BETHLEHEM, Pa. (WLVT) —Oktoberfest is returning to the SteelStacks Campus next week — and so is popular polka band Polkadelphia.
Band founder Dan Nosheny says fans can watch in-person or virtually.
"We’ll be playing as part of an outdoor dining event," Nosheny told PBS39. "Our performance will be recorded and broadcast online."
The Philadelphia-based band formed in 2013. Nosheny, a native of Bucks County, says his band was created to fill a “polka void” in the region.
"I realized that there was nothing like this in the Philadelphia area," he said. "I’m of Polish heritage, but I admit, I didn’t spend a lot of time with this style of music growing up. Pennsylvania has a huge tradition with this music, I mean, there’s a song named after us — ‘The Pennsylvania Polka.’ In the Lehigh Valley and the Scranton area, it’s important music for so many people. We love immersing ourselves in the culture and bringing our own touch to it."
One such touch, he says, is wearing lederhosen to Oktoberfest events. The short or knee-length breeches are worn in some German-speaking countries.
"This kind of clothing was worn for the harvest and it’s very durable," explained Nosheny. "It’s come to be very fancy clothing and can run $200 to $500."
The group is composed of tuba, accordion, trombone and drum players. Nosheny, who plays tuba, says it wasn’t hard to find like-minded musicians with a passion for polka.
"I’m the organizer, the polka kingpin, as it were," he quipped. "There’s an amazing pool of musicians in the Philadelphia area. I play a lot with members from the West Philadelphia Orchestra, which is an amazing brass band. We have people from all different varieties of bands that join us. Our trumpet player regularly plays in a Beatles band and plays a mean ‘Penny Lane.’ Last year, we had our first all-female formation of Polkadelphia play at Longwood Gardens."
If traditional polka music isn't your thing, the band also plays pop songs.
"We do Radiohead’s ‘Creep’, the Beatles ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand,’ and Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart.' People hear it and they just want to get up and dance," he said.
Polkadelphia typically plays 40 shows during the fall season. Due to Covid-19, Nosheny says the band is only slated to play about seven shows.
"When we’re not playing, we will all be wearing masks and social distancing," he explained. "We want to see everybody up close on the dance floor when we’re back in 2021!"
Polkadelphia performs at Oktoberfest on Sunday, Sept. 27th at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. For in-person seating, guests will need to make a $10 reservation. Visit steelstacks.org to learn more.
Watch the video version of this story in the player below.