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Music Friday in Wellsboro

Singer-songwriter Jesse Gotschal will play several of his genre-bending folk originals to open the free concert being presented by Vineyard Church Band instrumentalists and singers at 6 p.m., Friday, on the outdoor stage on the Central Avenue side of the Deane Center for the Performing Arts, 104 Main St., Wellsboro.

Following Gotschal’s performance, Jon Ruth on drums, Jason Matthews on lead guitar, Carolyn Ruth on bass guitar, and Karsen Kennedy on acoustic guitar joined by vocalists Brett Kennedy, Lorynn Dowling and McKenzie Frank will play and sing an eclectic mix of contemporary Christian music and popular songs, according to a news release. Among them will be “Waymaker” and “Reckless Love” along with cover tunes by U2, Bon Jovi, and Garth Brooks.

Gotschal is well known in this area for his performances with Rich Rawson’s Scene at the Deane concerts from 2012 to 2014, two years of performing at open mic night at the Deane Center and on First Fridays from May to October from 2015 to 2019 in front of Pop’s Culture Shoppe and the Native Bagel.

“I’ve been playing music my whole life,” Gotschal said, according to the news release. “I grew up in Wellsboro. For a decade or so, until the early 2000s, I drove from Wellsboro to Williamsport to play music. I think I actually started writing music when I was in Williamsport. My wife and I went to Washington state, bounced around for a while and then from 2008 to 2010, I performed at the Coffee and Tea Room, located near the Bullfrog Brewery in Williamsport. In 2010, my wife and I got a recreational vehicle and took our daughter to Houston, Texas. I played at coffee shops in that area. We returned to Wellsboro in 2012.

“My musical influences were and continue to be what I am listening to and like at the time I am writing songs,” he said.

Among them are Pink Floyd, Tool, 90s era grunge and American singer-songwriter Iron & Wine.

“I’ve always been more comfortable writing originals rather than playing someone else’s cover tunes,” Gotschal said, according to the news release. “My wife and I own and operate Northeast Colors Painting, Ltd. in Wellsboro. We keep all of our supplies in a six by 12-foot trailer and drive to jobs painting homes and businesses in the area. We are both members of the Vineyard Church, which holds worship services at the Deane Center in Wellsboro. Today, I consider my music as more of a hobby and enjoy playing in the church band and jamming with friends a couple of nights a week.”

Visit deanecenter.com, email office@deanecenter.com, or call 570-724-6220 for more information.

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