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JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A rocking good time awaits at this musical gathering.
The Homegrown Music & Community Festival will be held from 3:30 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday at Peoples Natural Gas Park, 90 Johns St. in downtown Johnstown.
“We have a lot of great talent musically here in the Johnstown area, and some of it doesn’t get highlighted, so that was the impetus behind starting the festival,” said Mike Hyjurick, a festival founder and organizer.
“Now in the fifth year the folks at JAHA (Johnstown Area Heritage Association) caught wind of what we were doing and invited us to bring the festival to People Natural Gas Park. We’ve been able to grown this event with small local bands to now we’re inviting national recoding artists.”
Scheduled to perform will be Even the Odds from 4 to 5 p.m., followed by A Faster Ride from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Kevin Dale from 7 to 8 p.m. and headliner Josh Gallagher taking the stage from 8:30 to 10 p.m.
Cover band Even the Odds plays everything from classic rock to music of the ’90s and early 2000s.
“It’s everything fun and everything danceable,” Hyjurick said.
Pop punk band A Faster Ride performs a combination of music with some originals.
“They are writing a song to be debuted at our festival,” Hyjurick said.
“This also will be their last show as A Faster Ride. They have not played together for over a year, so this is their reunion show and last show.”
Country artist Kevin Dale performs covers and original music.
“The covers he does are well thought out and done in his style,” Hyjurick said. “He brings his own flavor to everything he touches.”
Gallagher, a Cresson native and “The Voice” finalist, is a country singer/songwriter living in Nashville and has shared the stage with some of country musics top performers.
“It’s huge to have Josh, and from the very beginning, he was one of first people that I even mentioned to try and get,” Hyjurick said.
“To have him come around as our first major act from the region is great. He said he hasn’t been back to the area in quite some time, and it’s been a while since he’s played Peoples Natural Gas Park, so he’s very much looking forward to it.
The event also raises money for local charities.
The Ashlee Fecko Medical Fund, Luke Patton Memorial Foundation Fund and Jessie Tree Fund, in memory of Jessie Sutherland Gordon, will receive proceeds raised by the festival through the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies.
“We pick a new charity every year to be our main recipient and then we have two others that we help out,” Hyjurick said.
There also will be merchandise vendors on site.
Island Cuisine, Main Street Pizzeria and Good Times Ice Cream Bus will be the food vendors.
There will be a bar, and those purchasing alcohol must show identification.
Breezeline is serving as the corporate sponsor.
Tickets are $15 for adults and free for children 12 and younger.
They can be purchased online at www.facebook.com/HomegrownJohnstown. Tickets also will be available at the gate.
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