Headlined by 10,000 Maniacs and JJ Grey & Mofro, Happy Valley Music Fest makes its return to downtown State College this weekend with two days of tunes, food and beer.
After going on hiatus for 2018 during a transition in management, the festival will take place from 5-10 p.m. Friday and 1-10 p.m. Saturday on the 200 block of South Allen Street between Beaver Avenue and Foster Avenue.
‘We feel great. We’ve gotten a really positive response,’ organizer Todd Wagner said on Thursday. ‘We’re up about 30 percent in ticket sales over 2017 from where we stood then. So those are very positive things… The feedback I have had has been ‘Thank you for bringing it back. We’re thrilled to have it back in our community.”
With two stages — a main stage along the Foster Avenue intersection and a side stage at the back of the Allen Street parking lot — the lineup will feature regional acts and a few local bands, in addition to the two national headliners.
Tickets are $10 for Friday, $20 for Saturday or $25 for a two-day pass. Children ages 12 and younger who are accompanied by a parent or guardian will be admitted for free.
10,000 Maniacs will headline Friday night, taking the stage at 8:30 p.m. Breakout stars of the college rock scene of the 1980s and early 90s, the Maniacs reached mainstream success with hit songs such as ‘Like the Weather,’ ‘Trouble Me’ and ‘These Are Days.’ After singer Natalie Merchant left the group for a solo career in the mid-1990s, Mary Ramsey has been the Maniacs’ lead vocalist for more than 20 years.
‘They’re peaking again, doing a lot of dates and are doing quite strong,’ Wagner said in March. ‘I was looking for, not a nostalgia act, but similar to what we did with the Spin Doctors [in 2017]… we had a great response that Friday night. The Maniacs, I think, will be well received. I’ve seen them a couple times recently and know that they’re strong. Anybody that loved their music will enjoy the show greatly.’
Local rockabilly and country blues band Kristi Jean & Her Ne’er-Do-Wells will open Friday’s show. The night will also feature Rusted Root frontman Michael Glabicki and guitarist Dirk Miller, and bluesman Jonathon ‘Boogie’ Long.
JJ Grey & Mofro will close out Saturday’s festivities, bringing their blend of blues rock, southern soul and swamp funk to the stage at 8:30 p.m. Grey’s band has steadily built a huge fan base and critical acclaim from early releases like Blackwater through 2015’s Ol’ Glory, and especially through electrifying live shows and relentless touring.
‘JJ Grey has literally been selling out everywhere he’s been,’ Wagner said on Thursday. ‘He’s been in town before and is known through his performance at the State Theatre last year but I think we’re catching the guy on a real rise that we might not have a chance at again.
Saturday’s lineup also includes roots-rock band The Probables, horn-fueled funk collective Afro N’at; blues rockers The Gabe Stillman Band, Americana singer-songwriter Eilen Jewell, brass funk rock band Bonerama (performing a Led Zeppelin set) and another local favorite, Miss Melanie & The Valley Rats.
See the full schedule here.
The festival will feature an outdoor beer pub in the Allen Street Lot. Those 21 and older wishing to purchase beer will be required to provide valid ID to receive a special wristband at a designated check-in station. Beer can only be carried in specified areas of the festival grounds.
In addition to can selections, hard lemonade and seltzers, the beer pub will feature craft brewer Southern Tier Brewing Company, which will be on hand with several selections on draft.
‘They’ll be running six of Southern Tier’s finest, a couple of new brands that are just coming to market right now,’ Wagner said. ‘We’re very excited to have them as a partner sponsor and be able to bring that relationship to town for the festival.’
Three food trucks also will be lined up near the festival entrance on South Allen Street. They include local favorite Brazilian Munchies, Johnstown’s Phoenix Tavern (famous for its chicken balls) and wood fired pizza.
‘With State College having so many great options right outside the door we figured people have many other options as well,’ Wagner said.
Originating in 2006 as Summer’s Best Music Fest, the event went on hiatus last year after Downtown State College Improvement District decided to step away from it because it had become such a big undertaking. Wagner, of Lucky Dog Management, had worked with the festival and wanted to see it continue, so he acquired the rights and organized a volunteer group to keep it going. But he said he ran out of time to put on a quality event in 2018.
Wagner’s group partnered with the State Theatre, which received received a tourism grant from the Central Pennsylvania Convention and Visitors Bureau for marketing the festival. The Penn State Alumni Association also partnered to offer participants in its We Are Weekend discounted tickets for Happy Valley Music Fest.
In his first year managing Happy Valley Music Fest, Wagner said he wants to deliver a well executed show with the music as the center of attention.
‘It’s about music, coming out and having good time, getting outside with friends and family,’ he said. ‘Hopefully those from out of town get to see State College showcased at its finest and those from here get to come outand enjoy something outside of the time university students are in town.’
