{"id":235428,"date":"2026-07-04T12:58:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T12:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/235428\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T12:58:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T12:58:08","slug":"ben-arnold-highlights-gorgas-park-summer-solstice-concert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/235428\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Arnold highlights Gorgas Park summer solstice concert"},"content":{"rendered":"

By John Katrina<\/p>\n

For 27 years, the Summer Solstice Concert and Beer Garden Festival at Gorgas Park has featured local resident Ben Arnold as its headline act.<\/p>\n

This year was no different \u2014 other than the freshly growing crowd \u2014 as throngs of loyal and newly minted roxboroughites descended upon the lush gardens of John Boyce\u2019s volunteer-led fastidious labor, to relax, revel, and submit to the sonic regalia of the storied troubadour and friends.<\/p>\n

The festivities kicked off at 3 p.m. amid scrambling volunteers, and the melodious musings of \u201cSpeeding Arrow\u201d hailing from Phoenixville, PA, and self-described as offering \u201ccosmic sounds from planet Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

New Ridge Brewery was anchoring the beer garden with their hyperlocal offerings including \u201cRoxborough Gold,\u201d and guava lemonades that having been making a splash since the community favorite\u2019s re-emergence at Springfest.<\/p>\n

\"Speeding<\/p>\n

Speeding Arrow put the crowd in the right mood with an opening set showcasing a galaxy of influences from blues, rock, folk, and psychedelia. (Photo courtesy of John Katrina)\n<\/p>\n

\"Richard<\/p>\n

Richard Bush brought energy and fashion to the summer festival leading \u2018The Peace Creeps\u2019 in a set with a unifying spirit. (Photo courtesy of John Katrina)\n<\/p>\n

\"State<\/p>\n

State Rep. Tarik Khan and partner in crime Sarah Hammond were delighted to be part of the Gorgas Park music scene. (Photo courtesy of John Katrina)\n<\/p>\n

\"All<\/p>\n

All ages shared the fun and flavors of the almost three decade event. (Photo courtesy of John Katrina)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ben<\/p>\n

Ben Arnold and his 48 Hour Orchestra, a mainstay of the concert series, closed out the evening with a rousing performance. (Photo courtesy of John Katrina)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 5<\/p>\n

Speeding Arrow put the crowd in the right mood with an opening set showcasing a galaxy of influences from blues, rock, folk, and psychedelia. (Photo courtesy of John Katrina)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

After Speeding Arrow warmed up the eager crowd in the perfect summer weather, \u201cThe Peace Creeps\u201d took the stage led by Richard Bush, founder of the 80\u2019s local fame \u201cThe A\u2019s,\u201d and upped the ante with their stirring rock-infused americana stylings that evoked an era of imagination of us at our best.<\/p>\n

Park favorites Dekes Barb-B-Que and Frios frozen treats were on hand to keep the appetites satisfied as the spirit and numbers grew.<\/p>\n

\"NewNew Ridge Brewery made the beer garden a welcoming gathering place. (Photo courtesy of John Katrina)<\/p>\n

All ages seemed to find their zone whether it was children\u2019s hide-and-seek, young adult playful flirtations, or middle age reminiscing, there was dancing and socializing for every age \u2014 even 102, as Sylvia Myers, and John Boyce, Sr., 98, park regulars, made their grand entrance.<\/p>\n

\"CommunityCommunity icons John Boyce Sr. and Sylvia Meyers have been avid fans of the summer concert series since its beginning. (Photo courtesy of John Katrina)<\/p>\n

From local business owners to regular working folks to State Representative Tarik Khan, it was a who\u2019s who of neighborhood fixtures.<\/p>\n

The evening crescendoed with Ben\u2019s local \u201c48 Hour Orchestra\u201d performing a set, followed by his European touring lineup \u201cUS Rails.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked, Arnold spoke from the heart: \u201cFriends of Gorgas Park and John Boyce took a gamble on my music and my music community, fans, and friends 27 years ago \u2013 and we\u2019ve turned it into neighborhood event we all look forward to every summer. Weather permitting, it\u2019s one of my favorite days of the year. Better than Christmas morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thank you Ben, thank you John, and thank you Roxborough \u2026 for helping us remember \u2026 the United States of America started here, in this city, with an idea that we can do something better \u2026 and keeping that spirit alive is a noble calling that was well on display.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By John Katrina For 27 years, the Summer Solstice Concert and Beer Garden Festival at Gorgas Park has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235429,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[182,139,28,69,1212,71,70,22177,10918],"class_list":["post-235428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-county","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-roxborough-review","tag-top-stories-tth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}