Alex Meixner

Grammy Nominated Musician & Producer

One More Northeast Oktoberfest Weekend

Gigs in the third week of October 2015A great week of full house shows in NJ, NYC and of course Stoudt’s Brewery in Adamstown, PA. The Oktoberfest madness continues as we’re doing daytime shows in Callicoon, NY at the Villa Roma on Monday and Tuesday and then back to Reichenbach Hall in NYC on Wednesday and Thursday. (Yes- they were completely full with reservations for our shows last week and are looking to fill up again, but if you come later-we promise to take a break and make room for y’all!)

We’ll also be returning to Asbury Park’s Festhalle &
Biergarten on Friday night— hopefully without the sideways rain before the gig! (Though I must admit– the unplugged table top set has been a highlight of the season thus far!– Check out the pics on Facebook and Instagram. We might have to reprise it this week!)

Saturday brings the band up to Plattduetsche Park in Franklin Square, Long Island for Oktoberfest in the biergarten. I’m practicing some of the old Plattlers (don’t worry, on accordion– I couldn’t dance those if my life depended on it!!!) to accompany the schuplattlers for the night.

And finally– Sunday brings us to the new location for the Bear Mountain Oktoberfest. We haven’t been there yet- and it is a hard candle to match–as the old location in the park was truly an awesome spot. But, stuff does change sometimes out of everyone’s control and we’re all looking forward to making some great memories at the Anthony Wayne Recreation Area.

Jolly Crowd Sheet MusicAnd then the trek out of the Northeast gives the boys a break for 2 days, but I get an interesting day at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. I’ll be speaking a bit about the history and development of polka music in the United States as part of a dedication ceremony for the Vitak-Elsnic collection in the BGSU Music Library. This is an important step for the legacy of our music, as facilitated by Music Publishers of America. I’m very proud to be involved in this project and look forward to building the bridges in the history and education aspects of polka music. If you’re in the area, try to make plans to attend and support this work. (I might even play a few tunes at the event, too.)

Next week brings The Alex Meixner Band to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the first time– and a quick Texas trip to Tomball and Galveston. Get your tickets for the Tomball show at Mainstreet Crossing now to ensure that you get to attend our theatre show before the Galveston Oktoberfest!!

It’s Almost October!!!

October 2015 GigsAfter a week at home to catch up with the kiddos and try to catch up in my office, I head out to Wisconsin to start it up again. The first stop is on Wednesday at Onalaska Middle and High Schools, where I’ll be conducting a day of master classes and rehearsals with their concert and jazz bands- before the band and I get to do a concert side by side with the students. This work is so much fun and rewarding for the students and us alike, I always try to incorporate these into tours. Of course, it’s difficult to squeeze into the already packed schedules at the schools, and to procure enough funding to make it happen due to the current school budget crunches– but it’s something I believe in. Thanks to the Onalaska HS Band Boosters for their support of this education!

From there, the boys and I will glide over to La Crosse, where we’ll be performing at Oktoberfest USA on Thursday and Friday. This is a biggie–and as of the writing of this newsletter, in the top 5 Oktoberfests in the country according to the poll being conducted by USA Today (In fact this morning, when I looked at the list- The Alex Meixner Band plays at the top 3 events in the country! Let’s see if those 3 stay up there!!! Though, there are so many others that are really awesome…)

We then hit the happy highway out to Indiana, PA – where we’ll be performing for our great friends- Danny and Lynette Yarnick at Yarnick’s Farm. We’ll be playing from 6-9pm and enjoying some awesome food. There’s fun for the whole family, so c’mon down to the farm!

Sunday brings us to the Reading Liederkranz (which is going back and forth with New Braunfels,  Texas’ Wurstfest for the #1 and #2 slots on that aforementioned poll). This is the first year that we’re closing the festival on Sunday (instead of playing Friday night)- but I have a good feeling it’ll be a full house– the Reading peeps know how to party!!

There are a few tickets available for the Ace in the Hole daytime Oktoberfest shows on Oct 6-7-8-9 in Garfield and Paterson, NJ open for individuals and small groups. If you’re looking for a nice luncheon and show in a wonderful hall, give my buddy Tommy Walker a call and c’mon over.

In the meantime–there are some really awesome projects brewing for me as well as with the band.  Keep an eye on the website and social media to see the new stuff– in addition to celebrating all of the awesome upcoming Oktoberfests. (We’ll be in NJ, NY and PA through Oct 18 and then a quick run to Oklahoma and Texas)

Happy Oktoberfest!!!