Coolio in Centre County? How a new Philipsburg festival landed the ’90s rapper
Fans of ‘90s rap and hip-hop don’t need to go beyond Centre County to get their fill of live music this summer, with Grammy award-winning rapper Coolio set to perform at the Philipsburg Fest on July 10.
Coolio, best known for his 1995 hit single “Gangsta’s Paradise,” is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor and chef.
The Philipsburg Fest is a new event coming to the area this summer. Organizer and owner of the We Are Inn, Pat Romano, said he wanted Coolio to perform because “Johnny Cash died ... (Coolio) was number two on the list.”
Having Coolio perform at the Fest started as a joke, Romano said, but it quickly fell into place. He said a friend of Coolio’s, and someone who does work with him, is staying in the area. Romano said he told him about Heritage Days, which was canceled this year. They thought it would be neat to have Coolio at the Philipsburg Fest, which is planned for the same weekend that Heritage Days would have been held.
“Our town was supposed to have Heritage Days ... so the 10th is when it would have culminated with fireworks and everything. I just said, ‘Hey, you know what, we’re doing the fireworks anyway.’ And when I was telling this (friend) about the whole situation, we laughed and joked about having Coolio, and then the more we sat and talked, the more it felt like something that would be cool to do,” Romano said.
Prior to Coolio’s performance, rock cover band Zero Tolerance will perform.
“So adding something like (Coolio) seemed like something really neat to do and it’s a fresh thing in the area,” Romano said.
The Coolio performance will be “exclusive,” with only 250 tickets to be sold at $100 a piece, with some VIP offerings, he said.
Check back to the We Are Inn’s Facebook page for details on buying tickets.
