The "Another Night At The Cicada Festival: Part II" Story

It was an ordinary day.  The goose bumps are spreading across my arms.  Always does that when Tony breaks into his Cara Mia rendition and hits the high notes.  Tonight is the second night in a row that Carol and I are visiting Mount Gretna, PA for the 2015 Cicada Music Festival.  Back in May the listings for the shows that were to be held in the Mt. Gretna Playhouse in August were published and I printed out a copy of the ticket form and put it in the mail within the hour to make sure we would get to see our favorite groups.  

The interior of the Mt. Gretna Playhouse can be seen in
this photo I took a few days ago while on a visit to Mt. Gretna.

The seating in the playhouse holds about 750 and the best seats are in the center section about halfway back.  To insure I got close to where I wanted to sit, I included a donation with my seat order.  Tonight we are listening to Phil Dirt and the Dozers and sitting dead center in the playhouse.  We stopped earlier and picked up our friends Jeannie and Hal and headed to Mt. Gretna for supper before the concert started.  The group tonight is appearing for the 9th time and with good reason.  They are fabulous!  In the program it says … Success speaks for itself in the world of musical entertainment.  The name Phil Dirt and the Dozers is synonymous with success.  They are the nation's #1 requested vintage rock and roll show providing fun, memories and professionalism.  There music covers the 50's, 60's and 70's and the five musicians are some of the best in the business.  Steve is a founding member of the band which began in 1981 and the range in his voice allows him to emulate singers from Elvis to Roy Orbison.  Mark is perhaps the best rock and roll musician I have ever heard.  He can play the keyboards, saxophone, flute and bass guitar.  He is a two-time Emmy award winner for his composing, arranging, engineering and production.  Tony, known as Icepick, a former performer with the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, The Temptations, and JJ Jackson has the voice that just sends chills down your spine when he hits the high notes.  He is an extremely talented lead guitar musician.  Hadden plays the bass guitar better than any other musician I have ever heard.  His blues renditions are fabulous and should be since he interned with BB King.  Hadden also has his own band known as Hadden Sayers Band.  The drummer for the band is Tony M. who honed his skills with local and regional bands in West Virginia.  He has played in many TV commercials including McDonald's, Wendy's and Goodyear.  

Phil Dirt and the Dozers Facebook photo.
The musician on the far right died a few
years ago.

He is extremely talented, but with the frontmen he plays behind, he probably doesn't get as much attention as he should.  Phil Dirt is a figment of the imagination that exists in our hearts, but has become an essential part of Americana with a link to the past that reminds us of those days in the 50's and 60's when rock and roll was king.  The show featured many great songs from many great artists.  About a half dozen songs into the show, the group sang the Platters "Only You," but with a rather different twist.  Tony reminded us about the old records of the past and how the needle on the record player would carry dust and dirt and at times would skip.  Well, the song they sang reflected that and was hilarious.  I have included a link to the song, but not from the show tonight.  Really sounded better in person, but at least you will see how talented the group can be.  Perhaps the highlight of the evening for me was when Hadden took off on a song with his blues rendition and just set his guitar on fire.  He is truly a fine musician. The evening was a success, but I am afraid I have no photos to share since the program states that you are not allowed to take photos and I must say I didn't see a single flash the entire evening.  Hopefully the video that follows will show you how accomplished the group really is.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.