Popular Lehigh Valley country rock band leader Scott Marshall says he remembers years ago, as a young, budding singer-songwriter, watching big-name music acts perform on the iconic Allentown Fair grandstand stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe watched our favorite bands play this stage, dreaming that one day, maybe we would be so fortunate,\u201d Marshall says in an interview.<\/p>\n
That dream will come true Sept. 6 when Scott Marshall & The Highway Souls perform on a bill with five other Lehigh Valley-area bands in a concert on the Service Electric Grandstand Stage that the Fair has billed as \u201cLocal Legends Live,\u201d a mini-festival offering some of the area\u2019s best-known rock bands.<\/p>\n
Also performing: The Aardvarks, Social Call, Common Bond, Strange Culture and Stereotype.<\/p>\n
\u201cLocal Legends Live\u201d starts at 2 p.m. and is expected to conclude at 10 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great lineup, and I was overwhelmed and honored [to be asked],\u201d Marshall says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very, very special. It\u2019s special to us, and I know it\u2019s special to all of our friends and the fans who have always been there, and continue to support us to this very day. And these opportunities are because of them,\u201d says Marshall.<\/p>\n
Allentown Fair Marketing and Entertainment Manager Jessica Ciecwisz says that Fair officials for several years considered the idea of a festival of local acts \u201cbecause we really don\u2019t have the site to have some of these bands to perform for Fair week, nor the slots.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it was always something that we kind of wanted to do, and we had the opportunity to do it this year,\u201d says Ciecwisz.<\/p>\n
She says the Fair, especially this year, wanted to be cognizant of the tougher economy by keeping tickets for Grandstand shows affordable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe approached it as making sure the ticket prices were, no pun intended, fair, given the reality right now,\u201d she says. \u201cNo ticket is over $75. We were really conscious of trying to keep the prices low.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to \u201cLocal Legends Live,\u201d the Grandstand this year will offer such shows as Motown music icons The Four Tops, with the Allentown Symphony; professional wrestling for the first time in 32 years; country singer Warren Zeiders; pop-punk band All Time Low, and the Fair\u2019s traditional Labor Day closer, a demolition derby.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a unique lineup compared with previous years,\u201d says Ciecwisz. \u201cThe acts are certainly different, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
In recent years, the Fair has offered comedians on Sundays for a more family-oriented presentation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had submitted many offers and were kind of getting to the point of running out of options,\u201d Ciecwisz says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also difficult to find somewhat of a clean comedian, besides Fluffy [Gabriel Iglesias] and Jeff Dunham. So it\u2019s kind of, how many times? We just wanted to take a break from that,\u201d says Ciecwisz.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it was, like, \u2018Well, why don\u2019t we try this? And given the current economy and environment, we realized we could do this at a pretty fair price. And just see and give these bands that are so well-known in our area the opportunity to play the Grandstand and enjoy the night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ciecwisz said that the Fair\u2019s Box Office Manager Anne Csencsits \u201cis a huge follower of local music\u201d and made suggestions on which bands to feature.<\/p>\n
Beyond that, Ciecwisz says, \u201cWe kind of tried to stay within the same kind of genre of things, as well, like not go obscure.\u201d She says that Fair officials debated whether to have a broad offering of genres.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut some of the main bands around here kept on coming up, and it was, like, The Aardvarks and Stereotype, and they all kind of fell into place,\u201d Ciecwisz says.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it was, like, we can\u2019t put on an out-of-left field band. So we tried to stay with the same kind of sound.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to make sure live music was played as much as possible. We wanted to make sure that bands had a good set time. And you have to switch over between [acts], so we wanted to make sure everyone was getting a good set and time [that] you could play more than three songs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ciecwisz said that when the Fair reached out to the chosen musicians, the response was \u201cexcitement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think, honestly, some people didn\u2019t believe it was real,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey would pick up the phone and call me; you could tell they were ecstatic. They have told our box office manager how excited they all are to play.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think every band in this lineup has called me and told me a Grandstand story about how they came and saw this band and that band and stuff. So it\u2019s actually been fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marshall says he was among those who were excited.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the folks at the Fair reached out, I\u2019ve got to admit, I was a little bit overwhelmed because for years, we\u2019ve all watched some of our favorite bands play this stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy initial reaction was I certainly don\u2019t consider myself a legend. [But] I\u2019m always grateful for every opportunity I\u2019m given.\u201d<\/p>\n
Singer-guitarist Reuben Rodriguez of Stereotype, in a video posted on the Fair\u2019s Facebook account, says, \u201cCan\u2019t wait to play this great stage where I saw so many bands growing up, and finally we get to play it. What an honor.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the same video, Social Call lead singer Larry Werner says, \u201cThe boys and I are so psyched to play that stage. We\u2019ve been watching bands play there my whole life and now we finally get to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mike Rauscher from The Aardvarks, says, \u201cWe are so stoked to be playing that stage, it is unbelievable. September 6 is going to be a hoot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marshall says that \u201call the bands, we\u2019re all friends. And some of them, we\u2019ve known each other since we were teenagers when we first were part of the scene. So we\u2019ve established some wonderful friendships and continue to support each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Referring to his younger self\u2019s dream of playing the Grandstand stage, Marshall says, \u201cNow that that day has arrived, it\u2019s pretty exciting. It\u2019s pretty exciting for all of us. I\u2019m pretty sure I can speak for all the entertainment, because all of us, we\u2019ve been working the local and regional scenes together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marshall says his band plans to play \u201ca set of pretty much all original music. I\u2019ll throw in two or three timeless classics, as always. I\u2019m going to use the opportunity to try to unite and bring the whole community together through the gift of music.\u201d<\/p>\n
He says the other acts on the bill with whom he\u2019s spoken: \u201cThey\u2019re all excited. We love doing what we do. \u2026 I can\u2019t speak for them, but I know there\u2019s excitement in their hearts. I\u2019m honored to be a part of it. I know all the guys are. And I know everybody\u2019s going to bring their \u2018A\u2019 game. And we\u2019re going to have a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marshall, for one, says he hopes the \u201cLocal Legends Live\u201d festival becomes a Fair tradition.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so much talent in the local area, and they\u2019re all worthy of this opportunity,\u201d he says. \u201cMaybe the Fair will continue this. I hope they will because there\u2019s so many other great bands. And the talent is all over the area, and they\u2019re all worthy of an opportunity like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLocal Legends Live\u201d: The Aardvarks, Social Call, Common Bond, Stereotype. Strange Culture, Scott Marshall & The Highway Souls, 2 p.m. Sept. 6, Service Electric Grandstand Stage, The Great Allentown Fair, Allentown Fairgrounds, bounded by 17th, Chew and Liberty streets, Allentown. Ticket information: https:\/\/www.allentownfair.com\/local-legends\/<\/p>\n
CONTRIBUTED PHOTOScott Marshall & The Highway Souls, \u201cLocal Legends Live,\u201d 2 p.m. Sept. 6, Service Electric Grandstand Stage, The Great Allentown Fair.<\/p>\n
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