Come help us decide if a regular Bingo Night should be a thing at Big Rail!

No prizes for this trial run evening, this will all be for fun.

Born into a long line of farmers, steel workers and preachers, Matt tends to gravitate towards traditional American forms of music. Matt has recorded and self released 4 albums, “Hangin’ On”, “Take The Back Roads”, “Seems Like Forever” w/ Micah Dunn, “Barstools and Church Pews”, and his most recent, live recording, “Live: As Usual” featuring Jim Zahniser on lead guitar.

BRING US YOUR X-MAS TREE AND WE’LL CHUCK IT ON THE FIRE!!

As you clean up after the holidays, SAVE YOUR TREE! Bring us your tree anytime before (Or the day of) Saturday, January 16th @ 7pm and we’ll add it to the fire. If you need to drop it off before the event or during non-business hours, just leave it and we’ll stow it till it’s time to burn them! Need your X-mas tree hauled – email [email protected] and we’ll get it if you’re in the area.

LET’S MAKE IT A BIG ONE THIS YEAR!

” A Unique BREW of Guitar Driven Country and Rock-n-Roll…….TEXAS STYLE”
Rob Keller, and Slim Varhola are back together!!! Along with drummer Dave Parshall, and newest additions, Larry Antinozzi, from Dallas, Texas, and John Parrendo from Export, PA these long time musical buddies from the “sticks” outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania have developed a new fresh sound, with lots of new tunes, and new arrangements of some old favorites.
Drawing from their “old school Country” , Southern Rock, and Blues roots, Rob, Slim and Larry, each bring their own unique, Vocal and Guitar style, then combine them for Lush vocal harmonies, and burning Guitar Jams !! Add the “Icing on the cake”.. the soar of John’s Fiddle, and the added vocals. The Shiners “Guitar Army” create a sound that pulls you in with a heartfelt story, then brings you to your feet with some Foot Stompin, Fiddle sawin, Guitar Jammin, Rock….
Like the moon”shiners” they get their name from, The SHINERS travel the back roads to deliver their product. So, climb aboard, hang on, and enjoy the ride.

It’s a giant bonfire. Enough said.

Join us for Trivia Night, with DJ Trivia Mercer County every Wednesday at 7pm!

$1 off drafts till 7pm.

Our good buddy Seth Verba will be the host of our open mic nite.

ALL INQUIRIES email [email protected]

-Property open at 5pm.
-Sign up starts at 5:30
-Music 6pm-8pm
-NO DRUMSETS – Hand drums/percussion ok.
-No foul language or content. We love our family environment.

It’s a giant bonfire. Enough said.

A traveling troubadour born and raised in the hills of rural western Pennsylvania. Alyssa’s music is unmistakable, with influences that span across many genres. Her lyrics bring you into the heart of the steel mills and the bucolic landscape of rural America.

Raised on country music in a working-class family, Alyssa started playing guitar at the age of twelve and writing songs throughout her high school years. She attended college at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where she studied fine art and graphic design. While attending college she began performing original songs at local open mic nights. For a few years after college, Hankey worked as a graphic designer and began playing solo acoustic shows on the weekends.

In 2018, she decided to quit her job and pursue music full time. Since then, Alyssa has released various albums and embarked on several cross-country tours. She also formed the Alyssa Hankey Band, a four-piece band that combines folk, country and rock. You can find them playing in and around the Pittsburgh area. Hankey has also shared the stage with artists such as The Clarks, The Steel Wheels, The Wildwoods, Warren Zeiders and Charles Wesley Godwin.

Influences: Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, John Prine, Tom Petty, Chris Stapleton, Johnny Cash, Allman Brothers Band, Neil Young and many more!

You’ll find her music on Itunes, Spotify, Bandcamp, Google Play, Youtube, etc.

Join us for Trivia Night, with DJ Trivia Mercer County every Wednesday at 7pm!

$1 off drafts till 7pm.

Our good buddy Seth Verba will be the host of our open mic nite.

