Date/Time
Date(s) - September 16, 2017
7:00 PM
Location
Peoples Natural Gas Park
90 Johns St.
Johnstown, PA
The Eric Tessmer Band, a high-octane blues/rock act from Texas with a large following in Johnstown, will play the second and final show in the 2017 Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Concert Series on Sat., Sept. 16. The FREE show, which will be held at Peoples Natural Gas Park, will also feature the Derek Woods Band.
The September 16 schedule is as follows:
• Gates will open at 6:00 p.m.
• Derek Woods Band: 7:00 p.m.
• Eric Tessmer Band: 9:00 – 10:30 p.m.
About the bands:
Eric James Tessmer, actually named after guitar giants Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix, is an extraordinary guitarist, musician, singer and songwriter hailing from Austin, Texas. He is widely considered one of the most vibrant guitarists to follow in the footsteps of blues-rock legends such as his namesake predecessors and Stevie Ray Vaughan. His live shows have captured audiences’ attention across the United States as power-packed sessions of wickedly fast and precise licks that can light the house on fire without the need for lighter fluid.
Born and raised outside of the small town of Richland Center, Wisconsin, Tessmer began playing at a young age, inspired by his father and grandmother. In 2000, he moved to Austin at the age of 19 to play gigs with numerous musicians and bands, earning local credibility as he honed his craft of riffing with speed, power and control. He later formed his own power trio, the Eric Tessmer Band, in 2003. Through a battered ’59 Fender Stratocaster producing vintage-correct tones, Eric kickstarts the engine left idling by guitar players of the past.
Known as one of the hardest working musicians in the area, Tessmer continues to travel the U.S., Canada and Europe, and has shared the stage with notable musicians such as Dick Dale, Anders Osborne, Tab Benoit, Monte Montgomery, Gary Clark Jr. and Chris Duarte.
The Eric Tessmer Band appeared at the AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival (and its predecessor festival, the AmeriServ Johnstown FolkFest) in 2006, 2010, 2012, and most recently in 2015.
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“Big Jam” is how Morning Glass Entertainment describes the genre of Derek Woods Band. “Big” probably comes from the 6-piece lineup that makes up DWB, including 11 different instruments and the lead vocals of Derek Woods as well as up to four of the members providing backup harmonies. “Jam” most likely comes from DWB’s tendency to transition in the midst of their lyric-driven rock n’roll style original songs into a seemingly free-for-all jam pulled together by solos and danceable beats that allow you to lose yourself to the music of the moment. The DWB played the AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival in 2016.
Woods is the Pittsburgh-born son of Tim Woods, a 2012 inductee into the Blues Hall of Fame. DWB formed in 2011 in Los Angeles, California. The band includes an instrumental lineup of acoustic guitar, harmonica, lead electric guitar, mandolin (acoustic and electric), keys, drums,percussion/congas, kaossilator, and bass.