Sunset Grill Serves Up Edinboro Summer
... and fall too at the Edinboro Lake Resort, with music four days a week into October
Drive or bike or stroll or boat by it along the usually quiet Route 99 side of beautiful little Edinboro Lake on any/every given summer weekend evening — any/every given summer weeknight, too — and you'll see that the Sunset Grill almost always has what looks to be a packed-to-the-gills house and patio.
Even that old hack COVID couldn't really change that.
Sure, Sunset opened later than usual (over the Fourth of July weekend) last year, but that was because it was busy with preplanned further renovations. As the pandemic brought vast new limits to indoor seating regulations, "a lot of [bars and restaurants] were really struggling for patio seating," says Sunset co-owner Nick Russell, "but we're majority patio seating."
So "people felt safe and comfortable."
It's not just that Sunset served as an oasis during an existential dry spell.
They've been known for having a good menu to gather around, and a more-than-respectable revolving craft beer selection. And the atmosphere alone (totally laid-back but not dusty, perfectly situated for epic sunset views, and as close to the lake as you can get without being in it) is always worth the trip.
Doesn't hurt that the Sunset is also at Edinboro Lake Resort, where a bevy of tourists and townies' guests make cool, quaint, modern lakeside rental cabins their homes away from home throughout the summer. Hell, my wife and I have gotten away there ourselves, and our house is just down the road.
All that makes and keeps the Sunset a pretty inviting spot, no doubt.
But another big part of what makes the place cool is its extensive, season-long live music series, an elbow-deep run that brings an abundant cast of fine-skilled local and regional singer-songwriters and bands onto the little stage by the lake.
It's been going on there for years now, with a chock-full slate of live music to chill by and get down to. And as usual, with an act set up every Thursday through Sunday from now all the way through the beginning of October, this year's lineup is no exception.
Here's what's happening at the resort a little ways south of the city throughout June:
June 3 - Adam McKillip
June 4 - Fred Oakman
June 5 - Shameless Hex
June 6 - Justin Moyar
June 10 - Rankin and Schell
June 11 - The Highlife
June 12 - Tommy Link
June 13 - Josh Travis Band
June 17 - Salmon Frank
June 18 - Seann P. Clark
June 19 - Fred Oakman and The Flood
June 20 - Dionisio/Colette Bone
June 24 - Jay Baumgardner
June 25 - Rachel Short
June 26- Tony Kellogg
June 27 - Jesse Weston
July 1 - Tiger Maple Trio
July 2 - Fred Oakman
July 3 - Clever Norman
July 4 - Brooke Surgener
July 8 - Dionisio/Colette Bone
July 9 - The Highlife
July 10 - Josh Travis Band
July 11 - Tommy Link
July 15 - TBA
July 16 - Tyler Smilo
July 17 - Seann P. Clark
July 18 - Alyssa Hankey
July 22 - Salmon Frank
July 23 - Tony Kellogg
July 24 - Shameless Hex
July 25 - Jesse Weston
July 29 - Jay Baumgardner
July 30 - Rankin and Schell
Aug. 1 - Tiger Maple Trio
Aug. 5 - Rachel Short
Aug. 6 - Fred Oakman
Aug. 7 - Sunday at the Station
Aug. 8 - Dionisio/Colette Bone
Aug. 12 - Rankin and Schell
Aug. 13 - The Highlife
Aug. 14 - Tommy Link
Aug. 15 - Brooke Surgener
Aug. 19 - Salmon Frank
Aug. 20 - Seann P. Clark
Aug. 21 - Tyler Smilo
Aug. 22 - Jesse Weston
Aug. 26 - Tony Kellogg
Aug. 27 - Josh Travis Band
Aug. 28 - TBA
Aug. 29 - Alyssa Hankey
Sept. 2 - Jay Baumgardner
Sept. 3 - Fred Oakman
Sept. 4 - Clever Norman
Sept. 5 - Josh Travis Band
Sept. 9 - Tommy Link
Sept. 10 - The Highlife
Sept. 11 - Sunday at the Station
Sept. 12 - Brooke Surgener
Sept. 16 - Salmon Frank
Sept. 17 - Tiger Maple Trio
Sept. 18 - Shameless Hex
Sept. 19 - Rankin and Schell
Sept. 23 - Tony Kellogg
Sept. 24 - Justin Moyar
Sept. 25 - Brooke Surgener
Sept. 26 - Rachel Short
Sept. 30 - Jay Baumgardner
Oct. 1 - Fred Oakman
Oct. 2 - Adam McKillip
Oct. 3. - Dionisio/Colette Bone
To find out more about Sunset Grill's summer (and into-the autumn) music series — including what's happening next month and the full slate of performances each week through September and early October — visit edinborolakeresort.com, call 434.3307, or take a drive (or stroll, or bike, or boat) out to 12690 Edinboro Road.
Ryan Smith can be reached at rsmith@eriereader.com.
