The Mifflin Community Library will present the Dave Mell Blues Band in a free concert on Sunday, June 12, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Mohnton Memorial Park Bandshell, Walnut Street, Mohnton, for the first performance of its 2016 Summer Concert Series.
The Dave Mell Band / Dave Mell Blues Band features Dave Mell, guitar and vocals; Ellen Mell, vocals; Tom Montgomery, keyboards, bass, and vocals; Tom Arnold, bass, and vocals; Judd Burkert, drums; and Charlie Paplosky, harmonica.
The band has released three CDs, “Rollin’ Man” in 2006, “Blues With A Feeling” in 2008, and the newly released “Living Like Strangers” 2016. All CDs are available for purchase at www.cdbaby.com – at any Dave Mell Band appearance, and also at Paplosky’s Speed Shop in Sinking Springs, Pa.
Dave Mell has played locally and regionally for nearly 40 years and is a more than capable lead vocalist. However, it is his multi-genre guitar prowess that is well known and respected in the Berks and surrounding area. Among his career highlights, he has performed many times at B.B. King’s in NYC and at CBGB’s in NYC and has also toured the former Soviet Union twice. Ellen Mell’s vocal talents and dynamic stage persona are legendary. The other band members possess an equally impressive collective resume far too lengthy to include here.
The current members bring outstanding musicianship along with an abundance of vocal power which has been harnessed to allow the band to greatly broaden their musical landscape. Originally playing mostly an uncommonly diversified blues repertoire, the band has evolved over the last 14 years to now include many well-known 60s and 70s R&B, Soul, Motown, Classic Rock, and [of course] Blues songs. The inherent creativity within the band renders these songs more than mere cover versions, and when they are interpreted, masterfully arranged, and medley-ed with the Dave Mell Band’s distinctive style, many qualify as signature remakes. The band is also known for powerful and memorable original songs, many of which appear on the band’s CDs.
The musical camaraderie on and offstage within the band is apparent immediately. The band’s members are children of the 50’s, 60s & 70s era, and share an influence of the sounds from that very musically rich period of time.
You can keep updated with the band by visiting www.davemellbluesband.com.
Bring a lawn chair or a blanket to relax and enjoy the concert. Food is available at the snack bar in the park. In case of rain, the concert will be held at St. John’s Parish House, One Front Street Plaza in Mohnton.
The second concert of the season will feature Charlie Zahm and friends on July 10, and The Sin City Band will play the final concert on August 14.
Mifflin Community Library receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. PPA is administered in this region by Berks Arts Council.
Further support for Mifflin Community Library’s 2016 Summer Concert Series has been provided by Mifflin Area businesses.
For more information on this concert, the Summer Concert Series, or other programs and events the Mifflin Community Library offers, please visit the website atwww.berks.lib.pa.us/mifflincl/ or contact Elizabeth Shepley, Programs/PR Coordinator at 610.777.3911 or mifflincl@berks.lib.pa.us.
