Weekend Preview, West Art, and Live Music!

Hello, Lancaster!

Welcome to The Lancaster Review community. We were grateful and thrilled with the enthusiastic response we received since our first issue. Lancaster is a special place, and we hope this newsletter captures a small sliver of what makes this county a unique and wonderful place to live.

This week we have:

Not sure what to do this weekend? Here at a few great options for this Thursday, Friday, and through the weekend. Want to add your event to this list? Send us an email to list your event for free!

Music Bingo - November 13 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm. Music Bingo at Southern Market.

Give Me Shelter - November 13 @ 5:30 pm. Hear from Chuck Marohn on the next steps we can take as a community to improve housing in Lancaster.

Felling Penn’s Woods Exhibit Talk - November 13 @ 6:00 pm. 7:00 pm. Join collector Lynn Smoker for a talk about his new exhibit on the history of lumbering in Pennsylvania

Glassblowing Workshop: Christmas Pickle/Ornament - Friday, November 14th @ 6:00 PM. Get into the holiday spirit and join this unique workshop of creating a glass blown Christmas pickle/ornament.

Brigands & Breadknives Release Party @ Troll Market - November 14 @ 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm. Join Pocket Books and the Lancaster Troll Market for a party celebrating the release of the newest book in the Legends & Lattes universe.

This Sacred Ground: Stories from Soil and Scripture - November 14 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm this conversation-style presentation, artist Andrew Gunnar Norquist and author Dr. Benjamin Norquist (twin brothers) explore how faith shapes the way we see and steward the natural world.

Christmas Trains at Strasburg Rail Road - November 14-16 and through the holiday season. Ride into a Yuletide Extravaganza with the Santa’s Paradise Express Christmas Train, and other fun options at Strasburg Railroad.

I discovered West Art while searching for a late-night work spot. For a town full of coffee shops and bars, I hoped it would be easier to find a quiet place to sit and work on a Tuesday night. But the coffee shops were closed, and bars aren’t great for a nerd with a laptop. Then I remembered a friend telling me about a place that has coffee, drinks, and a comfortable place to work: West Art.

A Living Room for Lancaster

Someone on Reddit called it “the weirdest bar in Lancaster”, and they may be right, but only in the best possible sense. Housed in a former church on Buchanan Avenue, the space has kept much of its original soul. There are vaulted ceilings, wooden beams, stained glass windows. You’ll also find good beer, good coffee, and a bar that’s open 7 days a week from 7am to 10pm.

Read the full story

Next week, we are writing about how Lancastrians pick their Christmas tree. If you get a Christmas tree for the holiday season, would you complete this quick one-question poll?

Brittany Ann Tranbaugh returns with her band for a set that’s equal parts humor and heartbreak, joined by Cloudbelly’s atmospheric folk and Remi Goode’s quietly powerful songs. Doors at 6, show at 7. All ages welcome.

The Kyle Hancock Trio will be performing at Southern Market at 8:00 this Friday. Known for their high-energy spin on pop and rock favorites, the trio blends skill and showmanship that make familiar hits feel new again. Grab a drink, find a table, and settle in for a night that’ll keep you humming all weekend.

This is the kind of show that fills the room and your chest. Soul of America brings powerhouse vocalists and a veteran band together to honor Gladys, Aretha, Etta, Dionne, and the women who defined an era. Expect big voices, even bigger energy, and a joyful reminder that soul music never die. Showtime is 7:30 p.m., tickets $27.

The one-man jam band. Keller Williams loops, layers, and bends genres like bluegrass, funk, jazz, reggae, and rock into something that feels alive and unpredictable. It’s music you watch as much as hear, part performance, part experiment. Doors open at 7 p.m. at Phantom Power. Tickets are $35 at the door (21+).

In Faith in the Journey, Brittany Beitzel turns a lifetime of theatre and faith into an evening of story and song. Drawing from Broadway, gospel, and modern classics, she shares the music that’s shaped her. It’s heartfelt, hopeful, and free to attend (pay-what-you-will), part of Servant Stage’s mission to make great theatre accessible. Sunday, Nov 16, 7 p.m. at the Magic & Wonder Theatre.

That’s all for now! Thank you for subscribing and reading our second issue! We’ll see you next Thursday.