ALL INQUIRIES email [email protected]

-Property open at 5pm.
-Sign up starts at 5:30
-Music 6pm-8pm
-NO DRUMSETS – Hand drums/percussion ok.
-No foul language or content. We love our family environment.

“This-That & The Other Thing” has been entertaining western PA for the past thirteen years! With “This-That & The Other Thing” you get the best of all worlds; three lead vocalists, both male and female, super three part harmony, solid, danceable music and a compact three piece band that has the power to play outdoor festivals and at the same time fit in to small venues where space is at a premium. We also provide an “unplugged” acoustic version of the band for occasions that call for that. Michelle plays bass, Tony plays guitar, and Vince plays drums. Check out our extensive song list that is filled with an incredible variety of classic rock favorites, mostly from the 60’s and 70’s, but is also sprinkled with more contemporary hits as well as a few country favorites! You won’t find another band in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area that can perform the variety that we can.

Free Show! Any donations are appreciated and can be placed in our music appreciation boxes.

Music will be outside around the fires!

Scott Blasey is the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist for Pittsburgh-based rock band the Clarks. Over their 39-year career the Clarks have performed all over the country, sold more than a million albums, and toured with Steely Dan and John Mayer. They performed live on the Late Show with David Letterman, the 2009 NHL Winter Classic, and the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon. Their music has been featured in movies and television shows, including the 2015 season premiere of the Simpsons.

In addition to his success with the band, Scott has found an audience as a solo artist. He’s released three albums and has opened shows for rock icons Neil Young, and the Beach Boys. In 2004 Scott received the Distinguished Alumni Award for Service from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and in 2020 he was inducted into the Connellsville Area High School Hall of Fame. Scott continues to perform with the Clarks, and his “Songs and Stories” shows draw rave reviews and keep him busy as a solo performer.

Mark plays music from ranging Neil Young to Mumford & Sons, The Band to The Lumineers, CCR to Bruce Springsteen and Van Morrison to Jason Mraz. Mark adds a splash of classic rock, country, soul music, or 80’s pop to his song selections, creating set lists that appeal to a variety of ages, from twenty-somethings to millennials to gen x to baby boomers!

Additionally, Mark performs music from the “American Songbook” reviving the sounds of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Nat King Cole.

Mark’s life-long passion for solo guitar playing has led to the creation of arrangements of jazz standards, classical guitar pieces and pop music for solo guitar bring out the challenge and beauty of the instrument whether played on acoustic, electric or hollow-body jazz guitar.

Join us for Trivia Night, with DJ Trivia Mercer County every Wednesday at 7pm!

$1 off drafts till 7pm.

Our good buddy Seth Verba will be the host of our open mic nite.

ALL INQUIRIES email [email protected]

-Property open at 5pm.
-Sign up starts at 5:30
-Music 6pm-8pm
-NO DRUMSETS – Hand drums/percussion ok.
-No foul language or content. We love our family environment.

This is an indoor show, in the tap room. Capacity is very limited!

Buffalo Rose is a singularly spectacular six-piece band from Pittsburgh, PA. Overflowing with the bold and unfettered joy of their inimitable blend of “Theatre Kid Americana,” a Buffalo Rose show is a celebration of creative wonder; a sparkling sonic delight. Their live show is where their energy fully shines, and songwriting is their lodestar. The band’s recorded catalog is full of vibrantly emotive and methodically arranged songs, sure to thrill the mind and charm the heart.

Smilo & The Ghost, Blue Moon Management and Big Rail Brewing are very excited to announce our HALFWAY to Ghost Town 2026 show!

Smilo & The Ghost, Coltt Winter Lepley and Gracie Yates & Brock Burton will be performing at Halfway and we will announce the remaining artists that night!

The Festivities will commence on Friday Feb 6 @ 6pm! Things to keep in mind:
Show will be OUTSIDE!
Toasty fires to keep you warm!
$15 suggested donation @ gate
Taproom 1pm / Gates 4pm / Music 6pm
No ticket presales
2026 Ghost Town Artist Reveals!
Foodtruck on site!

