Wicca Phase Springs Eternal will play first full band show ever in Scranton at Good Things Fest on Aug. 10
Since he was a teenager growing up in Scranton, Adam McIlwee has been experimenting and innovating as a musician, so why would he stop now?
He started his first band, Closed Mouth, at age 13, and his career began in earnest in 2005 when he co-founded the band Tigers Jaw, which garnered success in the indie rock scene early on that continues to this day. He left in 2013 and struck out on his own as a solo artist under the moniker Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, leaning into the emo influences of his last group while adding electronic, trap, goth, rap, and alternative hip-hop to the mix, creating an influential sound that spread even further through the formation of his artist collective GothBoiClique.
From Thraxxhouse to Misery Club to Coward to Pay for Pain, the 35-year-old has created or participated in so many different projects that it’s difficult to guess what he’ll be up to next. That may be why it’s most surprising that he will be returning to his roots for his first full band performance as Wicca Phase Springs Eternal on Saturday, Aug. 10, headlining the third annual Good Things Are Happening Fest that features 10 acts from Northeastern Pennsylvania, the tri-state area, and beyond at the Scranton Iron Furnaces.
While Wicca Phase has released two full-lengths in the last three years, “Full Moon Mystery Garden” in 2022 and a self-titled album in 2023, McIlwee believes his last hometown show was in 2021, so he is ready to make his long-awaited return.
“I’ve never headlined a show this large in Scranton before. I think the only comparable show might have been one of those holiday shows that The Menzingers and Tigers Jaw put on. That would have been in 2013, and I think I might have been the opener,” he told NEPA Scene.
Reflecting on what it is like to be asked to headline what has become one of the city’s largest music festivals, he added, “I appreciate it, of course. I have been wanting to play a show with a full band for a while, and I’m thankful for being given a platform to do it in Scranton. It’s also ideal logistically, because the first people I would want to ask to be in the band are from the Scranton area.”
Keeping up with his usual mystique, he did not name who those musicians would be, though he did team up with his previous Tigers Jaw bandmates Dennis Mishko and Pat Brier in 2020 to form Pay for Pain, who played at the inaugural Good Things Fest in 2022, so this year may see another reunion in that vein.
“Pay for Pain doesn’t play many shows, so I enjoy any time we are able to get together,” he noted.
“[Regarding this year’s Wicca Phase set,] I would rather not say too much about what I have planned because some things are still taking shape. The setlist will have a few songs from my new record – some older ones too, I’m sure.”
McIlwee has been recording and releasing introspective, genre-breaking music as Wicca Phase for over a decade now, and his dedication to his dark “witchcraft” has paid off.
“I have so many songs and ideas for Wicca Phase that it often still feels new to me, but when I hear an old song, I’m definitely reminded of how long I have been doing this project,” he remarked.
“My biggest accomplishment is that I’ve been able to be a musician full time for over five years now, which is really crazy to me. I have largely done whatever I’ve wanted to do creatively, and I can’t believe that it actually worked out. I don’t take it lightly at all. I’ve also gotten to meet and work with incredible artists – mostly new artists, sometimes people I have looked up to for years – and I feel incredibly fortunate for that.”
He feels his best work is his most recent, and he is not alone in that assessment, with two of his three latest studio albums released by Run for Cover Records, the indie label that also picked up fellow NEPA natives Title Fight; Captain, We’re Sinking; Petal; One Step Closer and, of course, Tigers Jaw.
“I think my last three full-length projects – ‘Wicca Phase Springs Eternal,’ ‘Full Moon Mystery Garden,’ and ‘Suffer On’ – are all good for their own reasons. The self-titled record is lyrically my best, I think,” he said.
“I am hoping to have more music out before the end of the year but, in the meantime, check out my webstore at wiccaphase.store.”
Good Things Fest previously featured two of those aforementioned bands – Captain, We’re Sinking and Petal – as headliners, and both hadn’t performed in Scranton for years, so Wicca Phase Springs Eternal not only fit right in, but served as an inspiration to festival founder and fellow Scranton singer/songwriter James Barrett long before he booked this year.
“I have had a good relationship with Adam for a few years now. … We’ve talked in the past about doing a full band WPSE set. It felt like it was finally time, so when I asked Adam and he was all for it, I was overjoyed. We always try to get someone with some ties to our area, and Adam is quite literally one of the most successful artists to come out of Scranton,” Barrett told NEPA Scene in a recent interview.
“A while back, I had a conversation with my friend Billy Gartrell [of Worries] about how difficult it is to break through in any genre of music as an artist, and Adam has been able to do that twice in his life with his time, with Tigers Jaw and now with Wicca Phase. It goes to show what kind of support he has in the music industry, and I think he has a devoted following here in NEPA that will be extremely excited to see him perform with a full band. As always, it is super cool to have one of my heroes on this festival. ‘Suffer On’ has been one of my most listened to records since 2019, and I am stoked to hear these songs live after my set.”
Even with a lineup as eclectic as this – University Drive (Scranton alternative rock), Oldsoul (Boston indie rock), Pucker Up! (Scranton punk rock), Caracara (Philadelphia alternative/indie rock), The Resonaters (New York City indie rock), If Kansas Had Trees (Wilkes-Barre alternative rock), Halogens (New Jersey pop punk), Love Lab (Wilkes-Barre post-punk), Those Clever Foxes (Scranton indie punk), and Barrett’s own Scranton-based indie rock band – he knows that Wicca Phase will deliver a show that will stand out among the rest. Tickets, which are $25 in advance or $30 at the door, are on sale now via Eventbrite.
“Adam just has such a distinct and unique sound. It’s hard to describe, but something about it just hits me. I was always a fan, but when I first heard ‘Suffer On,’ it all really changed for me. I think the songs on that record are some of his best. I am excited to hear how they come together with a band,” Barrett emphasized.
“I think Adam just has such a big following in NEPA from everything he has done here over the years. I think it will be a perfect end to a perfect day.”
