The popular Berks County-based regional band Dance Hall Docs will return to Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest after a 10-year hiatus, with guest vocalists Tom Bowes (formerly of Blood, Sweat & Tears) and Larry Braggs (formerly of Tower of Power and The Temptations) on Saturday at 8 p.m. in the DoubleTree by Hilton Reading Callowhill Room.

Between 2011 and 2015, the regional horn-based band performed at Jazz Fest, with high-powered guest lead singers including Brent Carter (Average White Band), Bowes, and Ray Green (TOP and Santana), and they were scheduled to play in 2020. But because of the COVID pandemic, the festival was canceled that year.

“The last time we all played in this kind of large venue was 10 years ago,” band leader/drummer/vocalist Fred Moreadith said. “We played at Mike’s Tavern and Barley Mow in October, and Building 24 on Dec. 20 as warmups for Berks Jazz Fest.”

“It’s like a reunion every time we get together,” said Mike Anderson, saxophonist/vocalist for the band. “We’ll be doing lots of Tower of Power and Blood, Sweat & Tears songs, and some other things.”

The 11-piece band also includes percussionist/vocalist Paul Gallello, bass guitarist Andy Alonso, guitarist/vocalist Peter Rogan, keyboardist Ron Stabinsky, vocalist Danny Thompson, trumpeters Bob Stoyko and Rob Diener, trombonist John Loos, and saxophonist Bob Howell.

The Docs had their origin at New York’s Fashion Week in 2005. Moreadith, whose wife Karen owned the Bridal Gardens in Mount Penn at the time, was also involved in the family business on the wholesale side, as a bridal sales representative. WeddingWire’s party planner asked him if he could provide the music for a party in the Waldorf Astoria ballroom for Fashion Week. He quickly lined up some of his musician friends, and the Dance Hall Docs wound up performing at the Waldorf party for three years in a row.

Moreadith’s family came to Berks County in 1972, when his father began working as an engineer for Gilbert Associates in the Green Hills area. Moreadith had already been studying drumming since the age of 10 in his previous home in Norfolk, Va., and continued his lessons throughout his years at Wyomissing High School, where he played in the marching band. In 1978, he was a member of the Reading Buccaneers Drum and Bugle Corps.

While studying music at the University of Missouri School of Music, Moreadith formed a Top 40 band in the central Midwest that played at frat parties, bars, and other venues. While he was in the graduate program for counseling psychology, he continued the band. Along the way, he worked with two lead singers: Leslie White, who later became a finalist on the TV show “Star Search,” and Sheryl Crow, who went on to become a well-known singer/songwriter.

After returning to Berks County, Moreadith played in local bands while pursuing his career in the bridal business with Karen. (His daughter, Amanda Alger, now owns the bridal shop Dressed in Love on Penn Avenue in West Reading.)

After the Docs’ success at Fashion Week, Moreadith decided to keep it going, using local and regional musicians. But because of his own and others’ busy work schedules, he decided to structure the band similarly to professional orchestras and other ensembles who often depend on substitutes.

“We don’t rehearse a lot,” he said. “We have about 150 charts, and so every time we play, it’s everybody’s responsibility to learn the music independently. The expectation is that you have to read music, and you have to be comfortable with taking responsibility to rehearse and prepare. If there are problems, we reach out to each other by text or phone.”

Through the two decades since 2005, the system has worked well, and the band has attracted excellent lead vocalists who return as featured artists with the Docs. The band can also provide a smaller contingent called Doctors of Funk for smaller venues. Both bands play in various genres, including swing, Motown, pop, and Sinatra-style tunes.

Moreadith also plays regularly in the five-piece band Reality Check, and Anderson is part of Flamin’ Dick and the Hot Rods, led by Dick Weatherholtz, as well as performing as part of The Berks Horns each year at Berks Jazz Fest.

For complete information about Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest and how to purchase tickets, visit www.berksjazzfest.com.