Songs & Tales of Trains
& Rails
Saturday, May 28th,
2005
7:00 – 9:00 PM
Rowland Theatre
125 N. Front Street
Philipsburg PA 16866
Are you interested in
railroad history?
Are you curious about what it was like to live during the
heyday of the steam trains?
Have you ever wondered what it was really like to be a
hobo, hopping freight trains and being a part of this subculture?
Does the sound of a Steam locomotive with its muscular
rhythms and piercing wail of a whistle get your blood running?
Then
you will not want to miss this concert.
The songs come from the rich and diverse railroad history by recording artists
Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Leadbelly, Elvis Presley, and many others. There will also be a rousing tribute to the
Irish that built the Horseshoe curve on fiddle and harmonica. The tales will be
about how the railroads were built and how they changed the world in general
and Central Pennsylvania in particular.
The
concert will feature:
“Luther the Jet” Luther Gette is a
Philipsburg native and railroad historian as well as a true hobo – someone that
has hopped freights a number of times and knows from experience what this is
like. He was declared “King of the Hobos” in 1995 and has spoken on numerous
occasions on railroad history and the life of the hobo, written and sung songs
from the hobo tradition.
“Joliet Joe Filisko” Joe
builds some of the most sought after custom harmonicas in the world. He is also one of the world’s
authorities on harmonica steam train and classic harmonica recordings. Joe
teaches traditional blues harmonica weekly in Chicago, and teaches and performs
internationally at harmonica conventions and blues related events.
Richard
Sleigh
Richard lives in Philipsburg and creates high-end custom harmonicas using the
methods that Joe and he developed. Over the last thirty years his harmonica
gigs have included beer joints, Bo Diddley and the Bridgeton Symphony
Orchestra. He has also done numerous recordings as a studio musician and plays
as a solo act with guitar and vocals.
Dan
Collins Dan
lives in State College PA and has achieved a mastery of Celtic fiddle tunes
since he began playing the instrument at the age of four. Dan will join Richard
Sleigh to present a musical tribute to the Irish that built the Horseshoe Curve and played
such a huge part of local railroad history.
This event is being produced and supported with the generous help of the Altoona Railroad Museum and The Navasky Foundation.
Tickets
are $5.00 each and will be available soon. Information will be posted on the
following websites:
http://www.customharmonicas.com/
Advance
tickets can be ordered from Richard
Sleigh at 814 342 9722
(You
may need to leave a message)