It’s a giant bonfire. Enough said.

From a ridge in the Ohio River Valley, on a front porch where Kentucky’s visible through the winter’s bare trees, Joe Truck Stop conspires over a smoking blend of Bluegrass, Honky Tonk, Western Swing, and whatever else finds itself inhaled and manifested by way of a wood box and steel wire…Years of digesting so much of the Country Blues lexicon and traveling the country learning the numerous styles of fiddlers, writers, and travelers alike has led to the original music that comes by way of Joe’s Truck Stop.

The songs are stories of living on the road, love, temptation, heartbreak, family, banjo pickin’ tobacco spittin’ women, gas station sushi, and much more…

We’ve released a handful of self recorded demos and three studio albums, the Free Showers EP (2014), American Dreams (2018), and, Yonderings, released in April 2022, currently receiving positive praise from numerous outlets and publications.

This is a solo show featuring Whiskey River front man, Shane McLaughlin.

Whiskey River is the premier Willie Nelson tribute act – The band’s authentic show will play the old favorites, some staples of the Willie live show, and present a journey through the iconic songbook of Willie Nelson.

Join us for Trivia Night, with DJ Trivia Mercer County every Wednesday at 7pm!

$1 off drafts till 7pm.

Our good buddy Seth Verba will be the host of our open mic nite.

ALL INQUIRIES email [email protected]

-Property open at 5pm.
-Sign up starts at 5:30
-Music 6pm-8pm
-NO DRUMSETS – Hand drums/percussion ok.
-No foul language or content. We love our family environment.

Love stinks, right?!

If you’re anti-valentine or just wanna have some fun stop out to Big Rail.

Singles and Couples welcome, HOWEVER, if you are caught kissing, holding hands, or doing any COUPLE-type things, you will be escorted off the premises!*

Special musical guest TBD

*Just kidding. Maybe.

Join us for Trivia Night, with DJ Trivia Mercer County every Wednesday at 7pm!

$1 off drafts till 7pm.

Our good buddy Seth Verba will be the host of our open mic nite.

ALL INQUIRIES email [email protected]

-Property open at 5pm.
-Sign up starts at 5:30
-Music 6pm-8pm
-NO DRUMSETS – Hand drums/percussion ok.
-No foul language or content. We love our family environment.

The two of us sat down together just to pick around, David on Clara and I, on my guitar. We started finding this dynamic where we were controlling little, subtle nuances of the music that can easily get lost in an electric band. As dynamic as theCAUSE can get, bringing the music from a raging jam to the point where you can hear a pin drop across the room, we were finding this breath even easier between the two of us. So, we decided to book a few gigs. It all started one night, during the winter when we were booked at a bar in the North Hills that will remain nameless, cancelled us without notice. We were really psyched to take this newfound sound to an audience, so David placed a call to our great friend and local clubowner, RON “MOONDOG” ESSER, to see if we could just set some stuff up – unannounced – at The Starlite Lounge. He obliged and we had an awful lot of fun. Since then, we’ve played a few times at the Starlite and are now booking other places, too. If you like to sit & listen and you like the look of the setlists below, you’re bound to have fun at one of these little shows. It’s always a good time….

It’s a giant bonfire. Enough said.

Toms launched his musical career in 1987 as lead guitarist of Pittsburgh’s legendary band Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers, During that period, he opened for and played with such legendary names as The Band, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Little Feat, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. While playing guitar, co-writing, and adding backup vocals for the Houserockers, Toms and the band recorded six studio albums and one live concert album. In 1995, The Houserockers released American Babylon, which was recorded and produced by Springsteen himself.

As a solo artist, Toms has opened for the likes of Buddy Guy, Levon Helm, Marshall Crenshaw, , Steve Forbert, and Dan Baird.
He’s plotting a string of regional east coast dates to support “Keep Movin’ On”, as well as a full European tour in 2022.

