Mr. Music, Lenny Tepsich (free)
Downsbrough Room, Schlow Centre Region Library, 211 South Allen Street
Guitar in one hand and his audience in the other, Lenny Tepsich greets children and they light up with anticipation. When he leaves, they never forget having met Mr. Music. He motivates kids with simple songs sung by children for generations as well as original tunes he writes just for them. In 1988, his daughter's...
State College Area High School Thespians
Community Room, State College Municipal Building, 243 South Allen Street
Join the State College Area High School Thespians for a royal New Year's Eve Ball featuring some princesses and princes and a few surprise guests. Each will have a musical story to share and will interact with all of the guests at the ball. The program is especially suitable for children. A First Night Button is required...
State College, PA 16801 United States
Arts Festival Banner Exhibition
Art Alliance Gallery Downtown, 123 S. Fraser Street
Colorful banners flying high above South Allen Street are hallmarks of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. Over the years, two artists have made an extraordinary contribution to our ever-growing collection of Arts Festival banners—Joanie Eyster and Marty Edmunds. Visit the Art Alliance Gallery Downtown between 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm to get a...
Earl Houser, Jr. Magic (free)
Woskob Family Gallery, 146 South Allen Street
Earl Houser performed his first magic show when he was in the first grade. He did tricks he learned from watching television on Saturday morning. Today he performs regionally in schools, churches, and at special events.
Fraser Street Saxes
University Baptist & Brethren Church, 411 South Burrowes Street
The Fraser Street Saxes is an all-saxophone band that plays Bebop, Funk, Latin Jazz, and more. The members are in grades 8 through 12 and come from several schools in central Pennsylvania. The group has performed at the State College High School Jazz Festival and at the Food Truck Rally in the Valley. The Fraser...
Middle-earth Studios presents The Legend of the Unicorn
Westminster Hall, State College Presbyterian Church, 132 West Beaver Avenue
Since ancient times storytelling has enchanted people of all ages. Middle-earth Studios' kind of story-telling is an interactive celebration that brings out the kid in everyone. Anyone can be a part of our story and they costume up to 100 people from the crowd. For days afterwards you'll still hear people talking about the show...
Centred Outdoors First Night Hike
Sidney Friedman Park, 241 South Fraser Street
Join Centred Outdoors on the First Hike of the year on the Last Day of The Year. Dress warmly to tour many of the First Night ice sculptures that line the streets of downtown State College and watch as ice-carvers-in-action sculpt some of the bigger ones on South Allen Street. The hike will begin at...
Hot Styles Dance Company
Hyatt Place State College, 219 W. Beaver Avenue
Hot Styles Dance Company is more than just a dance studio…we are a family. To help celebrate this holiday season, we want YOU to be a part of our dance family! Hot Styles Dance Company's mission is to provide an encouraging family environment for students of all ages. We strive to deliver the highest quality...
Allegheny Ukulele Kollective
St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 250 East College Avenue
Founded in 2010, the Allegheny Ukulele Kollective is a ukulele enthusiast-slash-evangelist club from Altoona. Members have jammed together on college campuses, in cafes, and at the local YMCA. The group meets for two monthly jams and welcomes newcomers, especially beginning players. The ukulele is commonly associated with music from Hawaii, though it has enjoyed waves...
Arietta Women's Ensemble
Faith United Church of Christ, 300 East College Avenue
State, PA 16801 United States + Google Map
Arietta Women's Ensemble, under the direction of Janice Mianulli, was founded in 2001 by a group of musicians who did not want to give up singing during the State College Choral Society summer hiatus. Since its inception, Arietta has performed with the State College Choral Society, and at national conferences at Penn State in addition...
Join the State College Area High School Thespians for a royal New Year's Eve featuring some princesses and princes and a few surprise guests. Each will have a musical story to share and will interact with all of the guests at the ball. The program is especially suitable for children. A First Night Button is required for...
Black Cat Belly Dance
Shannon Bishop is the owner and director of Black Cat Belly Dance, State College's only dance school devoted to the dances of Egypt. She has been teaching Egyptian raqs sharqi as well as the folkloric dances of Egypt for over ten years and performs across the east coast. She has studied and performed in Egypt,...
