Rich Howells

SONG PREMIERE: Scranton indie folk band Sweetnest takes time to ‘Heal’ hearts and minds

SONG PREMIERE: Scranton indie folk band Sweetnest takes time to ‘Heal’ hearts and minds

Everyone needs time to heal. For Sweetnest, it has been over three and a half years. The indie folk duo of vocalist/ukulele player Amanda Rogan and guitarist Matt Malone has continued writing music since the release of their split EP with fellow Scranton band A Fire With Friends in early 2020, but the same struggles […]

 Rich Howells

Mudvayne frontman Chad Gray opens up about life-saving music, nu metal, legacy, and face paint before Scranton show

Mudvayne frontman Chad Gray opens up about life-saving music, nu metal, legacy, and face paint before Scranton show

It’s a Thursday afternoon in a hotel in West Palm Beach, Florida, but Chad Gray isn’t here for rest and relaxation, though it is therapeutic, in a way. His band Mudvayne is about to dive into The Psychotherapy Sessions and, once NEPA Scene’s phone interview begins, it’s easy to see where the name of the […]

 Rich Howells

10 years later, NEPA music scene reflects on Captain, We’re Sinking album ‘The Future Is Cancelled’

10 years later, NEPA music scene reflects on Captain, We’re Sinking album ‘The Future Is Cancelled’

When a band makes emotional music that is as deeply personal as it is universal to anyone who has loved, lost, and lived to tell the tale of heartache, confusion, and existential dread, it stands the test of time. 10 years after Captain, We’re Sinking released “The Future Is Cancelled,” the Scranton punk quartet will […]

 Rich Howells

PHOTOS/VIDEO: Fan Expo Philadelphia – Hayden Christensen, Vincent D’Onofrio, and more, 06/03/23

PHOTOS/VIDEO: Fan Expo Philadelphia – Hayden Christensen, Vincent D’Onofrio, and more, 06/03/23

Following many years as Wizard World, the long-running pop culture convention relaunched as Fan Expo Philadelphia in 2022. Its second year proved to be no sophomore slump as even more well-known celebrity guests met thousands of fans of all ages at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Friday, June 2 through Sunday, June 4, including Hayden […]

 Rich Howells

VIDEO: Actor Bill Moseley talks ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2’ and ‘Devil’s Rejects’ before NEPA Horror Fest

VIDEO: Actor Bill Moseley talks ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2’ and ‘Devil’s Rejects’ before NEPA Horror Fest

“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2” and “The Devil’s Rejects” star Bill Moseley recently chatted with NEPA Scene about his iconic roles in both films (Robert “Chop-Top” Sawyer and Otis B. Driftwood, respectively) before they are screened at NEPA Horror Fest: Spooky Summer III at the Circle Drive-In Theatre (1911 Scranton/Carbondale Hwy., Dickson City) on Saturday, […]

 Rich Howells

SONG PREMIERE: Scranton alt rockers The Broke Pines debut with longing for ‘Your Baby Blues’

SONG PREMIERE: Scranton alt rockers The Broke Pines debut with longing for ‘Your Baby Blues’

Musicians communicate in many different ways, through lyrics, chords, beats, and in wavelengths heard and unheard. On stage, subtle movements, head nods, countdowns, eye contact, and little musical cues are indications that a band is talking to each other. When it all comes together, it can create a song that speaks to everyone. When The […]

 Rich Howells

VIDEO PREMIERE: Scranton indie rock pirates Esta Coda ride the friendly seas of ‘Happenstance’

VIDEO PREMIERE: Scranton indie rock pirates Esta Coda ride the friendly seas of ‘Happenstance’

When talking to Esta Coda about their band, songwriting, live shows, or just life in general, the theme that keeps coming up again and again is “friendship.” It’s the force that motivates them, surrounds them, flows through them, and binds them together, to roughly paraphrase a friendly Jedi. It’s key to the longevity of the […]

 Rich Howells

SONG PREMIERE: After ‘The Voice,’ Clarks Summit singer Alyssa Lazar reflects with ‘Dear Universe’

SONG PREMIERE: After ‘The Voice,’ Clarks Summit singer Alyssa Lazar reflects with ‘Dear Universe’

In so many movies, there is a scene when the protagonist has reached a crossroads, hesitating before their next move. Troubled and unsure of themselves, they look up to the sky, picturing something beyond the stars – a higher power, a mentor, or anything else that could guide them – and cry out for an […]

 Rich Howells

‘Jurassic World’ dinosaurs roar to life at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Nov. 24-26

‘Jurassic World’ dinosaurs roar to life at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Nov. 24-26

From a press release: The Jurassic World Live Tour, an exhilarating and unpredictable live family entertainment experience that brings the wonder and thrills of the “Jurassic Park” films to generations of fans, will come roaring into Wilkes-Barre for the first time ever this fall for seven action-packed performances on Friday, Nov. 24 through Sunday, Nov. […]

 Rich Howells

EXCLUSIVE: Good Things Are Happening again – Scranton music fest returns to Iron Furnaces on Aug. 12

EXCLUSIVE: Good Things Are Happening again – Scranton music fest returns to Iron Furnaces on Aug. 12

The local news station can assure viewers that “good things are happening” in their area all they want, but it seems the often skeptical citizens of Northeastern Pennsylvania need more than just a segment on TV to be reminded of that fact. That’s where James Barrett comes in, a Scranton singer/songwriter with big songs and […]