Welcome to the official site of the AmeriServ Johnstown FolkFest - a three-day Americana music festival with free admission! Produced by the Johnstown Area Heritage Association, the FolkFest is one of the best free music festivals in the nation. This site has all the information you need to enjoy the FolkFest -- choose from the navigation bar to the left, and check back often for updates.

September 1-3, 2006-- Johnstown, Pennsylvania

FolkFest 2006 Performers
	The AmeriServ Johnstown FolkFest showcases American music in all its glorious varieties -- from blues to zydeco and everything in between. What's more, it's free! The following performers played FolkFest 2006. Visit the FolkFest News page for the latest on the festival, including plans for 2007.
Sleepy LaBeef -- Arguably the greatest living roots musician, Sleepy LaBeef has been playing since the early 1950s -- while others emulate the rockabilly tradition, he embodies it. This Arkansas native has shared bills with everyone from Elvis to Roy Orbison to George Jones, and has influenced artists ranging from the Beatles to Bruce Springsteen. LaBeef is known for the raw power of his live performances (last seen at FolkFest in 1999 and 1995), which The New York Times says are "a national treasure." He's been called The Bull, The Road Warrior, and the Human Jukebox -- this 6'7" giant of rockabilly never fails to satisfy. Sponsor: First Energy.
	Balkan Beat Box -- New York-based Israelis Ori Kaplan and Tamir Muskat form the heart of the Balkan Beat Box, which blends Balkan brass, turntables, percussion of all sorts (including kitchen implements), Gypsy rhythms, electronic beats, Bulgarian female vocals and sounds from all over the globe into an incredibly compelling, exotic live show. Explained one critic, "This is not your mother's klezmer - in fact, Jewish music never sounded so groundbreaking. . . This is the dance party of the new millennium." Sponsor: First Commonwealth.
Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience -- Back by popular demand! Terrance Simien played FolkFest in 2002, 1998 and 1992, and is a major reason why zydeco is so popular with our audience -- in fact, he has a live performance that Billboard Magazine has named one of the top 10 performances of the year. Recognized the world over as a zydeco legend, Simien has performed and recorded with artists as diverse as the Dave Matthews Band, Paul Simon and Los Lobos. *JAHA thanks Terrance for allowing us to use his original song, "Toot Toot," on this Web page and in our television public service announcement . Sponsor: Laurel Management.
	Those Darn Accordions --Back by popular demand! A two-time FolkFest veteran, this group's live performances are legendary for their energy and spunk (in fact, they stomped a hole in a FolkFest stage in 2003). This San Francisco-based group squeezes out quirky, catchy originals chronicling life in the weird lane, and will forever rearrange your understanding of the accordion. Sponsor: Tribune-Democrat.
Bonerama -- Multiple trombones spitting funk, rock and jazz, backed by a sousaphone, drummer and electric guitar! Critics agree that this brass funk rock band is the freshest sound to come out of New Orleans in decades - in fact, Rolling Stone magazine calls them "the ultimate in brass balls." Sponsor: Spence, Custer, Saylor, Wolfe & Rose.
	The Recipe -- A veteran of FolkFest 2004, the Recipe is one of the most original and refreshing bands on the roots rock/jamband scene today. Wrote one critic, "with elements of funk, fusion, rock and traditional Southern influences seeping into their sound, the Recipe do what jambands do best: weave several styles into a seamless whole." Sponsor: Concurrent Technologies Corp.
Maia Sharp -- Maia Sharp's songs have been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Trisha Yearwood and the Dixie Chicks - in fact, she wrote the title track on the Chicks' Grammy Award-winning album "Home," and has been on tour with Bonnie Raitt for much of 2005. "Maia is making some of the most innovative and soulful music around with songs that are head and shoulders above the rest," Raitt says. Wrote Billboard magazine, "Sharp wields her crisp, alluring choruses like a temptress; listeners will surely be ensnared. Her tear-soaked lyrics and high-cresting melody conspire for a finely crafted lesson on invincible pop." Sponsor: MetLife.
	Irish Descendants -- This traditional Celtic band from Newfoundland first played FolkFest in 2000. Talented instrumentalists, the band plays guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, accordion, tin whistle and bouzouki. Wrote one critic, "The Irish Descendants are the undisputed 'Kings of Celtic' . . .Strong, hearty vocals, incredible musicianship, and an astonishing ability to make even the most cynical music fan dance." Sponsors: 96 Key, Froggy 95, Hot 92, Rocky 99, and News-Talk 990.
Billy Price Band -- Billy Price, east coast blue-eyed soul man, has been entertaining audiences across the nation for the past three decades - and he's an institution in his hometown of Pittsburgh. According to the Washington Post, "Unlike so many blues revivalists, Price is not an imitation of older, better singers--he's the real thing." Raves another critic, "Price doesn't sound like any particular soul singer, but he possesses the vocal characteristics of the best--liquid smoke wrapped in barbed wire." Price is backed by a tight, horn-heavy band that brings out the best in soul classics and Price originals. Sponsor: Slovenian Savings & Loan.
