UNIVERSITY PARK — After a short hiatus, Happy Valley Music Fest is back.
The all-day music festival will take place on Sept. 3 at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. It will be the first time the event has been held since 2019.
State College Spikes General Manager Scott Walker is working with Todd Wagner, organizer of the Chautauqua Region Music Alliance, on the event.
“This hasn’t happened since pre-COVID,” Walker explained. “But we are thrilled to be working with Todd and the Chautauqua Region Music Alliance. That’s who we’ve partnered with to have the ballpark serve as the host for the first edition of Happy Valley Music Fest since (2019).”
According to Walker, the return of Happy Valley Music Fest has been a work in progress.
“This is something we have been talking about for a few years. We are thankful for Penn State University approving the event a few months back. We’re trying to get as many folks to the Music Fest as we can.”
The event will take place on Labor Day weekend and coincides with Penn State’s season opener against West Virginia on Sept. 2.
Walker is hopeful that football fans will stick around for a full day of music.
“That’s what we’re hoping for,” he said. “It’s Labor Day weekend, so nobody has to work the next day. We’re hopeful that folks will extend their hotel stay for an extra night and join us.”
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band will headline the event and take the stage at 7:30 p.m. The long-running, New Orleans-based band has a sound that fuses traditional brass band with jazz, funk, soul and R&B. Over the span of 45 years, the group has recorded 10 albums and performed high-profile collaborations with artists such as Widespread Panic, Modest Mouse and Norah Jones.
Other performers are Sidewinder (1:30 p.m.), Chris Bell Band (3 p.m.), Donny Burns and the Third Degree (4:30 p.m.) and Vanessa Collier (5:30 p.m.)
“The goal in the future is to have this be a true music festival and be a two-day event. But with planning everything and it being the first year back, it’s just a one-day event this year,” Walker said.
Tickets are $20 for general admission and are on sale at StateCollegeSpikes.com. No paper tickets will be issued for the event.
“Folks can buy their tickets with their phone or their computer and simply show your phone at the gate. This is the first event we’ve ever done this for,” Walker said.
Gates will open at 12:30 p.m. General admission tickets for the festival will provide access to the field and the seating bowl. It will be the first time fans will have field access for a concert at Medlar Field since 2010, when Reel Big Fish played the ballpark.
Walker noted that the ballpark has been used for live music in conjunction with the Central PA 4th Fest. This, however, is different.
“The stage has been set up in the home plate area but no one has been down on the field. The neat part about this one is that we don’t have to protect the field. The new field project literally starts two days later on Sept. 5,” Walker said.
Walker said that plenty of food and drink will be for sale.
“Absolutely. The full slate of ballpark concessions will be available,” Walker said.
The all-day event has generated a lot of buzz in Happy Valley.
“We are thrilled to get the Happy Valley Music Fest back online this Labor Day weekend, and we are excited to have such an amazing facility in Medlar Field at Lubrano Park,” Wagner said in a news release. “With the support of The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau and other great partners, we are looking forward to bringing the music back to the Happy Valley Music Fest with The Dirty Dozen Brass Band and several more tremendous acts.”
Parking will be available in the Porter North, Jordan East and Stadium West parking lots and can be purchased in advance online through Sept. 2 for $5.50. Day-of parking will be available for $10 online and at ParkMobile Zone 95112.
IF YOU GO
What: Happy Valley Music Fest
Where: Medlar Field at Lubrano Park
When: Sunday, Sept. 3
Tickets: statecollegespikes.com
