City halts Back Breakers events, Lackawanna Music Festival moves to Irish Wolf Pub in Scranton July 7-8
The city of Scranton has temporarily shut down live public events at Back Breakers Training Center due to safety concerns with the venue, forcing the small professional wrestling facility to put any wrestling shows and concerts on hold for the time being, according to Back Breakers.
Back Breakers began hosting all-ages concerts in its upstairs lounge in March and was set to host the Lackawanna Music Festival this weekend, so now the brand new event is moving to the nearby Irish Wolf Pub in downtown Scranton with only minor changes to its scheduled lineup on Saturday, July 7 and Sunday, July 8.
Back Breakers has been training athletes in its 16×16-foot wrestling ring and hosting wrestling seminars, meet and greets with pro wrestlers, and WWE pay-per-view parties and other related events for years, but owner Justyn Glory said the city is “being really nice and understanding of everything,” and he attributes this sudden regulatory change to the “growing pains” of the venue as it expands with new types of events.
“Right now, we are just in the process of getting everything up to code. It’s the city who asked that we make some updates to the facility so that it’s up to city standards and is the safest it can be for when we have events. Hopefully everything can resume once all that is done, but the ETA is unknown right now. An unfortunate bump in the road as we continue to grow,” Glory told NEPA Scene.
“They love the idea of what we are doing for the community. [They] just want to make sure it’s the safest it can be.”
Located just on the outskirts of the downtown area, Back Breakers (1008 N. Washington Ave., Scranton) can still run its week-to-week athlete training, just not anything else for now, Glory said. He hopes to back up and running for his next planned wrestling event, a seminar with “Brutal” Bob Evans, on Aug. 5.
Despite having to switch venues at the last minute, Lackawanna Music Festival co-organizer Joe Caviston said the transition to the Irish Wolf Pub (503 Linden St., Scranton), which recently installed a new stage and sound system, was made easy by pub owner Peter Kelly, who already agreed to host the official afterparty. The festival will remain an all-ages event with state-issued IDs checked at the door.
“We love Justyn. He’s great to work with. These things happen and we totally understand. We’re here to support anything he needs,” Caviston emphasized.
“Luckily, our music community is so tight-knit that our friend Peter from the Irish Wolf stepped up to host the show, and our new friend Justin Clemo from No Comply Booking has been understanding enough to let us absorb his show.”
Boston experimental hardcore band MouthBreather was set to headline a show at the Irish Wolf on July 8, so now they have been added to the festival’s Sunday lineup.
The inaugural Lackawanna Music Festival will feature both local and national bands that span multiple musical genres, including Kulick, Young Thieves, Black Tie Stereo, and Lucas Hex on Day 1 and Strength for a Reason, Koji, Behind the Grey, and Moral Code on Day 2.
Doors will open at 11 a.m., and the first bands will take the stage at noon. Single day passes are available in advance for $15 and will increase to $20 on the day of the show. Tickets for Day 1 are available via Eventbrite here, and tickets for Day 2 can be purchased here. Special two-day discount passes, limited to only 100, are also available here.
Lackawanna Music Festival updated set times
Day 1 – Saturday, July 7
Noon: Mayfield
12:45 p.m.: Ellie Rosentel
1:15 p.m.: Bryan Brophy
2:15 p.m.: Hollow Bones
3:15 p.m.: Magik Muzik
4 p.m.: Holla Da Scholar
4:45 p.m.: Sir Polo
5:15 p.m.: Secret Life Society
6 p.m.: Black Hole Heart
6:45 p.m.: Kulick
7:15 p.m.: Ill Ray the Menace
8 p.m.: Lucas Hex
8:45 p.m.: Young Thieves
9:30 p.m.: Black Tie Stereo
10:15 p.m.: Death Wish Birdie
10:45 p.m.: American Opera
11:15 p.m.: Will Wood and the Tapeworms
Day 2 – Sunday, July 8
Noon: Common Icon
12:45 p.m.: Drug Bust
1:30 p.m.: MVA
2:15 p.m.: Local Concern
3 p.m.: Behind the Grey
3:45 p.m.: The Holtzmann Effect
4:30 p.m.: The Aegean
5:30 p.m.: Mercy Gang
6:15 p.m.: AlphaAudio
7 p.m.: Moral Code
7:45 p.m.: VICTIM
8:15 p.m.: Koji
8:45 p.m.: Worn
9:10 p.m.: Six Year Suffering
9:30 p.m.: Strength for a Reason
10:15 p.m.: MouthBreather
Learn more about The Holtzmann Effect, a new alternative hard rock band that will officially debut on Day 2 of the Lackawanna Music Festival, and watch an exclusive acoustic performance by the Scranton-based group in Episode 65 of the NEPA Scene Podcast:
