Upwards of 5,000 people crowd outside Mohegan Pennsylvania Casino Resort in Plains Township on Thursday nights in the summertime.
The free concert series Party on the Patio is celebrating 15 seasons with its longest one yet, beginning Thursday, May 2 with “Stayin’ Alive - A Tribute to the Bee Gees.”
Jennifer Ducharme is director of events at Mohegan Pennsylvania.
“We’ve never started this early before, so first week in May,” she said. “This is the first time we’ve done five months of concerts, and we have two opening weekend.”
Party on the Patio will host a Saturday concert for the first time with "Philadelphia Freedom: A Tribute to Elton John" on May 4.
Doug Delescavage, a teacher from Luzerne County, plays Elton in the band.
"We tend to gravitate more towards the peak Elton, like the mid 70's-era," he said. "I love the personal stories when people come up and tell me they saw Elton John in 1975."
Philadelphia Freedom will play a two-hour set on Saturday following Mohegan Pennsylvania's Kentucky Derby Party.
"I'm from Shavertown, our one guitar player is from Bloomsburg, our other one is from the Carbondale area," he said. "And the other two are from Wilkes-Barre."
The concert series features a mix of local and regional talent. The members of The Idol Kings, a tribute to REO Speedwagon and Journey, are from Honesdale.
New this year, Metallica and The Cure cover bands, and PopROCKS.
"They dress up like the performers," Ducharme said. "They could be doing Miley Cyrus and then the next thing you know Pitbull comes out."
Also hitting the Party on the Patio stage this year for the first time is The Amish Outlaws, a group from Lancaster. Four of the six band members were raised Amish, and they cover popular songs including "Tennessee Whiskey," "California Love" and "Come Sail Away."
Party on the Patio Lager with Lime
Runaway Train Brewery in Honesdale partnered with Mohegan Pennsylvania to create a beer just for the occasion, in honor of 15 years.
Party on the Patio Lager with Lime, made with all Pennsylvania-made ingredients, is now on tap at the casino.
“The idea of the beer was to make the most drinkable beer possible for the summers,” head brewer Charles Mills said.
Vince Benedetto is managing partner of Runaway Train.
"It gets pretty hot out there, so we wanted a beer that fit the occasion - easily drinkable, light, refreshing," he said. “Party on the Patio has been something special in Northeast Pennsylvania ... on the can design, we really tried to capture the vibe, the energy and the fun."
Party on the Patio Schedule 2024
| May 2 | Stayin’ Alive: A Tribute to the Bee Gees |
| May 4 | Philadelphia Freedom: A Tribute to Elton John |
| May 9 | KISS Army: A Tribute to KISS |
| May 16 | Red Neck Castaway Band: A Tribute to Kenny Chesney |
| May 23 | Best of the Eagles: A Tribute to Eagles |
| May 30 | Nightrain: A Tribute to Guns N' Roses |
| June 6 | The Amish Outlaws |
| June 13 | Bon Poison: A Tribute to Bon Jovi and Poison |
| June 20 | LOVESONG: A Tribute to The Cure |
| June 27 | Completely Unchained: A Tribute to Van Halen |
| July 4 | Dave Bray USA |
| July 11 | Classic Skynyrd Live by Southern Steel |
| July 18 | Idol Kings: A Tribute to REO Speedwagon and Journey |
| July 25 | The Faithfull: A Tribute to Pearl Jam |
| Aug 1 | PopROCKS |
| Aug 8 | The Stranger: A Tribute to Billy Joel |
| Aug 15 | Parrot Beach: A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett |
| Aug 22 | Fresh Horses: A Tribute to Garth Brooks |
| Aug 29 | TUSK: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac |
| Sept 5 | Hardwired: A Tribute to Metallica |
| Sept 12 | Back in Black - A Tribute to AC/DC |
| Sept 19 | Full Moon Fever: A Tribute to Tom Petty |
| Sept 26 | Black Dog: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin |
