What happens when you combine independent films, live music, local performers, and a walkable town setting?
You get the New Cumberland Music + Film Fest, returning Sept. 17-19, 2026, for three days of movies, music, and community in downtown New Cumberland.
Presented by The New Cumberland Collective and West Shore Theatre, the festival brings together new and independent films, regional musicians, visiting artists, and special events – all within a few blocks in the heart of New Cumberland.
You don’t have to choose between being a “music person” or a “movie person,” either. The schedule is designed so you can watch a film, hear live music, stop by an after-party, or catch a free performance outside the theater.
Here’s what you need to know.
New Cumberland Music + Film Fest
When: Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 17-19, 2026
Where: Downtown New Cumberland, primarily at West Shore Theatre and the Arts & Education Center, 317 Bridge St., New Cumberland
Tickets: Individual tickets are available for select films and performances. New this year, festival passes are available for $35.
More information: musicandfilmfestival.com
What is the New Cumberland Music + Film Fest?
The New Cumberland Music + Film Fest is a multi-day celebration of independent film, live music, and the creative community surrounding both.
Throughout the festival, West Shore Theatre serves as the hub for film screenings and featured concerts. Additional performances and gatherings take place at the neighboring Arts & Education Center and outside in the West Shore Theatre Parklet.
The result is a festival that feels both thoughtfully curated and comfortably local. You can buy tickets for one movie or concert, build your own itinerary for the weekend, or go all-in with a festival pass.
Along with four feature films, the 2026 schedule includes free busker performances, an after-party, a vinyl listening club, and a Saturday night music showcase.
New this year: Festival passes
Want the full festival experience? For the first time, the New Cumberland Music + Film Fest is offering an all-access festival pass.
The $35 festival pass, a $50+ value, includes:
- Admission to all four feature films, including a 30th anniversary screening of Matilda
- Admission to the Saturday night music showcase featuring City Planners, Cumberland Honey, and Xtra Credit
- Exclusive festival merchandise
Individual tickets are also available, so you can attend as much (or as little) of the festival as you’d like.
Purchase a festival pass or browse individual tickets.
Thursday, Sept. 17
The festival opens Thursday evening with free live music outside the theater, followed by the first film of the weekend.
6 p.m. Joel Toluba
West Shore Theatre Parklet | Free
Central Pennsylvania multi-instrumentalist Joel Toluba kicks things off with his one-man show. With accordion, soulful vocals and foot-powered bass and snare drums, Toluba moves through genres including zydeco, folk, classic rock, bluegrass, blues and jazz.
7 p.m. Amazing Live Sea Monkeys
West Shore Theatre | Tickets
Directed by Mark Becker and Aaron Schock, Amazing Live Sea Monkeys follows a widow fighting powerful corporations to reclaim her late husband’s famous Sea-Monkeys toy empire. Along the way, she works to protect its secret formula while confronting the complicated history behind the novelty that became a cultural phenomenon.
Run time: 99 minutes.
Friday, Sept. 18
Friday’s lineup pairs another free outdoor performance with a documentary about the enduring legacy of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, followed by an after-party.
5 p.m. Vincent Yarnell
West Shore Theatre Parklet | Free
Pennsylvania songwriter Vincent Yarnell creates stripped-back music that falls somewhere between intimate folk and experimental indie. A longtime member of the Central Pennsylvania music scene, Yarnell spent more than a decade performing with Rivers and was named Best Folk Artist at the 2022 Central Pennsylvania Music Awards.
6:30 p.m. Time Warp
West Shore Theatre | Tickets
Directed by Allison Berg, Time Warp explores the impact of The Rocky Horror Picture Show through the story of Kenny Starling, a 25-year-old who opens the first drag and queer theater company in Rock Springs, Wyoming.
As Kenny and his cast prepare a shadow-cast production of Rocky Horror, the film becomes a celebration of joyful self-expression, found family, and the power of creating a place where people can fully be themselves.
Run time: 112 minutes.
8:30-11 p.m. His & Hers Music After-Party
Arts & Education Center | Free
Keep the night going next door at the Arts & Education Center with music from His & Hers.
Saturday, Sept. 19
Saturday offers the fullest festival schedule, with movies for both families and music fans, a vinyl listening session, another free busker performance, and a live concert to close the weekend.
11 a.m. Matilda
West Shore Theatre | Tickets
Celebrate the 30th anniversary of the beloved 1996 film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s novel.
Matilda follows a brilliant young girl who discovers she has telekinetic powers—and puts her intelligence and abilities to work standing up to her neglectful family and the terrifying Miss Trunchbull.
Run time: 98 minutes.
2 p.m. The Best Summer
West Shore Theatre | Tickets
Music fans, this one is for you.
Directed by Tamra Davis, The Best Summer takes viewers inside the 1995 Summersault tour featuring the Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Pavement, Rancid, The Amps and Bikini Kill.
Shot entirely from Davis’s handheld point-of-view camera, the film captures backstage hallways, tour buses, hotel rooms, live performances and candid moments with artists at formative points in their careers. Rediscovered nearly 30 years later, the footage offers an intimate time capsule of ’90s alternative music and independent filmmaking.
Run time: 84 minutes.
4-5:30 p.m. Vinyl Listening Club
Arts & Education Center | Free
Settle in for a free afternoon listening session before the festival’s final slate of live performances.
6 p.m. Pishima
West Shore Theatre Parklet | Free
Stop by the parklet for one more busker performance before heading inside for the night’s concert.
7-9 p.m. — Music Showcase featuring City Planners, Cumberland Honey + Xtra Credit
West Shore Theatre | Tickets
The festival wraps with a three-band showcase inside West Shore Theatre.
Headliner City Planners is a five-piece, female-fronted indie band based in Portland, Maine—with two members who hail from Pennsylvania. The band combines post-punk energy, synth-pop melodies, guitar-driven songs, and plenty of hooks.
They’ll be joined by two Pennsylvania-based bands:
Cumberland Honey brings sweet harmonies, folk and soul influences, touches of bluegrass, and original songs rooted in stories of life and love.
Xtra Credit blends soul rock, pop punk, blues, soft rock, hip-hop, and R&B into genre-bending, lyric-driven music designed to make you move.
Where to go
Most festival events take place at two neighboring venues:
West Shore Theatre
317 Bridge St.
New Cumberland, PA 17070
Arts & Education Center
317 Bridge St.
New Cumberland, PA 17070
Free busker performances will take place outside in the West Shore Theatre Parklet, making it easy to stop by and enjoy some live music even if you don’t have tickets to a film.
How to attend
There are a few ways to experience the New Cumberland Music + Film Fest:
- Purchase the $35 festival pass for admission to all four films, Saturday’s music showcase, and exclusive festival merch.
- Buy individual tickets to the movies and concerts you most want to see.
- Stop by for one of the festival’s free outdoor performances or other free events.
- Make a weekend of it and spend some time exploring downtown New Cumberland between screenings and shows.
Whether you’re coming for a particular band, an intriguing documentary, a family screening of Matilda or simply the chance to experience something different close to home, the New Cumberland Music + Film Fest offers plenty of ways to join the fun.
Browse the complete schedule and purchase tickets at musicandfilmfestival.com.
