By Richard L. Gaw

Staff Writer

In 2014, the members of the local band Couple Days decided to throw a party to celebrate the release of the band's first CD, and they thought it would be a great idea to hold it on historic property owned by their bass player, Mike Scott.

Although the crowd at the all-day event was small – it was estimated between 25 and 50 – they enjoyed a warm and friendly camaraderie with the band. There was food and music, and it felt as comfortable as being invited to someone's home when someone brings out a guitar and begins playing.

The band decided to hold a similar celebration the next year, and then the next year after. On July 14, Couple Days will host their 5th annual Pretty Good Fest at 402 Ashmun Ave., Lincoln University, near the historic Lincoln University train station.

“We just decided to throw a big party, and with each passing year, it's grown in attendance, to the point where we had about 200 turn out last year,” said Scott, who has been a member of Couple Days for the past seven years. “This is our way of saying 'thank you' to everyone that supports our musical adventures. It's an excuse to have a good time and be able to interact with great people. It's all for the sake of good music and good people and good food.”

Couple Days, described as a singer-songwriter, alt-folk-rock band, is made up of Scott on bass, James Brant on guitar and vocals, and Russell Mann on guitar and vocals. Sitting in with them at the festival will be backing vocalist Stephanie Hewett and drummer Jimmy Lynn. Over the years, the band has played at several music festivals throughout Pennsylvania, and regularly plays at the Kennett Brewing Company and at the Bordley House in West Chester.

Joining Couple Days on the festival bill will be Jiggley Jones, Mack and The Hooligans, the Michael DiSalvo Band (MDB), MachoPop and The Well Bottomers. In addition to the musical lineup, the festival will supply a barbecue pig roast and beer, compliments of the Kennett Brewing Company and other local breweries.

The festival's name, and the name of the host band, were inspired by Scott's experiences years ago

when he worked with mentally-challenged clients as a counselor.

“We had just started kicking around the idea of forming a band, but we didn't even have a name yet,” Scott said. “One of the clients I worked with kept saying, 'couple days' and 'pretty good.' I thought both phrases had a good ring to them. So I threw out one of them as a name of the band, and it just stuck. When we began thinking about names for the festival, well we just gave the other phrase to the festival.”

The success of the festival, Scott said, is seen in its eclecticism.

“Word-of-mouth advertising has contributed to our growth every year, but more importantly, the biggest factor has been the quality of people and musicians who have attended in recent years. Its an eclectic group of people, where you see a group of bikers sitting next to a group of hippies, who are sitting next to a group of grandparents.”

The Fifth Annual Pretty Good Music Fest will take place on July 14 at 402 Ashmun Ave., Lincoln University, and begins at 2 p.m. The festival is free and open to the public, and there will be ample parking on site. Donations will be accepted. For more information and to learn about festival performers, visit “Pretty Good Music Fest” on Facebook.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].