Nickelodeon actor and pop star Drake Bell performs at Stage West in Scranton on Feb. 22
From a press release:
It was announced today that actor, singer, and songwriter Drake Bell, best known for his starring role in the hit Nickelodeon television series “Drake & Josh,” will perform his pop rock hits at Stage West in Scranton on Friday, Feb. 22.
Doors at Stage West (301 N. Main Ave., Scranton) open at 7 p.m. Scranton rock band The Boastfuls will open the 18+ show.
General admission tickets, which are $15 in advance or $20 the day of the show (with a $5 surcharge at the door for guests under 21), are on sale now and can be purchased online via Eventbrite. VIP meet and greet tickets are also available for $100 and include a pre-show hangout with Bell, a selfie video, a signed poster, and admission to the show.
Though he had been acting since he was 5 years old, when he was filmed in his first commercial, Drake Bell (born Jared Drake Bell in Orange County, California) didn’t start playing the guitar until he was cast in the 2001 TV movie “Chasing Destiny,” also starring The Who’s Roger Daltrey, who gave the young performer his initial lessons. As a teenager, though Bell was focusing on acting, he continued to play music and write songs on the side, and after a program he was in, Nickelodeon’s “The Amanda Show,” was canceled in 2002, and a spin-off, “Drake & Josh,” started (airing from 2004 to 2007), he was able to finally show off his chops onscreen, writing the theme song, “Found a Way,” and playing an exaggerated version of his guitarist self named Drake Parker.
Heavily influenced by The Beatles and The Beach Boys, Bell released his debut, “Telegraph,” independently in 2005. Soon after, he signed to Universal, who put out his sophomore record, “It’s Only Time,” the following year. The live album, “Drake Bell in Concert,” appeared in 2008, though it wouldn’t be until 2011 that he would release any new material with the stopgap EP “A Reminder.” Around this time, he also provided the voice of Peter Parker in Disney XD’s Ultimate Spider-Man animated series, which ran from 2012-2017.
Returning to the studio some two years later with childhood hero Brian Setzer, Bell released his third album, the rockabilly-inspired “Ready Steady Go!” on Surfdog Records in 2014. With music being his first love, he made the most rockin’ and exciting album of his career – a collection of melodic pop and, at the same time, hard-hitting rock ‘n’ roll.
In 2014, Bell took Mexico by storm when he performed at Exa FM’s Concierto Exa 2014 in Mexico City for an audience of more than 50,000 people. His song “Bull” remained in the Top 10 on Mexican radio for several weeks. In 2016, he returned to Mexico to perform live again for all his fans, with shows in Monterrey, Mexico City, and Guadalajara.
He is currently making waves in the music industry with his new sound and working with artists such as Josh Dun, Mike Taylor, Lil Mama, and Tank God. In 2017, he released his latest EP, “Honest,” and in early 2018, he put out two music videos that garnered much acclaim in the press and over one million views each.
Now 32 years old, Bell is on the road promoting his new music, like the Latin-influenced single “Fuego Lento,” and touring all over the world while connecting with his fans.
Photo by Jason Riedmiller Photography/NEPA Scene