	Lee Boys -- "Sacred steel artists" is how this Miami-based band describes itself. As one critic put it, "their tradition melds the almost-human moan and wail of pedal steel guitar with the foot stomping, fan-waving evangelical fervor of an African-American Holiness-Pentecostal tent revival meeting." Rooted in gospel, their music borrows freely from R&B, jazz, rock, hip-hop and country. Audiences at their live performances take part by dancing and singing -- you won't be able to keep your seat! Sponsor: 1st Summit Bank.
Doll Hospital -- Doll Hospital is the vaguely malformed brainchild of downtown New York music-scene mainstay Heather Eatman. Featuring Eatman on arch-top guitar and vocals, backed by a band consisting of vibraphone, string bass and drums, this tiny wayward orchestra specializes in whimsical noir ditties that us back to a time that never was, but perhaps should have been. Eatman, who spent her teenage years in Johnstown, played the FolkFest as a solo act in 1999 and 1995. Sponsor: CBIZ Insurance Services.
	Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers -- Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers have been described as the best bar band in America. "One of rock's true original indie bands, Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers don't get the respect that they deserve. . . If I had to pick one record to explain to future generations what rock & roll was about, this would be it," wrote one critic about the live album "Down the Road Apiece." Grushecky counts Bruce Springsteen among his fans, and often plays with the Boss when he comes to the area. Sponsor: JWF Industries.
Eric Tessmer Band -- Hot out of Austin, Texas, the Eric Tessmer Band plays sizzling electric blues with a talent some critics have compared to the young Stevie Ray Vaughan. Raves one critic, "Eric Tessmer holds a nightly clinic, a sermon if you will, in Strat manipulation ... to call his licks fast would be an insult to Mr. Graham Bell and to light itself." Sponsor: Northwest Savings Bank.
	Will Hawkins -- "An honest and sincere presence on stage... terrific stories and wonderful pop hooks," writes one critic of Will Hawkins. Another critic raves, "From the first note he had my undivided attention ... an amazing storyteller with a fantastic voice." Hawkins is currently working on a new album, "Johnstown," whose title track is a tribute to Johnstown soldiers, reservists and national guardsmen returning from Iraq. Sponsor: The Sargent's Group.
Gamble Brothers Band -- Steeped in the rich musical traditions of the South, this Memphis-based band beat out more than 1,200 artists in the Independent Musicians World Series in 2003 -- and has only gotten better since. Combining soul, Crescent City funk, rock, reggae and ska, the Gamble Brothers Band lights up the stage. Sponsor: Waste Management.
	Mark Dignam -- A native of Dublin, Ireland, Mark Dignam now calls Pittsburgh home, where he's been voted one of WYEP's top artists for 2005. According to one critic, his music "isn't rock in the spiky haired punk or earnest grunge sense, but the classic school of thinking, imbued with a sense of America's music history." Sponsor: Cool 101.7.
The Gospel Lights -- The members of this group are from the Pittsburgh area. A perennial FolkFest favorite, they last appeared with us in 2005. The group, which originally formed in 1952, has traveled throughout the country performing with some of the great gospel artists of our time. Sponsor: Slovenian Savings & Loan.
	Tim Dabbs -- Born in Johnstown, Tim Dabbs moved back to the city after first playing the Johnstown FolkFest in 2000. His music is in the storytelling tradition of folk, and includes many songs about this region. Dabbs has been featured on National Public Radio and Good Morning America. According to one critic, "Tim is a very talented songwriter writing in the tradition of Stan Rogers and Gordon Lightfoot, and people who write about real events and real places." Sponsor: Cambria Hardware & Equipment Company.
Rusty Gun Revival -- Go back to the time of honky tonk and juke joint music with Rusty Gun Revival, formerly known as Blind Jonny Death! Based in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, they've been delighting multigenerational audiences with energetic, lively shows across the state and beyond since June 2004. The group's shows are from the heart -- no planned act, no set list, just good, live Americana music as they feel it. If you're not a roots music fan, this act will make you one - and if you are, this is the group for you. Sponsor: Atlantic Broadband.
	Jazz In Your Face -- A FolkFest perennial, Jazz in Your Face is a Johnstown-based group specializing in big-band music. This 17-member band has been entertaining audiences since 1988. Sponsor: JWF Industries.
Russell Lauf Band -- One critic wrote, "What's country? With a hundred vested interests and a musical spectrum as wide as America, who knows for sure. All Johnstown's Russell Lauf knows is that they're the same personal story songs whether they're backed by twangy pedal steel, delicate six string, wailing urban sax or electric guitar." The Russell Lauf Band specializes in bringing personal songs to life. A Johnstown native and gifted songwriter, Lauf is backed by a 7-piece band with a country rock twist that reminds many of the Eagles and Jackson Browne. Sponsor: McAneny Brothers, Inc.
	Rachel Allen -- Rachel Allen is a singer/songwriter who performs traditional, multicultural and contemporary folk music and original material. She has been featured at a broad variety of concerts and events across southwestern Pennsylvania. A native of Johnstown, Allen released her first solo CD, "Almost There," in 2005. Sponsor: Flower Barn.