Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo is considering whether to cancel the scheduled performance of AC/DC tribute band Halfway to Hell at Friday’s Rockin’ the River concert.
She said she plans to issue a statement on Thursday about Friday’s concert. The latest development about Friday’s concert involves complaints about Halfway to Hell singer Forrest Kline being sentenced to jail time for incest, a second-degree felony, for a criminal offense from 2007.
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In June, the county replaced Philadelphia-based Low Cut Connie with Halfway to Hell as the headliner for Friday’s concert at the River Common’s Millennium Circle along the Susquehanna River in Wilkes-Barre. Crocamo said she approved the change after receiving messages and became concerned that a Low Cut Connie concert would have divisive, political messages.
“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,” Crocamo said in statement released Monday.
The county tourism bureau Visit Luzerne County books the bands that perform at the annual Rockin’ the River series of three summer concerts. An informal committee of business leaders and local officials reviews the bands selected, and the bands are paid through the tourism bureau with sponsorship money raised.
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 county Controller Walter Griffith. Halfway to Hell has a $3,200 contract to perform, Crocamo said.
A representative for Halfway to Hell did not return an email and phone message on Wednesday.
According to court records, Kline, 62, pleaded guilty in 2007 to incest for a crime that took place in Ross Twp., and was sentenced in March 2008 to one to two years in prison. Kline lived in Shavertown in 2007.
Kline was granted parole, and his penalty was deemed satisfied in March 2009, records show. He lived in Sweet Valley in 2022, according to a traffic offense.
Halfway to Hell formed in 2013 as a Wilkes-Barre-area band that covered classic AC/DC songs. Kline is a founding member and stands in as the Bon Scott of the group.
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Rich Howells, founder and editor of entertainment website NEPA Scene, posted information about Kline’s arrest and sentence on Facebook Tuesday night.
“So Luzerne County wants to avoid controversy by canceling a band they think is too ‘political’ and books an AC/DC cover band instead whose singer plead guilty to THIS charge?! What does that say about THEIR politics?” Howells wrote.
Adam Weiner, lead singer of Low Cut Connie, posted a message on social media Monday to protest his band being canceled for their political views. Since then, a debate on social media has erupted about the county dumping Low Cut Connie.
Crocamo explained the decision to cancel Low Cut Connie during a Tuesday morning interview on WILK News Radio.
“I hope that they have really great success,” Crocamo said. “But Rockin’ the River is really just to be a time, it’s supposed to be a fun time for families and friends just to enjoy music. I hope people come out on Friday. I hope it’s a beautiful evening. It’s a free. It’s a beautiful venue.”
Doors open to Friday’s concert at 5 p.m. Aaron Fink & The Fury is scheduled to take the stage at 6 p.m. followed by Halfway to Hell.