(Williamsport, PA) – The Uptown Blues Collective’s 10th Annual Blues-A-Thon will begin at 6 pm, Friday, June 1st at 420 Pine Street as part of Williamsport, Pennsylvania’s First Friday festivities, then move to the Pine Square Stage (343 Pine Street) until 10 pm, finishing off day one with overnight jams inside the Uptown Music Collective. The event is sponsored by the Billtown Blues Association and the Brickyard Restaurant and Ale House and will feature internationally known bluesman and educator Tas Cru, UMC Students and Staff, as well as local Blues musicians, and friends performing a variety of Blues styles.
On Saturday, June 2nd the festivities will bounce between the Mid-Town Landing stage (behind the nonprofit school’s facility) and Pine Square starting at noon and wrap at 8 pm on the Midtown Landing Stage.
In addition to Tas Cru, the event will feature some special guest musicians from the area including The Gabe Stillman Band, Doug McMinn, Sean Farley, The Collective’s 3rd Street Blues Band, Stacia Abernatha, Chris LaRose, The Collective’s River City Blues Band, Gage Avery, Bryan & Kimbo, and The Dirty Mojo Blues Band.
New to the Blues-A-Thon this year is the addition of the 1st Annual Billtown Barbecue Bash where you decide which of the participating area restaurants makes Billtown’s BEST Barbecue!
“Every year we try and make this event bigger and better,” says Jared Mondell, Assistant Executive Director of the Uptown Music Collective. “Since our move to downtown, the pieces have started to fall into place. Being able to add the Mid-Town Landing and introducing the Art Raffle and the Barbecue Bash this year will really make this a great Blues driven fundraising event in Downtown Williamsport.”
The Mission of the Uptown Music Collective (UMC) is “Providing exceptional music education and high-impact musical experiences that instill a love of music and an understanding of the importance of discipline, hard work and community.” The UMC Vision is “Connecting People through Music.” The UMC Values include being “Student-focused: Instilling a love of music in young minds and hearts is our passion. Doing it in a way that inspires creativity and dedication is our promise. We guide. We teach. They inspire.”
