with a laugh.
True, Harrisburg lies on the intersection of Pennsylvania’s main interstates, but, for the bands, Harrisburg proved to be a highlight, not just a pit stop.
“We’ve hit a lot of cities on the tour, and people in every city say that their city is up and coming,” says Graeff. “Harrisburg is the first place that actually felt like one.”
But what makes Harrisburg so inviting to artists? Good Graeff was blown away by the reception that they received.
“People came to the show and they had no idea who we were,” says Brittany Graeff. “There are so many artists here who understand what the artistic life is about, and they support bands who come through.”
Liz Hogg had a similar experience with Beach Arabs.
“Harrisburg has a great sense of community, in which everyone knows each other through real life, face-to-face contact,” she says.
Hogg adds that, the next day, prior to traveling on to the next date, she met plenty of people who had gone to the show.
“Everyone in Harrisburg seemed to love and patronize art of all sorts, from the ground up,” she says.
Coming Back
The more I listened to Liz, Brittany, and Brooke, the more I realized how lucky I am as a music-lover living in a small city. After playing in larger places, Brittany and Brooke noted that many cities take good music for granted.
“People would come just to see one band and leave. Even the bands would play their set and then leave. It was really disheartening to see such indifference,” says Brooke.
And perhaps that is what makes Harrisburg so inviting—we know that bands stopping here isn’t a given.
As Hogg put it, “Harrisburg offers bands a sense of comfort and security, as well as a general sense that they’re being appreciated.”
Brooke Graeff agrees. “We were taken aback by how excited people were to have a band coming through. It was so wonderful, we had to book Harrisburg again.”
Check out Beach Arabs at beacharabs.bandcamp.com and Good Graeff at goodgraeff.com
