Media

 Rich Howells

VIDEO PREMIERE: Scranton pop punks Anytime Soon visit Castle Bam before ‘Holding My Breath Through the Lehigh Tunnel’

VIDEO PREMIERE: Scranton pop punks Anytime Soon visit Castle Bam before ‘Holding My Breath Through the Lehigh Tunnel’

The music of Anytime Soon often captures the sound of growing up on early 2000s punk and emo tunes, Vans Warped Tour, MTV, CKY DVDs, “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater,” “Jackass,” and “Viva La Bam,” so when it came time for the Scranton band to search for shooting locations for their next music video, what better […]

 Rich Howells

VIDEO PREMIERE: Scranton alt rock band University Drive lines up together for ‘Execution’

VIDEO PREMIERE: Scranton alt rock band University Drive lines up together for ‘Execution’

Anyone who has seen University Drive knows what a tight band they are, and behind the scenes, the group has become even tighter. Since premiering their first-ever music video on NEPA Scene last October, the Scranton-based alternative rockers have continually rehearsed while playing only a select few shows as they plan to announce something big […]

 Jason Riedmiller

PHOTOS: Life of Agony and Dog Eat Dog at Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg, 01/29/22

PHOTOS: Life of Agony and Dog Eat Dog at Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg, 01/29/22

In 1993, when grunge ruled radio and MTV, there was an underground scene thriving in New York City, North Jersey, Northeastern Pennsylvania – hardcore punk, quickly known just as hardcore. It was a mix of equal parts punk rock and heavy metal, with the influence of hip-hop, but that’s an approximation. There was no real […]

 Guest Contributor

PHOTOS: Karl Hall reopening with Raw Brigade in Wilkes-Barre, 01/25/22

PHOTOS: Karl Hall reopening with Raw Brigade in Wilkes-Barre, 01/25/22

From the depths of downtown Wilkes-Barre, Karl Hall rose again. For the first time in nearly two years, the small basement music venue was able to let patrons through its doors for an indoor show that was as raw as its headliner. Raw Brigade, a Colombian straight edge group, performed with local hardcore bands Ripped […]

 James Callahan

VIDEO PREMIERE: Folk punk rocker Markus A. D. is ‘Sharing a Breath’ with his demons on the Nicholson Bridge

“Sharing a Breath” by small town goth Markus A. D. is a moody little folk punk ballad that enters the brain slowly and then lodges itself in the heart, not unlike something sharp and cold getting stuck in and then abruptly broken off. The Wilkes-Barre singer/songwriter and Plains native claims a simple but rich life […]

 Jason Riedmiller

PHOTOS: ‘The Office’ star Brian Baumgartner at Backyard Ale House in Scranton, 11/18/21

PHOTOS: ‘The Office’ star Brian Baumgartner at Backyard Ale House in Scranton, 11/18/21

The Scranton party doesn’t stop when Brian Baumgartner is in town. The actor who portrayed the lovable Dunder Mifflin accountant Kevin Malone on the hit NBC sitcom “The Office” visited the real Electric City on Thursday, Nov. 18 to sign copies of his new book, but this was no stiff literary event. After stops at […]

 Jason Riedmiller

PHOTOS: WWE SmackDown at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, 10/29/21

PHOTOS: WWE SmackDown at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, 10/29/21

They may have been a few days early for Halloween, but the colorful tights, big personalities, and dramatic theatrics of the WWE Superstars topped anything you could possibly see trick-or-treating that weekend. After going virtual last year, “Friday Night SmackDown” was finally able to return to the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre […]

 Rich Howells

VIDEO PREMIERE: Scranton alt rockers University Drive chase down grief in cinematic ‘Ending’

VIDEO PREMIERE: Scranton alt rockers University Drive chase down grief in cinematic ‘Ending’

Band worked with Sylvia Massy on first song from upcoming album

This time of year, everyone is surrounded by images of ghosts, witches, monsters, and masked killers, but what is truly unsettling is grief, depression, and the other dark emotions people actually have to face every day. Those real specters fuel the car speeding through University Drive’s first music video, debuting today exclusively on NEPA Scene. […]

 Ken Jones

REVIEW: Russello Project transports Scranton crowd to another world with introspective tunes

REVIEW: Russello Project transports Scranton crowd to another world with introspective tunes

It was a cool autumn night in downtown Scranton, and I entered Finnegan’s Irish Rock Club shivering not from the cold, but anticipation. Due to the ever-long pandemic and the trials and tribulations of raising a newborn at the same time, Saturday, Sept. 25 would be my first time attending a live music performance in […]

 Rich Howells

VIDEO PREMIERE: Horror metal band First Jason ponders ‘The Price of Peace’ in apocalyptic times

VIDEO PREMIERE: Horror metal band First Jason ponders ‘The Price of Peace’ in apocalyptic times

“Make that wound ooze more,” someone says as a hulking bare-chested man has the giant scar across his stomach painted over. In tranquil Dalton, Pennsylvania, a family home sits behind a few others lost in the trees, not even visible from the main road. There is a little red wagon in the yard and a […]