Highmark Community Stage Summer Recap 2022
Photo: Ted Colegrove; Space Kamp performing during One Earth Reggaefest
What an INCREDIBLE summer we had together this year! With so many incredible performers on the Highmark Community Stage from May through September, we hope you enjoyed warm nights in the company of new friends and live music! As the months went by, this special stage also saw musicians transform the stage for festivals like, One Earth Reggaefest & Sabor! Latin Festival.
To keep those memories of the warm season alive in our hearts, we’ve put together a summer recap for the Highmark Community Stage for you to revisit some of your favorites from the shows you saw over the last few months!
Bad Cameo
“Funk Train”
Tampa, FL based band BadCameo blends all types of influences into a unique cocktail of grooves they call Indie-Funk Fusion! In late 2021, the band earned a slot at the renowned Gasparilla Music Festival in Tampa, after completing three separate self-booked tours. These tours totaled 3.5 months on the road & 60+ shows and saw them reach the Pacific Ocean.
In 2022, the band signed with Pivotal Touring to coordinate their upcoming tours and partnered with PR company Unable Music Group for the August release of their second album. Check out the BadCameo Funk Train and learn what these funky boys are all about!
Taylor Kelly
“Maybe”
Born and raised in Rochester, NY, Taylor Kelly is now a fixture in the vibrant Philadelphia music scene further honing her introspective take on jazz, soul, and funk. She combines her smooth, powerful, technically-informed voice with a full horn section, addictive hip hop and electronic beats, and complex arrangements. Her sound is a dynamic blend of several established genres: she melds the improvisational looseness of jazz, the rhythmic earworms of funk and the moving resonance of soul to carve out a niche all her own.
Kelly names Stevie Wonder, Chet Baker, Roy Hargrove, Art Farmer, and Erykah Badu as influences, integrating strong melodic contour and intricate harmonies into lyrically personal and sonically anthemic tracks.
Kelly was a finalist in the PHL LIVE Center Stage Competition for R&B in 2018, has amassed over half a million listens for her single “California” on Spotify, and has uplifted, inspired, and energized thousands of ardent concertgoers at hundreds of live shows with her unabashed authenticity and immersively freeing performance style.
Dentist
“Don’t Let Me Catch You”
Dentist comes from the oceanfront urban landscape of Asbury Park, New Jersey. Their sound combines the freedom of the beach atmosphere and the urgency of the city into a fuzzed out, surf punk-tinged brand of indie pop with hooks and infectious melodies to spare. The ethereal vocals of Emily Bornemann are countered by the sometimes aggressive, but always addictive sounds of Justin Bornemann on guitar and Matt Hockenjos on drums.
Graffiti Smile
“Airplane”
Graffiti Smile is a Philadelphia-based indie rock band consisting of Andrew Montoya (guitar, vocals), Alex Montoya (guitar, vocals), Chaz Ladson (drums), Ashwin Suseendran (bass, vocals), and Troy Simpson (keyboard, vocals). The band currently has released a 3-track, self-titled EP, and new recorded music with the current lineup is coming soon! #experiencethesmile
The Wild Hymns
“Shit Show”
Dreamy and sweet, York, Pennsylvania natives, The Wild Hymns will be performing May 21st at 9pm with their mystical performance of original songs. The duo consists of singer/songwriter Megan Woodland Hewitt (née Donley) and her husband, guitarist Jeff Hewitt. Inspiration for their compositions are derived from the connections made by human relationship, emotion, nature and mysticism, reclaiming the word “hymn” to celebrate the natural world, free human spirit and cosmic love!