Tabby Road is a dynamic duo playing all of your favorite 60’s and 70’s hits. Tabby Road consists of the father and son duo of Vince Burgess and Tony Burgess, who are 2/3 of the popular classic rock band, “This-That & The Other Thing”! The duo features two strong lead singers and beautiful harmonies matched with acoustic guitar and bass guitar. This combination gives you a very big sound with a very small footprint.

Join us for Trivia Night, with DJ Trivia Mercer County every Wednesday at 7pm!

$1 off drafts till 7pm.

Our good buddy Seth Verba will be the host of our open mic nite.

ALL INQUIRIES email [email protected]

-Property open at 5pm.
-Sign up starts at 5:30
-Music 6pm-8pm
-NO DRUMSETS – Hand drums/percussion ok.
-No foul language or content. We love our family environment.

Broke Boland’s String Show is musician Matt Boland’s original music consisting of cello and mandolin alongside his “one-man band” approach to guitar and percussion. A songwriter, producer, singer, guitarist, and standup bass player, Boland’s been bringing his high-energy Punk, Folk and Rockabilly-infused live shows to audiences for the last 20 years. Boland says: “Paul Sontheimer on the cello and Jack Hanrahan on the mandolin make a unique sound that caters to all the different styles we play. We do anything from upbeat Americana to haunting folk music.” Boland drives the beat with his percussive guitar playing and pounding kick drum, while the cello growls and the mandolin glitters. Coupled with Boland’s evocative and heartfelt lyrics, the result is a completely original, hard-to-define sound and a high-octane theatrical presentation that can only be truly felt live!

Got the winter blues?!
We’re teaming up with Brian & Minnie from Sprague Farm for the first ever Dead Of Winter Fest!
Live Music Featuring Jake’s Blues + Special Guest! We’re doing a $10 donation at door. All money donated to Jake’s Blues and Sprague Farm.
As usual, plan on lots of bonfires, chainsaw carving, food, live music Big Rail beer and Godfrey Run Cider Sale.
Open @ 12pm. Music @ 3pm

“This-That & The Other Thing” has been entertaining western PA for the past thirteen years! With “This-That & The Other Thing” you get the best of all worlds; three lead vocalists, both male and female, super three part harmony, solid, danceable music and a compact three piece band that has the power to play outdoor festivals and at the same time fit in to small venues where space is at a premium. We also provide an “unplugged” acoustic version of the band for occasions that call for that. Michelle plays bass, Tony plays guitar, and Vince plays drums. Check out our extensive song list that is filled with an incredible variety of classic rock favorites, mostly from the 60’s and 70’s, but is also sprinkled with more contemporary hits as well as a few country favorites! You won’t find another band in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area that can perform the variety that we can.

Musical Mad Scientist, Keller Williams, is best known for his whimsical lyrics, guitar prowess and for creating samples on the fly in front of the audience, a technique called live phrase sampling or looping, with nothing pre-recorded. The end result often leans toward a hybrid of alternative folk and groovy electronica, a genre Keller jokingly calls “acoustic dance music” or ADM.” 

BIO

Virginian, Keller Williams, released his first album in 1994, FREEK, and has since given each of his albums a single syllable title: BUZZ, SPUN, BREATHE, LOOP, LAUGH, HOME, DANCE, STAGE, GRASS, DREAM, TWELVE, LIVE, ODD, THIEF, KIDS, BASS, PICK, FUNK, VAPE, SYNC, RAW, SANS, ADD, SPEED, CELL, DROLL and now DEER. Each title serves as a concise summation of the concept guiding each project. Keller’s albums reflect his pursuit to create music that sounds like nothing else. Un-beholden to conventionalism, he seamlessly crosses genre boundaries. The end product is music that encompasses rock, jazz, funk and bluegrass, and always keeps the audience on their feet. Keller built his reputation initially on his engaging live performances, no two of which are ever alike. For most of his career he has performed solo. His stage shows are rooted around Keller singing his compositions and choice cover songs, while accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, bass, guitar synthesizer and drum samples; a technique called live phrase sampling or “looping”. The end result often leans toward a hybrid of alternative folk and groovy electronica, a genre Keller jokingly calls “acoustic dance music” or ADM.” Keller’s constant evolution has led to numerous band projects as well; Keller & The Keels, Grateful Grass, KWahtro, Keller and the Travelin’ McCourys, Grateful Gospel, More Than A Little and most recently DeadPettyKellerGrass. You can even catch him from time to time going back to his troubadour roots with his “Shut the Folk Up and Listen” series.   Keller can be found playing clubs and festivals with these projects and his tried and true solo looping show, always changing things up and keeping moving. 

