Honkey Tonk Heroes play popular country and rock music – News from Ellwood City, PA

In our annual series highlighting the annual Ellwood City Arts, Crafts, Food & Entertainment Festival, we take a look at a number of themes, people and entertainers that will help make the festival a hit during the holiday season surrounding the Fourth of July.

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PART FOUR: Ellwood City Arts, Crafts, Food and Entertainment Festival Series: Honkey-tonk heroes play popular country and rock music

They’re a bit honky tonk… they’re a bit rock’n’roll.

With songs from Willy Nelson and Waylon to Lynard Skynard and Creedence Clearwater Revival, there is something for every taste.

Honky Tonk Heroes are the premier outlaw country western band in the tri-state area. They say Tony Barge sings Willie Nelson better than Willie!

You can decide for yourself on Sunday evening from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Ellwood City Arts, Crafts, Food & Entertainment Festival.

The rest of the band consists of Rockin Ron Lantz (bass and vocals), Tony Lang (guitar), Stefan Rodriguez (drums) and Scoot Dog (harmonica). In addition to country and rock, you can also hear some blues.

The band came together about three years ago. Lang said Tony and Ron had a band and met at work.

“They invited me to play and before you knew it, we were playing concerts,” Lang said.

The name Honky Tonk Heroes was actually given to them by Bruce Kohler one night when they played in Grove City for the first time, and the name stuck. The Honky Tonk Heroes now also play at Kohler’s Brewery in Ellwood City.

The band is based in Ellwood City but plays throughout the region, including many clubs in Ellwood City such as Sons of Italy and The Moose, bars in Ellwood City such as Shelby, Mike’s Mainstreet and Kohler’s, once a month at Mario’s in Beaver, Jergels, Hard Rock Café and Ogelbay.

“All roads led back to Ellwood City because of Tony Barge,” Lang said. “We’re the hardest working band and we’ve booked 160 shows this year. We’re really good at what we do. There are no backing tracks.”

The band is looking forward to playing for the community at the festival.

“We meet a lot of new people who don’t normally go to bars. The kids can come along and suddenly we have new followers,” Lang said. “It’s a chance to get a handful of new fans. It’s a great way to make new friends. As soon as they see us, they fall in love with us.”

The crowd can expect some interaction. Lang said that sometimes the drummer goes into the audience to get the crowd involved and that they always sing along.

“The audience likes to see how much fun we have on stage,” says Lang. “It’s contagious.”

And the Honky Tonk Heroes LOVE their fans and followers.

“We really appreciate our loyal friends and fans who follow us. We have so many people who travel long distances. While we have loyal fans in every area, some follow us everywhere. What better could you ask for?”

The relationships the band builds with their fans are evident in their Facebook group “Honky Tonk Heroes,” where they regularly celebrate their followers’ birthdays.

Lang said he hopes to see you all at the festival.

It’s a blessing to be able to do what we do. We have two of the best singers around…Rocking Ron and Tony Barge – the best country singers in the country.”