Live and Local - Scene and Herd Fest 2026

Seems the folks at Guernsey Beat can’t let a month go by without having a music fest of some kind… I’m all for it as this time they kick off the first weekend of the new year with Scene and Herd fest at Ploughman. One night and two solid days of music, with otherworldly technology innovations!

Ok… well, they put monitors outside in front so you can hear the music going on if you’re walking on the square. Not exactly Star Trek, but it’s pretty cool.

It all started Friday night with The Clark McClane Band. You may not be hip to them because they don’t play in Gettysburg very often… the only other times I saw them was at Cidernalia for the last two years.  Theyre a very solid band that I had only seen twice before, both times at Cidernalia. The eponymous Clark is a tremendous songwriter and a great frontman. Kind of like if Tom Petty had spent a lot of time in Philly . His voice fits his music about as well as anyone I can think of. Shawn Carr plays a gorgeous butterscotch Telecaster (a sure sign that he is a righteous and noble soul), and he plays the shit out of it. Their music tends toward folk and blues and storyteller type music, so having such a surprisingly sharp and powerful electric guitar in the mix gives the band a distinctive voice. The rhythm section  (Chris Stanonis on bass and Tom Rainey on drums) are solid, tight as a drum, and bring a lot more thump than you might expect for the musical choices. Clark McClane band is currently in the process of recording with Guernsey beat, and they already have music out there in the streaming world. You may not get to see them much in Gettysburg, but I recommend you keep an eye out. And don’t take my word for it, get out there and pull some of their music. I’ll keep you posted on the new release, assuming I can get Rob to tell me when it happens.

So that was Friday night, a great set, and a lot of fun. Saturday at 1ish things open up with Glass Grin. The Tremonti level is strong in these boys…  I can feel it as I’m walking up the square. Like some hoodoo lady stuck a pin in a doll, right in the forehead.  I'm sitting in the back, watching Evan Crider and Matt Morris tune up, and I quietly swear to myself that if Morris puts his foot up on top of the monitor when he solos, like Tremonti loves to do in true Douche Rock Star fashion, i'm going to pee in his guitar case.

I didn’t really swear it quietly to myself, I told him.

For those of you who might be new readers, I should tell you that Glass Grin drives me crazy. Evan Crider is a tremendous musician, front man, and song writer, a solid seasoned pro. Brother can even sing! Matt Morris is, without a doubt, one of the highest upside guitarists I’ve ever had a chance to see locally, and is also a great songwriter and a versatile and solid musician. He even sounds good playing a mandocello (go ahead and google it, I’ll wait). And they have Deano on bass…the Toyota V8 of bassists (I think he played with about 7 bands over the weekend. He is the doctor). Their set was tight and solid as always. the 90s chord progressions make me want to bang my head on a desk until i pass out,but what are you going to do? Evan had a very sweet new SG. Matt was born with an ugly les paul in his hands. i wish someone would give them a smokey robinson CD to listen to, but putting aside my own tastes, they are a very professional group with guys who know what they're doing and give a shit about what they put out. You can't ask for more than that...except maybe less 3 doors down-like whiner rock.

All that said, it’s physically painful for me not to make fun of the band name, and when I go to hell, Evan will be there making up my music mix. So it goes…

Next set was Dark River Darling. Rin is an incredible song writer and singer/banjo player. Since I've known her, it's been a pleasure to watch her grow into her art. She's also put together a HELL of a band. Her guitarist is one of the best around in terms of how he works with a banjo player and still can bring amazing and engaging guitar work (guitars and banjos dont always play well together), especially when there's also a mandolin player, upright bassist and drummer. It's testament to what a great bandleader Rin is turning into as her music gets more complex and interesting all the time. Girl sings like a dove too!

Wild Hymns came up after that. One of the more amazing finds of mine recently (they’ve been around for a while… I was just slacking),  a duo with a lady, Megan Woodland Donley, who sings like Judy Collins and a gentleman, Jeff Hewitt, who plays guitar like Chet Atkins. He has a fingerstyle that is so smooth and fluid, it's like listening to a harp. His embellishments work around the lines she emphasizes to bring it around like a rising tide. His concentration on the accompaniment is amazing, like nothing else matters except what he's playing to lay down with her lyrics. You almost want to listen to them in a high ceilinged conservatory.

I was outside having a cigar when i heard Llew Hank Ellen and one of their trills, so i scooted my ass back in. They were sitting in with Jeff, who was working around the vocals masterfully, but the dynamic was different. Megan sings in the warm inviting way of a story teller; you can easily get lost in it, and it's not a bad place to be.

LLew brings it. Their range and the control of voice as an instrument is always evident. I've heard people reference Kate Bush and Amy Winehouse, both of which make sense to me, but after listening to them now, I'm thinking of Sarah Vaughn. The sheer comfort and control with the energy and ability to blast or soothe. i considered Ella Fitzgerald because of the range, but that's as stylistically different as it was with Megan.

Sarah Vaughn with a mic was like Michael Jordan on the court. You knew what was going to happen, and things you didn’t think were possible were like breathing for him. Sarah had that effortless mastery. You didn’t compare her to other singers because why would you? Similarly, Llew isn't like anyone else. Hearing Llew and Megan singing side by side was worth putting the whole damn fest on.

But there was a lot more to go.

