Rich Howells

EXCLUSIVE: Electric City Music Conference announces new venues and 50 more acts in Scranton

EXCLUSIVE: Electric City Music Conference announces new venues and 50 more acts in Scranton
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After announcing its initial 65 performers via NEPA Scene last month, the Electric City Music Conference has announced 50 more live acts and the participating venues for the fifth annual event in Scranton and surrounding cities like Olyphant.

Venues returning for the 2018 conference are the Backyard Ale House, The Bog, Levels Bar & Grill (multiple floors), the Irish Wolf Pub, The Keys, the New Penny Lounge, Thirst T’s Bar & Grill, The Vault Tap & Kitchen, and The V-Spot. The new venues added this year are Ale Mary’s, Back Breakers (all-ages), Crotti’s on Ash, Harry’s, and Peculiar Slurp Shop, which is currently finishing construction and opening soon.

The organizers have also announced over 50 artists that will be performing at the conference this year, including a few national-level acts. Indie rock band Latewaves, who recently signed to Panic State Records and are conference veterans, will make their return to Scranton. Brooklyn punk band Pass Away, which features members of I Am the Avalanche and Crime in Stereo, will make their ECMC debut in 2018. New York City pop artist AYYA will also make her Scranton debut this year.

The Steamtown Music Awards will kick off the 2018 Electric City Music Conference on Thursday, Sept. 13, and the rest of the conference takes place on Friday, Sept. 14 and Saturday, Sept. 15 with live music and an educational component with industry professionals.

Applications to play are still open. Local artists from the 570 area code can apply for free through the Electric City Music Conference website. All other artists can apply to perform at the ECMC via Sonicbids.

Nominations for the Steamtown Music Awards are also currently open at electriccitymusicconference.com/awards and will close on Saturday, June 30.

Last year’s conference featured performances by over 150 bands from eight states in 11 venues throughout the Scranton area, the Steamtown Music Awards ceremony with many new awards and special performances of its own, and free panel discussions and mentoring sessions for local musicians, professionals, and music fans. As the largest event of its kind in Northeastern Pennsylvania, this celebration of the diverse local music scene is much more than a music festival, bringing hundreds of artists and music industry professionals together annually to meet and network while recognizing and showcasing established and up-and-coming musicians.

Newly confirmed 2018 Electric City Music Conference performers:

(Damn) This Desert Air – New Jersey/New York – post-hardcore
3IB – Wilkes-Barre – rock
Abby Vail – Scott Township – instrumental bass
Alma Mater – Wilkes-Barre – indie rock
AlphaAudio – Scranton – rock/hip-hop
Anker – Cranbury, NJ – Americana
Anytime Soon – Eynon – pop/punk/rock
Asteria Falling – Scranton – acoustic rock
AYYA – New York City – pop
Behind the Grey – Scranton – metal/hard rock
Blind Choice – Roaring Brook Twp. – pop punk
Bright Shiny Objects Band – Forest City – rock/pop
Cheap Seats – Montdale – sad punk
Crystal Clayton – Kansas City, MO – pop/electronic
Doubting Thoma$ – Lehigh Valley – modern rock
Ellie Rose – Forty Fort – acoustic
EnjinzFire (Ben Gorski) – Stroudsburg – acoustic pock
Epoch Failure – Trenton, NJ – hip-hop
Eprestige – Hazleton – hip-hop
Eric Best – Dunmore – acoustic
feverCEZER – Williamsport – hip-hop
Frank Abruzzini – Factoryville – acoustic
Fuzzy Mudd – Scranton – rock/groove/dance
Half Dollar – Wilkes-Barre – soul rock
Hollow Bones – White Plains, NY – metalcore
Honorable Mention – Wilkes-Barre – pop punk
Hunter Alive – Raritan, NJ – melodic hardcore
Illiegel Siegel – Nanticoke – hip-hop
Jay Luke – Throop – acoustic rock
Jordan Ramirez – Wilkes-Barre – acoustic soul
JP Williams Blues Band – Tunkhannock – blues
Latewaves – Asbury Park, NJ – indie/alternative rock
Local Concern – Brooklyn, PA – rock
Merely Players – Bloomsburg – acoustic
Nate Williams – Lake Ariel – hip-hop
Oakum – Lehigh Valley – blues/funk rock
Old Charades – Scranton/Philadelphia – rock
Pass Away – Bushwick, NY – punk rock
Personal Blend – Rochester, NY – reggae/dub
Planning for Burial – Mountain Top – slowcore
Rahway – New Jersey, NJ – hard rock
Running Late – Madison, NJ – pop/rock
ShamRock Duo – Taylor – acoustic duo
Sky Magik – New York City – pop/acoustic
Supermassive – Elmira, NY – rock
Swe Swe Gang – Scranton – hip-hop
The Aegean – Nanticoke – metal
The Stash – White Plains, NY – pop/reggae/rock
The Tins – Buffalo, NY – indie rock
Triforcemuzik – Hazleton – hip-hop
Twisted Fantasy – Nanticoke – rock/metal

See our photos from the 2017 Steamtown Music Awards here and the entire Electric City Music Conference here. Stream or download last year’s panel discussions as free podcasts here and listen to Caviston and Norton talk about the conference and the awards in depth in Episode 26 of the NEPA Scene Podcast:

Photo by Keith Perks/1120 Studios