Musician Logan Polak, set to perform Friday evening at The Mansion House of Summit Hill on West Ludlow Street, teases big news to come.

“If you like acoustic guitar and singer-songwriter vibes, then you’ll like my announcement scheduled for late February,” said Polak, a piano rock artist, “or as Billy Joel puts it, a ‘Piano Man.’”

Aside from Joel, Polak counts Elton John, the Eagles and Bob Dylan among his inspirations.

Meanwhile, The Mansion House gig, per the Summit Hill native, will include “fun, piano-bar-style covers ranging from the 1950s to today’s pop hits.”

An early start

Polak, a graduate of Panther Valley High School in 2021 and Lebanon Valley College in 2025, knew he wanted to pursue performing while in middle school.

“I loved being in the spotlight as a kid, whether it was being in the drama club, marching band or choir. I wanted to put myself out there and entertain.”

Polak, in third grade, started learning how to play music with his uncle’s trumpet, “which I’ve played to this day as my main instrument. With that said, piano has been and always will be my passion.”

The performer started playing piano at age 12, later picking up the organ in high school as his first experience getting paid to play music.

Polak also picked up guitar in high school, during which time he performed in the marching, concert and jazz bands.

Honing his musical skills

While in college, Polak played trumpet in the Pride of the Valley Marching Band and Valley Jazz Orchestra, plus symphonic band, orchestra, brass quintet, pit orchestra and trumpet ensembles.

Participating in such ensembles helped Polak grow as a musician and a team member.

“I learned that I needed to adapt as a player and not to be discouraged if I am not at the forefront. As my jazz professor Dr. Jeff Lovell says, ‘There is no rest for aspiring musicians.’”

Polak, who began writing songs in college, formed the rock/pop-punk band Dead By Friday with close friends in 2022.

He started playing live solo gigs, consisting of mostly covers, in summer 2023 at The Batter’s Box in Summit Hill.

Dead By Friday, on hiatus as its members find their way post-graduation, released the three-track EP “Blink and You’ll Miss It” in November 2024. Polak, who wrote “Widow,” helped in the writing process for “Chasing Sunsets” and “Last Dance.”

Breaking into the music business

Earlier in 2024, Polak — who graduated LVC with a Bachelor of Arts in music business and a minor in marketing — interned with New York City’s Dividend Music Group.

The creative-publishing role “opened my eyes to what I could do as an independent artist to help grow organically.”

In the first half of 2025, LVC label VALE Records selected Polak as its featured artist. The artist created a song, “Misunderstood,” from start to finish, recruiting colleagues to play as the backing band.

“If you want to know what my sound is all about,” he said, “‘Misunderstood’ is the track to listen to.”

Polak, who has playing credits on LVC Valley Jazz Orchestra albums “Vicious Fishes” (2024) and “Jungle Book” (2025), released his second solo single, “Light of My Life,” in late 2025. The track came about as part of a challenge he and friend Michael Dobson set for themselves.

“We set out to write, record and roughly mix a song within a day. We wrote it in July, and it was released in November. It was during the mixing process that I was dealing with my mom’s passing. As a tribute to her, I released the song on her birthday, November 7.”

Polak has spent the past months writing and recording songs with friends and on his own, with more set for the future. He aims to release one or two singles by this summer, and an EP by the end of 2026.

Thus far, Polak’s music highlights include playing at the 2023 London New Year’s Day Parade with LVC’s marching band and a performance with Valley Jazz Orchestra at the WITF studio in Harrisburg. He also fondly recalls playing with Dead By Friday at the historic Allen Theatre in Annville.

A tough career

Though grateful to have a connection to the Carbon County music scene, Polak has faced a challenge, in that “the music business, especially in this area, is very rarely a steady one.”

At times, the singer/pianist — also a cashier at Lowe’s in Lehighton, set for a late-February gig at The Batter’s Box — has gone two or three months without a paying gig.

“As someone who wants to be involved in the music business full-time, whether it be performing or working behind the scenes, that’s too much time away from the game.”

Such time gaps, indeed, do not align with Polak’s ultimate goal, for which he’s on his way.

“My dream is to be able to perform year-round as a traveling musician.”