Next up was Tony Scheaffer, a great singer/songwriter who reminds me of Elvis Costello if he rocked just a bit harder. Speaking of, he was joined by Mike Stearns, playing a Stratocaster that looks like it wants to kick your ass. The best way I can describe the set was if Elvis were to sit in with Dimebag Darrell. If any of you think that’s a bad thing, there’s something wrong with you that I don’t care to ponder. Spectacular.

Now. Brace yourself.

Next up was an act I hadn’t heard of, called Patchwork Complaint Desk. This is actually a single man in the shape of one Jacob Smith. Jacob is a virtuoso guitarist the likes of which, if you see, maybe, 3 people in your whole life who can play guitar like Jacob can, you can count yourself lucky as hell. I’ve seen him do classical and jazz standards, playing acoustic and sometimes a scary black super strat. Either one will make you cry. Now, he is also a songwriter with a style that I find difficult to give you a comparative description. I’ve landed on a very pissed off Captain Beefheart. Best I can do.

He sat there playing wonderfully crafted songs on his guitar, and this is the very first time I’ve ever heard songs that reference Satans ball sweat, making life choices between suicide or genocide, and comparing oneself to deranged family members all in one set. LOOK FOR Patchwork Complaint Desk and go and see him. He’s utterly batshit, and a genius.

About this time, my Lovely Companion appeared, thereby making my day. Peter Wile and Gena Lanette were closing out the night. For Pete’s set, Gena sat in with a mandolin, with Pete playing guitar and harps, and another wonderful guitarist who, I apologize, but I missed the name of. There’s really no one who gets up there and plays a set like Pete does. He’s one of the best songwriters I know, and (second Petty reference for the day) performs on par with TP, one of the greatest live acts of my lifetime. I already wrote about Peter, so not much more to say other than he brought it again, and any day seeing Pete is a better day than otherwise.

Then they broke down and set up for Gena’s set. Faithful readers will know that I love blues like nothing else, and Gena is one of the more brilliant blues guitarists that I could name, local or otherwise. She rocked the top off of Ploughmans. I was standing in the back of the packed taproom, Mike Kell, Mike Stearns and about a dozen other people (including the Lovely Companion), just losing our damn minds. Thanks, Gena.

Bear with me. One day to go.

Next morning, Lovely Companion and I went to a very meaningful and edifying event that I won’t joke about here with my normal foolishness. I’m lucky to have had the opportunity and to have had her company. Once that was finished and my comically spoiled dog was tended to, I got back to the Taproom in time for Mike Kell’s set to open up the day. I will be writing about Mike more completely soon, but I will say that every time I manage to see Mike play, I wish I could see him more. He plays an F hole acoustic guitar, has a band so tight they squeak, and writes songs like a folk-and-blues Tom Waits.

He actually sounds better than that. A lot more to come on his work soon here at the flat5…for now I’ll say his set was great, Dirty plays the hell out of his harps, and I hope to catch him again very soon.

The next couple of sets, I’m afraid I was in and out for. More dog service and other errands, but Samuel D Lo is a great singer songwriter who I’d seen at Ploughman a few months ago. He plays a left handed semi hollow with tremendous tone and his music is also available streaming. Absolutely worth looking up. Also after that was Grace Mahar, an incredibly talented singer and songwriter who’s part of Cumberland Honey as well (there was fair amount of CH representation at scene and herd, I hope to catch them some time soon).

I wish I could have sat through both of those sets completely, but this fest ate up the whole weekend, and the elves that normally appear to get groceries and do laundry for me must have gotten themselves deported…life gets in the way.

I walked back into the taproom just as Bad Naked was taking the stage. This is the 47th of Morris’s bands, I think. In this one, he’s got Deano and Blake on bass and drums, the all powerful Stearns on guitar, and Chrissy doing vocals with him. They rock hard as nails, you get to see a different flavor of Matt (though still with the ugly les paul) from his other groups…straight ahead rock, rhythm tight as hell, Stearns righteous as a punch to the face, Chrissy singing like an old school classic rock front lady. I’ve seen her handle everything from Janis Joplin to Heart without breaking a sweat. Matt has a lot to offer and I always look forward to seeing him do something he hasn’t done before. Happily, the Tremonti level was very low with this group!

Bad Naked was a great lead in to Chuck D to round out the night. Dean of course, just stayed up there and waited for Cuz and Ben and Dave to get things all plugged in and tuned. Just another day in the mines.

This article is getting crazy long,  so I’ll just tell you that Chuck D was Chuck D. I was glad to hear them do some of the songs on their upcoming album. The place was still packed even at the end of two days on a Sunday night, and rightly so. Ben rocked the place like he always does, Dave was magic, Cuz held court in the back like the Judge and Jury that he is, and Dean holds up the earth on his shoulders as always.

It was a tremendous two days and three nights, many acts have been or are currently recording with Guernsey Beat, so keep your eyes and ears open, and it was great to see so many local “regular” acts along with some that we don’t normally get to see in town. As always with these events, Rob Leib should get a Nobel Prize. At least buy him a Stayman when you see him. When it comes to Ploughman Taproom music, and local music in general, he is the Great and Powerful Oz.

Thanks to him, and also to Gabe and Courtney and Zach for doing yeoman’s work behind the bar. Thanks, also, to all the acts that came together and played their collective ass off and supported and enjoyed each other. It was a great way to kick off 2026 in Gettysburg.