Luzerne County has paid Philadelphia-based band Low Cut Connie $10,000 despite the county cancelling the group’s scheduled performance at this Friday’s Rockin’ the River concert, County Manager Romilda Crocamo said Tuesday.
“We have contractual obligations, yes, and we honor those contractions,” Crocamo said during an interview on WILK News Radio. “They have to get paid.”
Adam Weiner, lead singer of Low Cut Connie, posted a message on social media Monday and claimed his band was canceled because of their political views.
Crocamo later confirmed in text messages that the band has already been paid $10,000. Crocamo signs the checks to pay bands for Rockin’ the River performances, but “the payment of any band DOES NOT get paid from the general fund,” she said in text messages.
Sponsorships provide funds that cover the entire cost of the three Rockin’ the River concerts at the River Common’s Millennium Circle along the Susquehanna River in Wilkes-Barre, according to Alan K. Stout, executive director of the county tourism bureau Visit Luzerne County.
The tourism bureau uses a pass-through account to pay bands for the Rockin’ the River concerts, and the Riverfront Parks Committee reimburses the tourism bureau for those costs, county Controller Walter Griffith said.
The county paid Arrival Artists LLC a $1,000 deposit on March 4 to book Low Cut Connie to perform and paid a cancellation fee of $9,000 on June 17, according to invoices provided by Griffith.
The county has replaced Low Cut Connie as the headliner for Friday’s concert with AC/DC tribute band Halfway to Hell.
In May, Low Cut Connie released a track titled “Livin in the USA,” which is seen as a protest against President Donald Trump’s administration. The song features lyrics about the fear immigrant families are facing over mass deportations.
Crocamo explained the decision to cancel Low Cut Connie during an interview on WILK News Radio.
“I received varied messages about Low Cut Connie,” Crocamo said. “Low Cut Connie isn’t a genre of music that I listen to on a regular basis. So to be honest with you, I never even heard of them before this came up, and I received a lot of messages. And I have to weigh, I have to weigh a lot of different issues when I make decisions, especially when it involves the public, and I hope Low Cut Connie wins multiple Grammys. I wish them great success, but for the purpose is of Rockin’ the River, this is a place where people come just to relax and have fun and not engage in any kind of politics or political propaganda.”
Crocamo said cancelling Low Cut Connnie was a difficult decision, and she referred to the current political climate in the county.
“… I believe in the First Amendment. I support people who peacefully protest, but it’s getting very hot in this area. I have send sheriffs to the flood protection authority meetings,” Crocamo said.
Attendees at recent flood protection authority meetings have criticized the immigration policies of the Trump administration and have been urging the authority to cancel an office space lease with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In his video on Monday, Weiner mentioned raids being conducted by ICE, calling them “inhumane and anti-American.”
“I will not stop speaking about that,” Weiner said.
Friday’s concert is the third and final free concert of this year’s series. The Rockin’ the River concert series along the Susquehanna River in Wilkes-Barre started in 2019.
Doors open to Friday’s Rockin’ the River concert at 5 p.m. Aaron Fink & The Fury take the stage at 6 p.m. followed by Halfway to Hell.
“I have to make decisions that maybe Romilda Crocamo the person right wouldn’t make, but Romilda Crocamo the county manager has have certain responsibilities,” Crocamo added. “And I take those very seriously, and I see the children in the crowd. They don’t need to see adults screaming and yelling at each other. They don’t need to see or hear people screaming and cursing at each other, and I certainly don’t want them to see people getting violent towards each other.”
Stout estimated the cost of this summer’s three Rockin’ the River concerts at $90,000. Mountain Productions, the largest staging and entertainment rigging distribution company in North America, “helps offset approximately 40% of the cost of doing the shows,” Stout said.
Earlier this year, Low Cut Connie pulled out of a planned performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. in response to Trump’s takeover of the facility. Trump fired multiple board members of the facility and installed his own appointees, who later elected him chairman.