Live music, tasty chicken wings and cold beverages always make for a fun mixture, and those elements came together during the second annual Wing Fest Express, which took place on May 10 at Altoona’s Railroaders Memorial Museum. Presented by Railroad City Events along with Q94 Classic Rock and 100.7 & 96.9 WTRN “The Train,” this event was sponsored by Five Star Mitsubishi Altoona and Five Star Powersports. During this event, six chicken wing vendors competed for trophies with their various wing flavors, while two bands provided the musical backdrop for the wing consumption.
Based in Pittsburgh, The Dang Band kicked things off with their upbeat blend of classic and modern hits. Opening with Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” The Dang Band – singer Haley “Hay Hal” Hallihan, guitarist and singer Brian Lasinski, bassist and guitarist Maxwell Knott, and drummer Lisle Weaver traversed throughout the hit song spectrum, doing numbers from the White Stripes, Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, Weezer, Simple Minds, Alanis Morisette, Human League, The Chicks, Cranberries and more. They kept the pacing tight and the music continuous, and triggered increasing applause and fun in the lawn as their two sets progressed.
Ages then provided the second half of the music with their strong and sturdy style of classic rock. With Ages’ frontman Mike Castine unable to perform, Bone Jacked singer Kip Woodring filled in on lead vocals this day; joining lead guitarist Tyler Bryan, bassist Jacob Naugle and his dad, drummer Jerry Naugle. Ages kept the wing-eating crowd happy with generous doses of classics from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steppenwolf, Tom Petty, Black Crowes, the Doors, Rolling Stones, Romantics, Marshall Tucker Band, George Thorogood, ZZ Top, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Free, Neil Young and more. Ages was solid and steady on the instrumental front, and Kip again showed his love of making music by sinking heart and soul into his vocals on each song.
After much wing consumption by the seasoned judging panel, the results of the wing contest were as follows: the first place trophy went to Katie J’s for their garlic wings, second place went to The Castle Pub for their Cactus Jack wings, and capturing third place was T-N-T’s Smoke House Barbecue Company for their black cherry wings. The Trophies were courtesy of The Award Man.
Thanks to everybody who came out and joined us on this sunny spring afternoon, and watch for more fun events at the Railroaders Memorial Museum throughout the summer season!
Below are an assortment of pictures from Wing Fest Express, including the bands, the crowd, the vendors, the brew-slinging tandem of Natalie and Timmy C, and various chicanery at the Q94 and “The Train” tents.
