Oct
20
2:00 PM14:00

Stone House Breakdown

Stone House Breakdown - which won an award as the best bluegrass band in Central Pennsylvania last year - will be performing at the Eicher Arts Center in Ephrata on Oct. 20.

The band got the award from the Central Pennsylvania Music Hall of Fame. Stone House Breakdown will play from 2 pm. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 20 at the historic Eicher House, 409 Cocalico St. in Ephrata Borough’s Grater Park. Admission is free.

The band plays original songs in traditional bluegrass style, old time standards, bluegrass gospel and contemporary Americana folk.

Inspired by beautiful countryside in Pennsylvania’s Cumberland Valley, the band took its name in part from Old Stone House Road in Monroe Township, Cumberland County.

Stone House Breakdown members include Jena Bombay, vocals and guitar; her husband Robb Bomboy, vocals and mandolin, who Jena first met at an open mic in Winchester, Va.; Jena’s father Jan Strock, bass; Patrick MacDonald Jr., vocals and banjo, who has been playing Earl Scruggs-style banjo for about 16 years, and Tish Brown, vocals and fiddle.

Stone House Breakdown revives and celebrates Appalachian music. The band’s style is reminiscent of the music of the Stanley Brothers, who began performing in the 1940s and in 1995 were inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor.

The Oct. 20 concert is part of series of admission-free, Sunday afternoon cultural and entertainment shows for the public at the Eicher. Donations to the Eicher Arts Center, Inc., a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, will be accepted. The organization also rents out the historic Eicher House for private events such as weddings.

View Event →
Sep
22
2:00 PM14:00

Maggie Spike

The Maggie Spike Trio will perform Sept. 22 at the Eicher Arts Center in Ephrata. From left are Henry Patterson, Maggie and Spike.

Playing songs in an array of musical styles, the Maggie Spike Trio will entertain the public on Sept. 22 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Eicher Arts Center, 409 Cocalico St. In Ephrata Borough’s Grater Park.

Weather permitting, the performance will be outdoors in the beautiful park. Audience members are urged to bring folding chairs. Admission is free. Donations will be accepted.

Singer-songwriters Eric (Spike) and Peggy (Maggie) Gernerd are married, formed the musical group Maggie Spike and sometimes perform as a duo.

Eric first picked up acoustic guitar to play the songs of musicians such as Neil Young and Bob Dylan. He later delved more deeply into American and world folk music.

Peggy, inspired by vocalists such as Carol King and Joni Mitchell, wrote her first song at 18. She later learned more about her Irish ancestry and Celtic music, and some of her musical creations reflect both Celtic and jazz influences.

They joined with percussionist Henry Patterson to create and perform as a trio original songs in the American folk, Celtic, jazz and world rhythm genres. They will also perform at the Eicher event “fun covers” of other composers’ songs in those genres.

In addition to vocals and percussion, Maggie plays guitar and ukulele and Spike plays guitar, banjo and Irish bouzouki.

The Maggie Spike Trio’s world rhythm music features calypso, reggae, Mediterranean, Afro-Cuban, African, Brazilian and Middle Eastern influences.

Patterson’s drumming is characterized by Maggie Spike as exciting and tasteful as well as eclectic. Some of the percussion instruments featured by the trio include Irish bodhran, African djembe, Spanish castanets, Middle Eastern dumbek, Afro-Cuban bongos, Latin American cabana and shakere, musical washboards and spoons and wood blocks.

The Sept. 22 performance is part of the 2024 series of admission-free, Sunday afternoon shows hosted by the Eicher Arts Center, Inc., a 501 (c) non-profit organization formed four decades ago to save the historic Eicher House from demolition, find new uses for it and help Ephrata Borough transform one of Ephrata’s oldest buildings into a showplace cultural and entertainment venue. The non-profit organization also rents out the facility for weddings and other private events.

View Event →