Mixing a love for music and hometown, this Doylestown native looks to elevate local scene
For more than a decade, Joe Montone has been working behind-the-scenes to help grow the music scene in and around Doylestown.
With an eye for spotting potential in unconventional or underused spaces, the 34-year-old Doylestown native has built a brand around producing unique hometown concert experiences, which led Montone to launch Stage United, a nonprofit focused on creating greater access to live music.
“(The goal) is to have consistent live music in Doylestown for all ages and unique programming that focuses on togetherness,” he said.
Over the years, Montone has worked with The TileWorks of Bucks County, the owners of Puck, Abington Arts Center, Doylestown Pride Fest, the James A. Michener Art Museum and Maxwells on Main, to curate and book local, regional and national artists.
One of his most recent and ongoing initiatives is Picnics on Pine — a family-friendly block party series, now in its fifth season, held in a parking lot outside St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Doylestown Borough. The initiative began as Distance Picnics in 2020 to safely bring artists and audiences together in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bucks Culture Fest set for April: Bucks Culture Fest comes to Newtown. It's a celebration of the diversity of Bucks County
"I learned on a deeper level the importance of live music through the Distance Picnics. The attentiveness of those socially distant audiences is a feeling that still sticks with me," Montone said in a recent press release.
"It proved that music is essential to a town's ecosystem, but sometimes, we don't know how necessary it is until there is silence."
These experiences further demonstrated to Montone the community’s desire for spaces where they could gather with neighbors and experience live music together, while also reaffirming the need to expand these opportunities.
“People connect with music in such an indescribable way,” Montone said. “If you can provide a platform of providing that moment for people, it’s really special.”
Philly area summer concert schedule: Made in America is canceled, but you can still catch these Philly-area outdoor concerts
Through Stage United, Montone hopes to build a more sustainable system that will empower existing local venues and nontraditional spaces to present live music programming on a more consistent basis by curating fresh talent, helping with marketing and providing financial assistance for production costs.
Stage United will kick off its launch during the first Picnics on Pine event of the season on Saturday, May 11, with performances by Clover, a singer-songwriter from Frenchtown, New Jersey, and Moustapha Noumbissi a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter based in Philadelphia.
Tickets for the show can be purchased online at picnicsonpine.com. To learn more about Stage United’s upcoming events or how to get involved, visit stageunited.org.
Limited album highlights local music: WXPN announces limited-release LP. How to get yours on Record Store Day
Reporter Michele Haddon covers local news, small business, economic development, community revitalization, art and culture for The Intelligencer and Bucks County Courier Times at PhillyBurbs.com. Please considering supporting local journalism with a subscription.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Nonprofit Stage United launches to support live music in Doylestown
