The touring musicians who entertain from the stage of the American Music Theatre are living lives that are the stuff of Darcie Miner's dreams.

Miner, a Harrisburg resident who last October released an excellent album called "Loneliness Anonymous," would like nothing more than to make a living off her music.

It's easier said than done.

"That has been my goal since I was a little kid, but it hasn't happened yet," Miner says during a telephone interview. "For whatever reason, I cannot let go of the dream that I could make a comfortable living off of doing this. I just refuse to let go of that. But I'm not stupid. I realize this doesn't cut it. This doesn't pay the bills."

Miner, however, will get a chance to play at AMT when she and her band (multi-instrumentalist Jimmy Patton, bassist Dan Rustico, drummer Paul Murr and keyboardist Matt Thomas) help kick off the theater's Tuesday Night Music Club series on, what else, Tuesday night.

AMT has scheduled three concerts that feature talented local musicians, of which there are many in central Pennsylvania. Tickets are a bargain at just $10.

The headliner for Tuesday night's show is Slimfit, a Lancaster band.

The second concert in the series is scheduled for July 27 and will feature the Green Onions and the Vinegar Creek Constituency.

The final concert will happen on Aug. 24 and showcase the Mark DeRose Band and the Jack Dillman Band.

"I've never been there," Miner says of AMT, "but I hear it sounds incredible and I cannot wait."

It's not lack of talent that is keeping Miner from making a go of it in the music industry.

The 10 songs on "Loneliness Anonymous" are uniformly excellent as the mix of rockers and ballads maintain a rootsy, tough-minded approach throughout.

"They're all pretty depressing songs," Miner says. "I was trying to get an even amount of more upbeat and slower songs to try and balance things out. I think it's a nice mix of depressing, miserable and bitchy, which is cool. That's like the kind of music I would buy, something I can relate to."

The album can more than hold its own against the work of artists like Lucinda Williams, Allison Moorer and Kathleen Edwards, singer-songwriters who work in a similar vein.

A reviewer for No Depression magazine wrote: "This record reads like a ten-chapter memoir that chronicles the struggle, hope and passion of a young woman who is finally coming to terms with herself, her art, and where she may fit in this world. Been done before? Sure. But what sets this record apart from so many others is that every single song is good, and several of them are actually great."

WXPN, the independent radio station based in Philadelphia, has always been a big fan of Miner's. She recently played a live show for WXPN from the Prince Street Cafe in downtown Lancaster.

"XPN latched onto the album and played it and it had a really good run," Miner says. "I'm very, very happy with that. I think it would be awesome if there were more stations like XPN. That would be helpful."

Miner, who formed her first band when she was 16, has been at this for about 10 years. She has done a lot of touring and, at one time, was signed to a major label, though the deal fell apart.

These days, not only is the music not paying her bills but she recently was laid off from her job in information technology. She's considering going back to school.

"As much as I wish that playing music would pay the bills, it just doesn't cut it," she says.

Local musicians need local support. AMT has provided them with a stage and now it's up to local music fans to provide them with an audience.

Tuesday Night Music Club

Tues. 8 p.m. $10

American Music Theatre

2425 Lincoln Highway East

397-7700. www.amtshows.com