Marsden, River Band take their show to the shore
Trending
PETERSBURG -- When Matt Marsden wrote an original song around the campfire some years ago, he gave a shout out to urban and city nature lovers when he posted it on social media.
In addition to the song, "The Fire's Gettin' Low," Marsden, a native of Alexandria, included a photo of folks sitting around a campfire with a skyline in the background.
The gritty tune certainly uplifts the spirits of those who are within listening distance of the lyrics but also can hear the crackling of the campfire's flames.
The 41-year-old Marsden plans to pull out his extensive songbook for a Saturday, July 19, appearance at Whipple Dam State Park's Music on the Beach Summer Concert Series. Marsden and the River Band are slated to perform on the shoreline of the Petersburg park from 7 to 9 p.m. Food service will be provided by Rebelz Food Truck. This is the second of four concerts in the series.
"We generally are an acoustic folk rock kind of band," said Marsden, describing Matt Marsden and the River Band. "We have one guitar, one vocalist, a fiddle, mandolin and drum. With that ensemble, we do everything from Hank Williams, Doc Watson, John Hartford. Ricky Staggs, Arlo Guthrie and sea shanties."
That can mean a mix of music from originals, covers, blues, rock and ragtime to bluegrass, country, Irish fiddle tunes, waltzes and even some modern tunes.
Marsden, a State College native, had a lot of musical inspirations, having grown up listening to Motown and the oldies. "It's hard to beat," he said.
In his school, he gravitated toward classic rock with a Grateful Dead kind of vibe. Then he got into bluegrass as well as listening to local bands.
"I've been really fortunate to know a lot of good musicians," Marsden explained. "They were people who were really knowledgeable, too, and shared music as well."
While performing on the beach might seem like an odd setting, Marsden and his band have played at Whipple Dam once or two previously, although it's been about 10 years. They have also performed at Greenwood Furnace State Park in Huntingdon.
"We play all over," Marsden quipped. "We do school fundraisers, outdoor events and small festivals." They've even performed for a local knitting club in the community.
As far as his approach to his show at the beach, he is treating it like any other performance. "We tailor our music to the show. That knitting guild, they wanted us to play quieter, so we picked songs that were quiet."
For the beach, his song list should contain "fun and peppy" and "dancing tunes," he added. "It will be cool to have people swimming or playing in the water. It's a special unique thing; it's really a gem. It's one of the coolest places to see a concert -- on a lake."
Although the members might have changed over the years, Marsden and the River Band has been together about 10 to 15 years and has developed its own unique sound.
"We've just been playing together so long, it feels really natural," Marsden said. "But when we play songs, we don't try to make them sound like the original did; we make it our own. We also try to feature each musician."
Marsden handles lead vocals and plays guitar, while the band includes Jenn Breimhurst on fiddle, Julian Canjura on banjo, Tony Buda on drums and Renee Buda on mandolin.