State Theatre, 130 West College Avenue
Geoff Marsh claims to be "on permanent vacation," and yet he works most days of the year. Perhaps the line between Marsh's work and play is blurry because he's a professional juggler, magician, clown, mime, circus arts instructor and fire manipulator. Geoff is known for winning the 2016 International Juggling Association Peoples Choice Award. In addition...
Toot-in-Common
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 208 West Foster Avenue
After returning from a tour of the Baltic States with the International Flute Orchestra, Judy Moore was inspired to form State College's flute choir, Toot-in-Common. The group's repertoire consists of popular and classical favorites arranged for flute choir and works written especially for flute choir. Instrumentation includes one piccolo, six to eight C flutes, two...
The World Goes 'Round
Sanctuary, State College Presbyterian Church, 132 West Beaver Avenue
FUSE Productions invites you to enter the world of distinguished and celebrated writing team, John Kander and Fred Ebb. Filled with humor, romance, drama and nonstop melody, this title is a thrilling celebration of life and the fighting spirit that keeps us all going. From Cabaret to Chicago, the nonstop hit-parade features unforgettable gems, including...
Natascha & the Spy Boys
This State College cabaret act includes Natascha Hoffmeyer on vocals backed up by experienced Central Pennsylvania players JT Thompson, Robert Gardner, Stubby Stubbs, and Doug McMinn. The group's repertoire includes blues, soul, jazz, and swing. The band plays at clubs and private events. A First Night Button is required for this performance.
Happy Valley Improv
Penn State Downtown Theatre Center, 146 South Allen Street
Happy Valley Improv is State College's premier longform improv company, bringing the art of improvisation to Centre County through performances, classes, workshops, and community outreach. Started by four improvisers in the basement of a church in early 2017, the group now consists of seven company members performing a variety of improv styles and forms. If...
State College Area High School Jazz Band
Grace Lutheran Church, 205 South Garner Street
The State College Area High School Jazz Band is among the finest in the United States and has an international reputation for excellence. The band has received 30 consecutive years of superior ratings in festivals and competitions. In 2003 and 2006, the band travelled to Europe and performed at both the Vienna Jazz Festival and...
Tolins, Sleigh & Younken
Guitarist, vocalist Andy Tolins is joined by harmonica guru, Richard Sleigh and guitarist Chris Younken. These three musicians have been fixtures in the central Pennsylvania music scene for many years and can be found performing with various groups at a variety of local venues. The trio performs in many genres: blues, jazz, country, Irish, and...
The JANO Duo
The JANO Duo was formed in 2012 by flutist, Naomi Seidman, and cellist Jonathan Dexter who also happen to be married. Dedicated to expanding the repertoire for the flute and cello they have been a part of a number of commissions for the ensemble. Naomi and Jon both teach at Penn State University and enjoy Central...
Peter Gross, comedy hypnotist
Master hypnotist Peter Gross has toured the world on land and at sea. As a performer working on cruise ships, Peter has seen the world, or at least Tahiti, Tierra Del Fuego, and Vladivostok. He's performed on college campuses and at many corporate retreats. He's been invited to the White House, performed at the Kennedy...
Comprised of music teachers – past, present and (one hopes) future – Heritage Brass has played at many festivals and events in the region, including the Christkindl Market in Mifflinburg, Music in the Park in Lebanon, and the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. A First Night Button is required for this performance.
Live Mannequins
Appalachian Outdoors, 123 South Allen Street
The State College High School Thespians perform as live mannequins in the windows of Appalachian Outdoors as they demonstrate in a theatrical performance at least, that teenagers can go for minutes without texting or otherwise looking at their phones.
Kristi Jean and Her Ne'er-Do-Wells
Texas native Kristi Jean brings her acclaimed country-infused twang to bear on a collection of feisty songs that reflect the moment in time when country and rhythm and blues begat rockabilly and rock 'n' roll. Like her heroes, Kristi was raised on traditional country music played through an AM radio; but her independent spirit drove...
Below Centre
Instruments that play the bass parts are often the unsung heroes of the symphonic band. The public can name famous trumpeters and flutists, but it's pretty difficult to name a famous euphonium player, or even spell euphonium for that matter. The gentlemen of Below Centre might just change that, as they play under the musical...
