Photo courtesy of ABOVE THE RADAR
The band Above the Radar includes Craig Treece (from left), Steve Todaro and Jesse Sheeder.

MCCLURE — While summertime gives Steve Todaro and bandmates Craig Treece and Jesse Sheeder some time to rock, the trio known as Above the Radar love to roll onto the stage to lend a helping hand.

“We like being part of stuff like that,” Todaro added of playing at the Angels from Bigfoot Country Benefit Concert in McClure on Saturday. “We like helping other people; it’s a nice thing to do. We also do a lot of recording, too.”

On Saturday, Above the Radar will join three other bands to play on stage at the fundraising concert to be held from 1 to 9:45 p.m. at the Bean Soup Grounds, 7 E Ohio St., McClure.

Also scheduled to appear at the benefit event are Corina Rose from 2 to 3:30 p.m.; Jonathan Zinn and Fender Ridge from 4 to 5:30 p.m.; Krissy Richards and Beck, 6 to 7:30 p.m.; and Above the Radar from 8 to 9:45 p.m.

Admission is $10 for ages 12 and up; $5 for ages 5 to 11; and free for age 4 and under. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring a chair.

There will be live entertainment, rip tickets, 50/50 drawings and raffle baskets; lots of craft vendors and food vendors. Parking is free, and handicapped accessible spots are available.

“We do a lot of our own songs and we do covers — whatever works for us,” Todaro explained. “We play a lot of classic rock.”

Formed in 2018, Above the Radar morphed out of Todaro’s solo career with Treece and Sheeder going from backup roles to band members.

Now, Todaro handles vocals and guitar, while Treece is the bass player and Sheeder plays drums.

“Probably a combination of our faith and wanting to go against the grain a little bit,” Todaro said of the origin of the band’s name.

Above the Radar typically plays 10 to 12 gigs per year, appearing mainly at benefits, carnivals, fairs, festivals and private events from March through September.

“We’re a summertime band; we don’t do clubs,” Todaro said of their footprint, which includes mostly Huntingdon County as well as a few stops in Blair, Bedford and Centre counties. “We play mostly all outdoors.”

The three are from Central Pennsylvania as Todaro hails from Mount Union, while Treece is from Blacklog and Treece is from Alexandria.

With so many classic rock bands becoming legendary over the years, it’s hard for band members to pick a few that served as mentors. “There were so many, coming up through,” Todaro recalled. “Early on, I liked the way that John Mellencamp wrote. It’s been Blackberry Smoke the past eight years, I like their writing.”

As far as the other performers, Rose is a powerhouse country singer with a raw vocal talent backed by honest songwriting, while Zinn and Fender Ridge perform country, Americana and Indie hits.

The Angels from Bigfoot Country, which is based in Mount Union, had several key initiatives in 2024, including funding for the Salvation Army and assistance to North Carolina’s Hurricane Helene victims.

For more information, find them on Facebook.