Much like Santa Claus, Townhall is coming to town.

At 10 tonight at Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave., the Philadelphia-based band will bring its brand of music to State College.

Townhall is a five-member band that has been playing all over Pennsylvania for years. With the exception of Los Angeles native Mark Smidt, all the members hail from or near Philadelphia. Most of the band members are multi-instrumentalists who swap duties during shows. Between George Stanford, Nate Skiles, Tim Sonnefeld, Kevin Pride and Smidt, the band can make music with a staggering amount of instruments including Dobro guitar, banjo, trumpet, bass guitar, trombone, drums, electric guitar and flute, as well as vocals.

"We try to stay ahead of the game," Sonnefeld said. "If I had to play the bass all night, I'd get so bored."

This wide array of instruments and diverse musicianship makes Townhall's music difficult to define. David Wells, director of operations for Crowbar, said, "Townhall is a classic, organic band. Their music seems to show the influence of Philadelphia -- soulful inspired jams."

Sonnefeld said, "Our staple songs are quick, three to five minute windows into our heads. We try to keep it held down. We try to make sure everybody can boogie down to it."

The band's live shows are just as unique, changing pace and musical direction throughout the course of the evening. Townhall's promotions and operations manager Carolyn Ballen said, "Their shows are very much an energy exchange. Their style changes from song to song."

Although Townhall plays all over the Northeast, Pennsylvania is its state of choice. The band performs primarily in college towns.

"They've played here at Penn State about six times," Wells said. "They seem to like the college crowd, and the college crowd seems to like them."

State College has certainly heard Townhall's music before. Its songs have been aired on local radio, and the band's last show here was in November at Crowbar. The band sees State College as a great place to play, in that it draws students from all over the state.

"We are coming closer to bridging the gap between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia," Sonnefeld said. "Happy Valley is the gap."

Townhall is always forging ahead in their music as well. The band just recently began pre-production on a new album. Townhall's latest album, The New Song, was released earlier this year. Townhall is constantly working on its new material.

Sonnefeld said, "Most bands continue to play the songs that everyone likes. We don't. I guess we're stupid in a good sense. Our sets are about 70/30 new stuff to old."

Fans in State College are guaranteed to hear brand new songs when Townhall performs tonight. The doors open at 8 p.m., and the show starts at 10. The all-ages show costs $5.