Our annual bluegrass festival returns, in APRIL! We’re looking forward to much warmer temps this year! Join us for a full day of great music, vendors, fires, and food trucks.

2026 Lineup:

• Larry Keel’s Electric Larry Land
• Full Cord
• Debutants
• Sweaty Already String Band
• Hot Brown Smackdown
• Slag Mountain

Vendors

• Coming Soon

Food Trucks

• Coming Soon

Larry Keel is an award-winning innovative flat picking guitarist and singer/songwriter hailing from Appalachia and currently residing in historic Lexington, VA. Raised in a musical family steeped in the mountain culture of the region, Keel began from an early age to forge a distinctive sound, taking bluegrass and classic country music and infusing those styles with a rock edge and elements of improvisational jazz.

The Dirty Grass Players and Smilo & The Ghost will be teaming up for a co-headline show on the Big Rail Stage!

Band Bios

Smilo & the Ghost is an Americana-grit folk band born from the rustbelt and rooted in redemption. Fronted by singer-songwriter Tyler Smilo, the band blends raw lyricism with vintage tones, cinematic storytelling, and a touch of cosmic twang. Their sound drifts somewhere between dusty desert highways and dimly lit city bars — a fusion of folk, alt-country, and soul with deep emotional bite.

Formed in Erie, PA in 2016, Smilo & the Ghost have shared stages with Grammy winners, national acts, and underground legends alike. Their discography includes Ghost Writers, Fingers Crossed & Godspeed, and the live album Live from PACA, with their newest record Twang & Fire capturing both fire and fragility in a post-pandemic world. Smilo’s lyrics are deeply personal, often exploring recovery, survival, and the ghosts we carry — because he’s lived it.

More than a band, Smilo & the Ghost is a movement of misfits, musicians, and truth-tellers. Whether it’s on stage or on the record, the band invites you to feel something real — and maybe even find a piece of yourself in the process.

Visit their web site >>

The Dirty Grass Players are an energetic explosion of old-time pickin’, coloured with an inventive, newgrass hand, that is given lyrical life by their soaring vocal harmonies that exist on an ethereal plain. They live at the crossroads between the traditional, which is the backbone of what they do, and the progressive with their innovative forward-thinking approach. The Dirty Grass Players, with their steady, workman-like precision and loose adventurous spirit are a band that can both confound Bill Monroe and cause him to smile uncontrollably. Their music is progressive, traditional, experimental, imaginative, and at its core, Dirty.

The Dirty Grass Players formed in 2015 with guitarist Ben Kolakowski and mandolinist Ryan Rogers at a series of informal picking sessions in the Baltimore area. The band quickly started to garner attention in the area, culminating in them winning the competitive Charm City Bluegrass Festival Battle of the Bands in 2017. The band’s original bassist and fiddler left shortly after and they solidified around the addition of bassist Connor Murray. In 2024, Sam Guthridge joined on banjo and the band reemerged as a powerful four-piece.

Since then they have released two albums, 2020’s Beneath the Woodpile and 2023 Shiny Side Up and established themselves as one of the most exciting young bluegrass bands around. With their high-octane shows they have become a mainstay on the festival circuit, being invited to play at some of the the most prestigious gatherings from coast to coast including Delfest, Grey Fox, Kingman Island, Hot August Music Festival, Dark Star Jubilee, Ramble Fest, First Class Music Fest, and many others.

