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It was early June, and a nice Saturday for a drive through the scenic mountains and beside the rapid rivers of central Pennsylvania. The weather was clear, seventy, and sunny, it was just right for a rock and roll festival. So, lucky for me, as I drove north from Maryland, there was a rock and roll festival that day and it happened to be in central Pennsylvania... 

Silent Planet Fest was held at a small operating campgrounds in Hughesville, Pa. Tall trees and small cabins lined the lovely campgrounds, along with a few larger structures and five or six families in recreational vehicles. Later in the day as I looked around the camp, I got the impression that not everyone staying on the grounds knew what they were in for that Saturday. 

At the center of the campgrounds was an all-white barn that had been turned into a rather large chapel/meeting room. And close by was a cabin that had been outfitted to be a snack and foodbar. This day those two buildings were the activity center for an inside concert hall featuring nine rock bands and entertainers. The first band was playing as I arrived. Trinity FSG ( http://www.myspace.com/trinityfsg) is a power trio playing prog praise music, and the first thing that struck me as I approached the concert hall was how clear the sound was. The drums and guitars and vocals were all crisp, even though it was all pretty loud. And I'm happy to report that the sound man proceeded to do good job with the bands all day long. 

A four man outfit called Axeom was next up. A group of high school teenagers with a pretty mature rock and jazz sound, the band is three energetic brothers plus one, and they were impressive for being so young. From the youngest to the eldest, Ajalon ( http://www.ajalon.net/) another prog three piece, came up next for their midday set. It was a rare treat to see Ajalon. From the West Coast, this well respected band doesn't get to the East Coast that often. They ripped through some hot solos and instrumentals, adding some warm vocal numbers mixed in with the cool afternoon breeze blowing through the wide open barn doors and windows. 

Orphan Project ( http://www.orphanfound.com/)   drove up from Maryland too, and proceeded to rock the festival hard. Their blend of prog and hard rock made for the best show of the day, in my humble opinion. From my perspective there are at least three members of this six piece band that could easily front their own bands. But they combined here for some fun rock and roll attitude and posturing through the original songs from their first very fine record, and terrific covers of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall," and Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes." This outfit rocked! 

The festival was actually just a day-long picnic and concert. There was one stage, cool indie bands all hanging out and jamming, some interesting interludes from rock opera specialists Madmen and Dreamers ( http://www.madmen-and-dreamers.com/) and some rap from Phoenix. These two acts came out between bands on a couple of occasions and performed. The one disappointment of the day was the attendance of the fest. Silent Planet Promotions was hoping for hundreds of music fans but had to settle for tens. There were about sixty music-savvy concert goers gathered, but I'm pretty sure I can say we all had a good time. You should've been there. 

The evening part of the program started with Blissed ( http://www.blissed.biz/), a Canadian metal band in tight clothes and big hair. Blissed has a new record out and they did a lot of the new stuff for an appreciative crowd. Blissed also had a bit of a new line up replacing Robert Sweet with another wild man drummer and featuring a hard rocking guitar player with spiked up hair. They seemed to be having a good time, and I know I was. 

Unfortunately, I can not report on the closing act of the festival, I'm sure Jacobs Dream was great, but I began my long drive home before their set did. However, I am happy to tell you that the next to last act Rivera / Bomma ( http://www.myspace.com/riverabomma) rocked fans with melodic style technical metal. The band has a loyal following and a few fans came in from New Jersey to see them. The guitar hero power of Rod Rivera was exciting, plus the big vocals of Johnny Bomma put smiles on all the metalhead's faces. Bomma's lead singer theatrics are a cross between Rob Halford and Neil Diamond. The festival goers were getting tired by that time, but Rivera / Bomma pumped up the energy and everyone was having a good time. 

The day was a good time. None of the bands held back at all and gave us few who showed up a day full of great shows. Even though attendance was poor, the promoters have ambitious dreams. So if there's another one of these next year, don't stay away just because you don't know some of the bands. That would be a mistake you don't want to make twice. 

Tony LaFianza