Free outdoor concerts are returning around Happy Valley. Here’s your full guide
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Happy Valley hosts multiple free outdoor concert series from May through September.
- Woodward Cave concerts run Fridays 6–8 p.m.; tours are 6–7 p.m.
- Moonstock and Lemont Village host family-friendly free concerts with picnic seating.
Summers in Happy Valley mark the time of the year when musicians bring their lively tunes outdoors, gathering the community to enjoy festive music surrounded by the region’s rich and bountiful landscape.
There are a mix of outdoor venues around Centre County this year that live music enthusiasts can visit, including a new concert series that features a cave backdrop. Concerts run through the summer, with some starting as early as Friday, May 22.
Visitors can choose from an eclectic lineup of week-to-week performances, from local and regional artists spanning classic rock, blues, jazz, folk, R&B and even Latin fusion styles like salsa and cumbia.
This summer’s list of outdoor music events that are all completely free is the perfect excuse to put on your groovin’ gear, pack your picnic baskets and head outside to dance to the rhythm of chill summer vibes. But don’t forget to put on bug spray!
A cave/music experience
This concert series will take place just outside of a 400 million year-old cave at The Woodward Cave & Campground. The park will host its first-ever concert series every Friday night from May 22 until Sept. 4.
Beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, the park will feature State College based and regional artists such as Daman Mills, a multi-instrumentalist and solo-artist playing classic rock, blues, and original acoustic driven songs. Preceding artists will offer similar music styles, said Dave Wigfield, Woodward Cave’s director of marketing and business development, with some electric and cover-band performances. Altoona based artist and contestant of The Voice, Jimmy Mowrey, will perform on Aug. 14, he added.
The concerts are free to attend and will take place on a shaded grove right outside the site’s ancient cave and across a large porch where there will be seating areas surrounded by trees. The event offers a scenic landscape to complement the music scene and access to the cave, Wigfield said.
Attendees will be able to take a tour inside one of the largest “live” caverns in Pennsylvania during the events, featuring five massive rooms with cathedral-like ceilings. Tours will be scheduled between 6 to 7 pm, he said.
There will also be food trucks that will rotate on a weekly basis, with Mexican food truck Mama Martina’s to kick off their first event.
“This is an investment that we’re consciously making into the local community,” Wigfield said. “Every Friday night, if you want to bring out the family, or relax this is a reliable thing that’s out here for everyone.”
A list of all the dates and performers throughout the season can be found on a local music Facebook page.
Intimate Moonstock concert series
Nestled in the backyard area of a three-house property is the stage of a laid-back, community driven concert series inspired by the Woodstock-era concept of outdoor live music. Created by retired Penn State faculty members Kyle Peck and Catherine Augustine, Moonstock is going on its seventh year of hosting an outdoor “house concert” that is free for the public.
It started off as a small family concert featuring local talent at their 211 Moondance Lane property in Port Matilda, a 25-acre portion of land home to three families in three houses, said Peck, adding how his wife named the road Moondance Lane. Eventually, the families built a stage in their backyard to host their concert series that is family, pet and kid-friendly.
Moonstock will kick off this year’s concert series on May 29, with renowned blues harmonica player and Philipsburg local Richard Sleigh. It will run continuously throughout the summer up until September. Local and regional musicians will perform music themes of rhythm and blues, soul funk and Americana, featuring big bands such as Code Blue and Cole Alley Band, who perform various instruments on stage. The concerts will begin at 7 p.m. and run until 9:30 p.m., with one break in between.
Attendees are advised to bring their own picnic gear and refreshments as only water will be provided, Peck said. There will also be a communal table where attendees can contribute and share food and refreshments. Although the event is free, there will be a tip jar present that will collect proceeds for performing artists.
For more information on the event and tips before arrival, visit MoonStock’s website.
Lemont Village Green Concerts
The Lemont Village Association will host their yearly Concerts on the Village Green series with weekly Friday night outdoor performances from June to September.
The concerts take place on the grass lawn next to the historic Lemont Granary at 133 Mount Nittany Road, and will run from 7:30 to 9 p.m. beginning June 5, and 7 to 8:30 p.m. in September.
Fans of bluegrass, Americana, rock and folk are welcome to set up their lawn chairs and enjoy a lineup of local and regional artists free of charge. Popular bluegrass groups are scheduled to perform such as Tussey Mountain Moonshiners, The Tellegrassers and Urban Fusion.
Ice cream cones will be provided for a donation to Scout Troop 367. Free parking will be available at the Mount Nittany trailhead lot, along the street, and nearby locations.
A full list of the lineup can be found on lemontvillage.org.
South Hills music series
The South Hills School of Business and Technology is back with their 37th annual Summer Music picnic series with a diverse lineup of musical performances.
Running June 7 to Aug. 30, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., the school will open up their North Lawn at 480 Waupelani Drive, for the public to set up their picnic gear and enjoy live music at no cost.
Lemonade will be sold for one cent, and there will be free parking available.
Performances vary and will include a wide array of rhythms such as in traditional jazz, waltzes, swing, salsa, Cumbia, merengue, mellow rock and more.
For a full list of dates and performances, visit The South Hills School of Business and Technology’s music-picnic page.
Summer Sounds at Bellefonte
The Bellefonte Historical and Cultural Association will host their Summer Sounds from the Gazebo concert series at the Talleyrand Park gazebo every Sunday at 7 p.m. starting June 7.
The public is invited to set up their lawn chairs and picnic baskets on the grass and step back in time during musical performances, some dating back to classic tunes from the ‘30s with Tommy Wareham and friends, retrospective ‘40s with the Lindy Sisters and honky-tonk and Texas swing with Western Range and Quartet.
The concerts run until August and are completely free. If there is rain, concerts will be held in the Trinity Methodist Church at 128 W. Howard St., Bellefonte.
For updates and a full list of the concert series visit the BHCA’s Facebook page.
Downtown State College music nights
The Downtown State College Improvement District will be hosting their Live After 5 summer concert series beginning June 10 at the Martin Luther King, Jr. plaza.
It will take place on Wednesdays from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and will feature local and regional bands playing a variety of genres such as Celtic folk-rock, blues, classic rock, local indie acts and more.
It will be free and open to the public. On selected summer evenings, there will be sip craft beverages from members of the Central PA Tasting Trail hosted at a curated beverage garden.
For updates and more information on the events visit DSCID’s Live after 5 website page.
Music on the Beach
Close to Centre County is Whipple Dam State Park’s Music on the Beach concert series, where the park’s sandy lake area will host four different concerts for the public to attend for free.
The series kicks off June 20 with Pure Cane Sugar, followed by Tussey Mountain Moonshiners on July 18, with both performances running from 7 to 9 p.m. The remaining concerts feature Eric Ian Farmer on Aug. 15 and Free Range on Aug. 30, each taking place from 6 to 8 p.m.
There will be food services alternating between Franks Family Farm Food Truck and Rebelz Food Truck.
Cash donations will be accepted during the event with proceeds supporting programming within the park.
For more information, visit the Friends of Greenwood Furnace State Park’s Facebook page.