Their latest album Shiny Side Up, produced by The Travelin’ McCourys’ Coldy Kilby, continues to further the evolution of bluegrass with its hard-driving sound that showcases the progressive, darkside of bluegrass with its forward-looking, non-traditional playing and songwriting. In its praise of the album, Bluegrass Unlimited says, “Shiny Side Up validates the arrival of the Dirty Grass Players onto the scene and shows bluegrass is in good hands going forward.

Visit Their Web Site >>

Music has guided Driftwood to hallowed ground many times since its founding members, Joe Kollar and Dan Forsyth, started making music as high schoolers in Joe’s parents’ basement. Whether the Upstate New York folk rock group—which today also includes violinist Claire Byrne, bassist Joey Arcuri, and drummer Sam Fishman—are converting new fans on a hardscrabble tour across the country or playing to a devoted crowd at hero Levon Helm’s Woodstock barn, the band’s shapeshifting approach to folk music continues to break new ground. And yet in many ways Driftwood’s latest work, the transformative December Last Call, finds the group coming home. 

Recorded in that very same basement where the Driftwood dream began, December Last Call lyrically reflects on the recent past, musing on the ways the group grew up, together and apart, through curveballs like new parenthood or pandemic shutdowns. But sonically, the band’s sixth album looks confidently to the future, experimenting with new sounds while staying true to the bluegrass roots that built them. Across the album’s nine tracks, the band often leans into hard-rocking electric guitars and driving percussion: On “Every Which Way But Loose,” we get a foot-tapping beat and a sweeping chorus, and on “Up All Night Blues,” the band shines with an ambling, sing-along-able reflection on the challenges of new motherhood. But other tracks, like standout closer “Stardust,” take a simpler route, allowing bare-bones vocals and acoustic instrumentals to underpin a deeper emotional message.

One of Driftwood’s biggest differentiators—and perhaps its biggest strength—is the sheer breadth of talent in its lineup, with Claire, Joe, and Dan all contributing as songwriters and vocalists. This creative push-pull, where each selects songs to share with the group and record together, bakes vulnerability and collaborative spirit into every recording. “It’s at the heart of what we do,” says Dan. “Everybody has a strong love for songs, for songwriting, and we each appreciate everybody else and the way that they contribute to that.” 

While 2019’s acclaimed Tree of Shade tapped Simon Felice as producer, the band opted to self-produce this latest effort, leaning into their creative impulses and striving to capture their distinctive live energy. Figuring out how to channel that on-stage intensity into a recording has actually, in many ways, been a lesson in restraint. “When I look back at the things we were writing and playing, oh, I don’t know, 10, 12 years ago, they were really arranged: a lot of you do this here, we’re going to do this there, we’re going to break down, we’re going to do a big build,” Claire explains. “These days, it’s more like, ‘Let’s play the song and just see what happens.’”

This approach makes all the more sense when you consider Driftwood’s live shows, which operate not only as effervescent, twang-studded musical parties, but also as reunions for their throng of devoted listeners—folks who have started to feel less like fans and more like something bigger. “They’re supporters. They’re friends,” explains Joe. “It’s crazy how much love we’ve got and how many wild situations on the road we’ve gotten out of because of those people.” Many of them are quite literally invested in the band’s future: December Last Call was a crowd-funded effort, and it wasn’t the band’s first. It’s as if every listener, ticketbuyer, album backer, and general band evangelist is in on Driftwood’s biggest secret: this whole band thing has endured for nearly two decades because it offers a kind of community you can’t get just anywhere.

“Driftwood is basically a beautiful friendship that happens to play music together,” says Joe. “I know it’s rare. I know I’m lucky to know these people and lean on them and go through these massive life changes together.” For Driftwood, each song is like a journal entry: cathartic to create, yes, but capable of unlocking new lessons—and when shared—forging new bonds. “We’re communal, right? Humans need to be connected,” Joe says. “And we get to have this special thing.”