Caryle Bruno, left, and Michael Bruno of Forty Fort pose for a photo during the final Rockin’ the River concert on Friday night at Millennium Circle.
Hannah Simerson | Times Leader
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Stephanie Hadley, left, Christy Holmes, Wendy Fitch, and Brittany Wilson sit front row for The Badlees’ performance at Rockin’ the River on Friday night.
Hannah Simerson | Times Leader
Hundreds gathered on the Millennium Circle grounds to watch the final performances of the Rockin’ the River concert series on Friday night.
Hannah Simerson | Times Leader
WILKES-BARRE — The third and final concert for the 2023 Rockin’ the River concert series drew hundreds of folks from Luzerne County to Millennium Circle — but plenty of out-of-towners flocked to the event as well.
Kristen Welsh and Kerri Quick, two sisters from Tamaqua, have traveled to attend each of the three events for the past few weeks. According to them, the infectious energy of the concerts kept them coming back despite the commute.
“We came the first night and we loved it, so we just kind of came back for all of the bands,” Welsh said.
“I was actually surprised just how positive it is here — everybody is just hanging out,” she continued.
It’s the first year the sisters have been attending the concerts, but they couldn’t help but be impressed by the atmosphere of Millennium Circle.
“I think it’s awesome,” Quick said.
“The weather has been great, the river in the back is really an awesome setting for it, it’s nice that the food trucks are here — it’s the whole event, really.”
The pair made sure to note how all of the attendees seemed to have just as good a time as they did.
“Everybody is really nice and it just seems like everybody is here for the same reason,” Quick said.
She went on to commend the small-town feel of such a large city, even giving props to Mayor George C. Brown for his welcome during the first show of the series.
“I think the best thing that happened was the first night that we were here, the mayor came by and said hello to us and asked if were having a great time,” Quick said.
“It was really nice because where we’re from, you don’t often see the mayor out like that in a big city like this, but he was there to introduce himself,” she added.
Closer to the stage, a group of women sat front row, eagerly anticipating the arrival of The Badlees. Yet again, another group from out of town, the women traveled in from various cities in Virginia to attend the concert — and some even knew band members personally.
Such is the case for Wendy Fitch, who made the journey to Wilkes-Barre to see her cousin perform.
“Bret Alexander is my cousin,” she said.
“A big group of us came out to see him and his band play”, she continued, while some members of the group showed off their newly acquired The Badlees t-shirts.
As the sun set over the river, The Badlees took the stage, igniting a buzz of activity on the grounds of Millennium Circle, and finished up the 2023 Rockin’ the River Concert Series.
