2025 IN REVIEW: Rich history of arts and entertainment continues

Northeast Pennsylvania has a rich and diverse history of arts and entertainment that continues today through concerts, stage shows, and more.

Storied venues like the Kirby Center on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre provide year-round entertainment for residents, and a recent study by The Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development found that it generated more than $14 million in total economic impact during the 2024–2025 fiscal year.

In the summer, concert series like Rockin’ the River brought hundreds to the downtown area, while The Luzerne County Arts & Entertainment Hall of Fame held its third induction ceremony in October, celebrating the best of the best in arts and entertainment figures from Luzerne County.

Additionally, in its weekly In Frame column, the Times Leader shed light on the many NEPA-natives who’ve made a name for themselves in Hollywood and beyond.

In April 2025, the Wilkes-Barre Diamond City Partnership and the Sordoni Art Gallery introduced the new “SOMA Night Lights” projection-mapping event. It attracted more than 1,500 people to the SOMA Arts District on a rainy Friday night, according to DCP Executive Director Larry Newman.

“SOMA Night Lights joined a 2025 roster of events which also featured John Oates in concert on Public Square, DCP’s Small Business Saturday Holiday Market and Sunsets on South Main concerts, and downtown traditions like the Fine Arts Fiesta, Farmers Market, Rockin’ the River, and the City’s holiday parades. And this doesn’t even include all of the shows at Downtown’s arts-and-entertainment anchor, the F.M. Kirby Center,” Newman said.

These events meant more people and economic activity.

“During the past year, total weekday employee visits to Downtown averaged 67% of the 2019 total, while non-work visits to Downtown averaged 86% of the 2019 total. Both are the highest visitation numbers we’ve seen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The data makes it clear that Wilkes-Barre’s Downtown rebound is underway – but in 2026, our task is to continue the positive momentum,” Newman said.

Below is a recap of some of those entertainment stories and more from 2025.

Concerts and controversies

The 7th annual Rockin’ the River Free Concert Series held at the Millennium Circle at River Common in Wilkes-Barre dominated headlines in July when the frontman of Philadelphia-based band Low Cut Connie publicly accused promoters of cancelling its performance due to politics.

In response to Adam Weiner’s assertion, County Manager Romilda Crocamo released the following statement: “Our goal is to have a place where we can enjoy music, food, promote our community, have fun, be safe and free of politics and propaganda.”

The replacement act for Low Cut Connie, Halfway to Hell: A Tribute to AC/DC, also withdrew from their performance in a mutual decision between the band and the county.

According to previous Times Leader reporting, Crocamo said she learned from a reporter that one performer in Halfway to Hell had pleaded guilty in 2007 to a felony sexual assault charge and had been sentenced to one to two years in prison.

Meanwhile, for reasons unrelated to any of the aforementioned situations, Aaron Fink & The Fury also withdrew from the show.

However, the final Rockin’ the River show went off without a hitch, with headliner Back In Black: A Tribute to AC/DC, and opening act Bat Out of Hell: A Tribute to Meatloaf.

In response to the cancellation, local advocacy group Action Together NEPA organized a free concert on Public Square for Low Cut Connie frontman Adam Weiner to perform.

Amid this controversy, local musician John Ferrato, best known as a member of Strawberry Jam, started the “Wilkes-Barre ‘Support Local Music’” page on Facebook, with hopes that it will serve as a launching pad for changes in Northeast Pennsylvania’s live music industry.

Additionally, a medical emergency at the concert series served to highlight how important it is to have emergency services available at live events.

Mike Dale, F.M. Kirby Center technical director, and events coordinator and program director of Rockin’ The River, shared his experience in the Geisinger medical tent when he found his heart beat was dangerously high during one of the performances.

Also, in June the second annual Rockin’ the Mountain concert was held in City View Park. Key of G Live, a tribute to Garth Brooks, served as the headlining artist, with local group Almost Infamous supporting them as the opening act.

Then, in August, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Oates, played a free show on Public Square for thousands of people.

Luzerne County Hall of Fame

In October, the Luzerne County Arts & Entertainment Hall of Fame held its 3rd annual Induction Ceremony at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre.

The induction ceremony included live musical performances by some of the 2025 inductees, including Andrea Bogusko, Matt Rogers, Joe Stanky, John Stanky, The Leer Brothers and The Great Rock Scare.

In Frame

We further explored local arts and entertainment history in our column, In Frame, from the Black Diamond Comedies, made in the 1910s by the United States Motion Picture Corporation and filmed around the Wilkes-Barre area, to the life and death of Wilkes-Barre’s Louis Weitzenkorn, a respected screenwriter, playwright and newspaperman.

We discussed a Wilkes-Barre film festival that never was, as well as significant ties horror movie history has to NEPA.