Performing at March’s “No Filter” show at Pine Grove Hall, photo by Judson Mantz

I love any opportunity to sing or speak into a microphone, so when I was asked to be the storyteller for the March “No Filter” show at Pine Grove Hall, I said yes before I had any idea what eight to ten minute story I might tell.

Each monthly “No Filter” show features two singer songwriters and a storyteller, a concept created (and hosted) by Judson Mantz and Ed Kenepp. Both are singer-songwriters themselves and have been involved in the local music scene for many years. They open the show with some friendly banter, and then they each play one of their songs. For the March show they wanted to make it an all-women lineup for International Women’s Month.

Photo: Judson Mantz

The upstairs at Pine Grove Hall is a warm and intimate dining and performance space. I shared a table with musical guest Anna Pearl Belinda, while Laura Boswell, the other musical guest, buzzed about the room checking in with some friends and neighbors who came out to see the show. I enjoyed my turkey and brie melt on sourdough with a lovely cranberry chutney and was happy to be paid in food for this performance.

Part of the “No Filter” format is that the musicians each play a set and then they take a seat on stage with one of the hosts for an interview. They settle into big velvet chairs and speak off the cuff, answering a mix of thoughtful and goofy questions about their song writing, their careers and their dreams for the future. Anna Pearl blew us all away by making a song on the spot in response to Ed’s interview prompt of “Can you write a song about me?”

I admire both Anna Pearl and Laura so much as artists and was excited to hear them play some new music. Laura Boswell just moved back to State College from Asheville this fall and has been collaborating with all kinds of folk musicians. Her finger picking is gorgeous on the guitar and her lyrics are storied and poetic.

Anna Pearl Belinda just recorded a new song called Rotten to Its Core and had fun stories to tell us about shooting her cover art with rotting apples from a local cidery. Her voice is strong and clear and she plays her guitar with power and grace.

The mixed-ages crowd was a warm and supportive audience. When I took the stage halfway through the show to tell my story, I was pleasantly surprised to learn by a show of hands that several folks had been in the local cave that my story was mostly about.

I told a story about spelunking in J4, a cave in nearby Pleasant Gap, which you can only enter by going head first through a narrow pipe. I told them how the different sections and rooms of the cave had names, like the highway step-across section of the cave where you maneuver through a long passage stradling between two walls with an infinite drop to nothingness below you. I told them how I shared this story with my daughter who was stunned and just asked “Why would you do that?” over and over again.

There’s more to the story about meeting fear, trusting yourself and going into the darkness… It was a good story. Maybe I will tell it again sometime. (We have lots of storytelling opportunities in State College, like State of the Story, which hosts Moth Style storytelling events.)

We closed the show by singing Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams all together. Jud, Ed, Anna Pearl and Laura all played their guitars and I did my best to bring the harmony. No one had ever played together, or practiced, but we rocked it.

Me, Laura, Jud, Anna Pearl, and Ed, photo by Judson Mantz

People lingered for a while after the show to share their own stories and connections to what they had heard. I left feeling a little lighter from all the laughter and creativity that was in that room. It feels good to be part of the making of something — a song, a story, a piece of art, and tonight we made a really great show together.

This is one of the things I love about living in this kind of creative community. People are always making new things and creating new experiences here in State college for people to participate as artists/performers or as audience members.

The next “No Filter” show at Pine Grove Hall on April 16 features musical guests the Jive Bombers (Jerry Zolten and Richard Sleigh) and storyteller Steve Sherrill. 

See Pine Grove Hall’s full event calendar here, including more info on April’s upcoming “No Filter” show!