‘There’s nothing like it’: Arts Fest performers anticipate festival’s return
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Summer fests return
Here’s what you need to know for the first in-person Arts Fest and People’s Choice Festival in two years.
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The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts is back in person this week following a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On top of art exhibitions and food vendors, the longtime festival is set to bring more than 80 scheduled performances to downtown State College and Penn State’s campus from July 13 to 17.
This year, Arts Fest’s musical performers are looking forward to providing in-person entertainment for the first time since 2019. But some local groups, including Anchor & Arrow, are excited to join the festival’s lineup for the first time. Husband and wife duo Matt Dashem and Jennifer Henry-Dashem were slated to finally hit the Arts Fest stage in 2020 before the event was scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ve been here through the years, always attending things. I’ve never had a chance to play on that stage, so it’ll be great to get up there and share our music with everyone,” said Matt Dashem, the duo’s guitarist.
Anchor & Arrow will play on the Allen Street Stage at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 17, to help wrap up the festival. On Friday, the self-proclaimed “funked-up” duo will perform at Arts Fest’s annual cocktail reception, which raises money for the organization. Those in attendance for Anchor & Arrow’s performances can expect a mix of original music and popular covers ranging from the ‘70s to now.
While the duo is excited to share music with Arts Fest crowds, Jennifer Henry-Dashem says the weekend’s significance comes from more than just entertainment.
“At the festival, there’s kind of a collective energy of not only music but also art and food,” she said. “Downtown becomes so lively, and business owners live for this week in the summer. It helps keep people afloat, and we’re happy to be a part of that.”
Longtime performers excited to return
This year’s entertainment lineup includes plenty of Arts Fest veterans, including jazz artist and composer Jay T. Vonada. As part of the Jay T. Vonada Quartet, Vonada will grace the Allen Street Stage starting at 3 p.m. on Thursday, July 14.
Vonada, a trombonist who’s performed at Arts Fest for nearly 20 years with a handful of groups, says performances at the festival stand out thanks to its energetic crowds.
“It is a great environment to perform because the audience is right there with you, and it is inspiring for the band to play in that atmosphere,” said Vonada, an Aaronsburg native. “I’m so looking forward to getting the band back together, so to speak, to play some great music.”
J.T. Thompson, an acclaimed local pianist, can also call himself a seasoned Arts Fest veteran after performing at nearly every festival since 2003. This time, he’ll play alongside the Gill Street Band and the Skoal Brothers, respectively at Sidney Friedman Park on Friday, July 15, and at the Festival Shell Stage on Saturday, July 16.
Thompson took part in Arts Fest’s online festival in 2021 but found it lacked the necessary energy and crowd participation. Gearing up for an in-person event, Thompson says he’s anxious to ditch the all-too-familiar Zoom stream and finally perform in front of a live audience.
“We’re all professionals in one way or another, and we know what to do when we perform,” Thompson said. “But when you’re playing from home with an audience of cameras and microphones, that’s harder. There just isn’t the same energy. There’s nothing like being up on a stage with hundreds of people listening to what you do and enjoying themselves.”
For artists like Thompson, festivals provide an opportunity to perform in front of hundreds or thousands of fresh faces. He says an annual performance or two at Arts Fest serves as an important chance to make some new fans.
“You’re going to see so many people. You’ll see your fans, but a lot of other people who’ve never seen you before,” Thompson said. “This is a chance to show off your music and really make some noise. It’s very fulfilling to me, that’s for sure.”
‘No substitute’ for being in person
A good number of performers at this year’s Arts Fest kept busy during the festival’s two-year absence. Perhaps no group knows that better than My Hero Zero, the State College band known for energetic performances in downtown bars and local events, including Penn State’s Thon.
My Hero Zero frontman Jason Olcese said that although virtual performances filled a necessary void during the pandemic, returning to the Allen Street Stage on Saturday, July 16, can’t be taken for granted.
“When all of the shows went away, it wasn’t just that my work went away or the thing I loved was gone. It slowed down my life and gave me an opportunity to think about who I am and what I’m doing, and what that says about our culture,” Olcese said. “In the pursuit of music, I think I got swept up in working all of the time. Shows being back showed us how to appreciate every chance we get to perform.”
My Hero Zero’s performance will feature a “high-energy” set of covers and original music. Olcese’s group will be joined by a few new faces, including recent Penn State graduate Eric Damiano.
Olcese hopes Arts Fest will give My Hero Zero a chance to impress in front of a more diverse audience than those typically found at late-night bars or on Penn State’s campus.
“The festival is right downtown, so we get a mixture of people who have been coming out to see us play, people who are returning as alumni to the town, and people who are generally in the community,” Olcese said. “That also includes families, which we don’t always see too often when we perform in the bar scene. There’s nothing quite like it here in State College.”
With this year’s event just days away, some performing artists are counting down until they can return to the Arts Fest stage. Eric Ian Farmer, a singer/songwriter and State College native, says there’s nothing quite like a gig at a summer festival.
“Music is so connective,” he said. “Sharing music online is also beautiful, but there’s no substitute for being in person. The way live music can cut through the air and bring people together is just irreplaceable.”
Farmer will perform alongside an ensemble starting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 14, at the Festival Shell Stage. But once he’s wrapped up his set, Farmer says he’s looking forward to enjoying Arts Fest’s one-of-a-kind environment.
“I love listening to all the music when I’m off the stage, too,” Farmer said. “The organizers do a really good job of bringing the visual arts and performance arts together within our community — the local community as well as the festival-going community. It really appreciates the arts. ‘Arts Fest’ isn’t just a name.”
This story was originally published July 10, 2022 at 6:35 AM.
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