BOALSBURG — There is something fitting about Miss Melanie and Groove Society being in the lineup at this year’s People’s Choice Festival.
The annual celebration has long been about more than art. It is about community. It is about gathering with friends under summer skies, discovering something unexpected and leaving a little happier than when you arrived. In many ways, that same spirit sits at the heart of Groove Society and its lead singer, Miss Melanie Morrision.
When the band takes the stage at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 11, festivalgoers can expect a high-energy blend of funk, soul, rhythm and blues, jazz and nostalgia. What they may not realize is that behind the music is a story about second chances, friendship, perseverance and finding joy in unexpected places.
For Melanie, music was never part of some grand career plan.
“I always sang when I was a kid, but I never really pursued it at all,” she said.
After college, she settled into life as a wife, mother and self-described homebody. Music remained largely in the background until a chance encounter with musician Mark Ross changed everything.
Ross had heard about her singing voice and devised what Melanie laughingly describes as an “elaborate plan” to hear her perform for herself. He invited her to record a song for a book project he was working on. The book was real. The song was real. But so was Ross’ curiosity.
After hearing her sing, he asked to take a break.
“I was like, ‘Oh gosh, what is he going to say to me?’” Melanie recalled.
What Ross offered her an opportunity she never expected.
“He said, ‘You’re kind of freaking me out.’ I asked if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He said, ‘I want you to do the book, and also, would you want to be in a band?’”
That invitation eventually led to her first band and launched a musical journey she never anticipated.
Today, Melanie fronts Groove Society, an eight-piece ensemble featuring J.T. Thompson on keys, Charles Halcomb on guitar, Andy Harbison, Chris Gamble and Tom “Mugsy” Gallagher in the horn section, John Reiser on drums, Robert Gardner on bass and Melanie handling lead vocals.
Together, they create a sound that feels equally at home in a downtown club, a summer festival or a New Orleans street parade.
For guitarist Charles Halcomb, the roots of that sound stretch back decades.
The current Groove Society evolved from an earlier group known as the Gill Street Band. After several lineup changes and different singers over the years, members decided it was time for a fresh start.
“We decided to just start over with a completely new name,” Halcomb said. “I had wanted Melanie to be in the band for a long time.”
Musically, Halcomb credits his years living in New Orleans as a major influence.
“I was lucky enough to live there at a time when I could see The Meters anytime I wanted to, and The Neville Brothers and Dr. John,” he said. “They really put that rhythm into me.”
That influence can still be heard in Groove Society’s sound today.
“We tend to lean toward funk and soul and jazz,” Halcomb said. “I think that’s something not every band does around here.”
Melanie’s influences come from a different direction.
Growing up in the 1980s, she admired powerhouse vocalists such as Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. At the same time, she found herself drawn to classic R&B and funk legends like Chaka Khan and Stevie Wonder.
Those influences blend together in Groove Society’s setlists, which feature music from artists such as Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Tower of Power and Earth, Wind & Fire.
Building those setlists is no small task.
With eight musicians, including one member who regularly travels from Virginia for rehearsals, coordinating schedules can be challenging.
“It’s like herding cats,” Halcomb joked.
Yet both Melanie and Halcomb credit the professionalism of the band’s members for making the process work.
“They’re all such professionals and they’re so good at what they do,” Melanie said. “Everybody respects each other and has input.”
The result is a group that sounds polished while still feeling joyful and spontaneous.
That joy is perhaps the defining characteristic of Groove Society.
Ask Melanie what she hopes audiences feel after seeing the band perform and her answer comes quickly.
“Energized. Joyful,” she said.
For her, performing is more than entertainment.
“It’s my therapy,” she said.
Outside of music, Melanie teaches full time and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree. Between work, school and performing, her schedule leaves little room for downtime. Yet she continues to make music because she genuinely loves it.
“The songs that we get to perform, they’re just fun,” she said. “They touch on nostalgia for a lot of people.”
Halcomb hopes audiences experience something similar.
“I would hope maybe we played a song they remembered from when they were younger and had forgotten all about,” he said. “I hope they remember just the spectacle of seeing a whole big band with a horn section working.”
That sense of nostalgia may be one reason Groove Society connects with audiences so easily. Their music invites people not only to listen but to remember.
It also invites them to move.
With driving rhythms, soaring horns and Melanie’s powerful vocals, Groove Society is the type of band that can turn spectators into dancers.
Yet one of the most interesting things about Melanie may surprise people.
Despite spending her weekends performing in front of crowds, she openly acknowledges struggling with social anxiety.
“For me, it’s hard to be in large groups of people and not get really overwhelmed,” she said.
Being on stage, however, feels different.
“It must mean I really love what I do if I get up to do it,” she said.
Her openness about anxiety and depression has become an important part of who she is.
“I think it’s been a big thing for me, having struggled with depression and anxiety, to be very honest about mental health and how important it is to stay on top of it,” she said.
That honesty extends to another trademark fans have come to recognize: her ever-changing collection of wigs.
What began as a practical and creative outlet has become something of a signature.
“I just have fun with it,” she said.
At last count, Melanie estimated she owns roughly 45 wigs.
“Who do I want to be today?” she joked.
The answer changes often, but the person underneath remains the same: a teacher, a mother, a musician and someone determined to spread a little joy wherever she goes.
That may be why Groove Society feels like such a natural fit for People’s Choice.
Both celebrate creativity. Both celebrate community. Both remind us that art is not just something we observe. It is something we experience together.
When Groove Society takes the stage to open the festival on Saturday, audiences will hear funk, soul and jazz. They will hear echoes of New Orleans, Motown and classic R&B.
But perhaps most importantly, they will hear a group of musicians who genuinely love what they do.
And if Melanie gets her wish, people will leave with smiles on their faces, a few songs stuck in their heads and just a little more joy than they arrived with.