Described as daring and innovative, this vivacious husband and wife violin duo fuses pop, jazz, classical, rock, and folk styles in a way entirely their own. They create concert experiences with artistically profound and impossibly complex arrangements, electronic and altered instruments, vibrant color coordination, theatrics, and signature stunts- all done with mind-boggling precision- to awe...
Happy Valley Improv is State College's premier longform improv company, bringing the art of improvisation to the Centre County through performances, classes, workshops, and community outreach. Started by four improvisers in the basement of a church in early 2017, the group now consists of seven company members performing a variety of improv styles and forms....
Deb Callahan Band
Philly's blues-soul artist Deb Callahan recently celebrated 20 years of performing, touring, recording and entertaining music fans both regionally and around the United States. She has graced the stages at many festivals nationwide from The Monterey Bay Blues Festival to The Springing the Blues Fest in Jacksonville, FL. The experience of being a new mom had a...
Jon Rounds and Richard Sleigh
Jon Rounds songs have been performed or recorded by the Rounds Brothers Band, Tahoka Freeway, Larry Bish, Backseat Van Gogh, Cartoon, Whetstone Run, Morningsong, Randy Hughes, Glenn Kidder, Jameson Kidder, Tommy Wareham, Hughes, Kidder & Rounds, and Mathieu, Fox & Rounds. He has performed at the Bluebird Café in Nashville and has placed songs with...
Keystone Society of Swing
Come out to dance with the Keystone Society of Swing, a high energy big band that performs music from the 1920s through 1960s. Band members range in age from 16-85 and share their talents to entertain audiences in a variety of events throughout the region. The band was started in Lock Haven and has been...
Since 2001, this traditional band brings music from Ireland and Scotland to the mountains of central Pennsylvania. The four women of Callanish, Patty Lambert, Gretchen Lee, Holly Foy and Louisa Smith share the music of their heritage - reels, jigs, polkas, hornpipes, and songs of love and longing for homeland. Callanish has recently performed at...
Camerata Amistad
Formed in 2006, Camerata Amistad is a versatile chamber ensemble of orchestral musicians, performing a wide variety of chamber music, and particularly dedicated to the performance of art music, folk music, and popular culture music from the Hispanic world. The members, Cathy Collinge Herrera, Diane Gold Toulson, and Brent Register enjoy sharing their love for...
Tussey Mountain Moonshiners
Tussey Mountain Moonshiners is a progressive bluegrass/Americana band from central Pennsylvania. A Moonshiners performance features dynamic songwriting, singing, and strong improvisational musicianship from all five members, as the band creates energy and joy with audiences at every live show. In 2010, the band won the prestigious DelFest Bluegrass Band Competition in Cumberland, Maryland. A First Night...
Ramalama
Doo-wop is a genre of music that was developed in urban African-American communities in the 1940s, achieving mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. Built upon vocal harmony, doo-wop was one of the most mainstream, pop-oriented R&B styles of the time. Doo-wop features vocal group harmony, nonsense syllables, a simple beat, sometimes little or...
West Coast Cool with Rick Hirsch
Take a trip to 1950s L.A. with the music and approach of cool jazz icons Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Lee Konitz, Dave Brubeck, and others…Wayfarer sunglasses strictly optional. Your tour guide for this evening of jazz will be saxophonist Rick Hirsch. He's performed with Tito Puente, the Four Tops and Max Roach, but closer to...
The Jive Bombers
Jerry Zolten and Richard Sleigh have been making music together under their guise as The Jive Bombers for more than 35 years, and along the way performing with artists as diverse as Bo Diddley and Dom Flemons. Their music runs the roots music gamut from blues and swing to folk and rock-a-billy. Sleigh is one...
Eric Ian Farmer
December 31, 2019 @ 10:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Born in State College, but reared in North Carolina, Eric Ian Farmer shares songs about relationships, social awareness, and finding one's path in life while keeping alive classics by artists like Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, and Bob Marley. Eric learned how to become one with a song from Bonnie Carter and David Williams, singers in...
Wicked Chicken
Wicked Chicken plays wicked old time fiddle and rocking' blues. They entertain their audience with original compositions and creative covers, fiddle tunes and guitar/drum jams. Brothers Gus (age 16) and Huck (age 13) perform regularly at the Pennsylvania Cigar Box Guitar Festival, the Elk Creek Cafe, and other local venues and festivals. They were awarded...