Yes, the canceled rock band got paid $10,000, but not with taxpayer dollars.
No, neither side regrets their position on the controversy regarding that cancellation.
The only thing both sides seem to agree on is that Luzerne County's Rockin' the River concerts are a good thing for the community.
WVIA News spoke separately Tuesday with Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo and Low Cut Connie lead singer Adam Weiner about Crocamo's decision to cancel the band's scheduled performance at this Friday's Rockin' the River Concert in Wilkes-Barre.
Weiner feels the decision was political because of his views on diversity, inclusion and the impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids nationwide.
Crocamo says her decision was made in the interests of safety and maintaining the enjoyable nature of the event in a tense political climate.
Weiner called Crocamo's defense "patently ridiculous."
"I needed to err on the side of caution. And I'm not going to apologize for that,” Crocamo said.
The cancelation
Rockin’ the River is a free all-ages summer concert series at the River Common along the Susquehanna River in Wilkes-Barre.
The annual series is presented by Visit Luzerne County — which is the county's visitors' bureau — and the Riverfront Parks Committee.
Philadelphia-based Low Cut Connie was named as the July 25 headliner when the series' seventh-year performers were announced in April.
Without public explanation Visit Luzerne County later issued releases identifying Halfway to Hell: A Tribute to AC/DC as the July 25 act.
The letter
Weiner said Tuesday that his first inkling of a problem came six or seven weeks ago.
"There was a phone call to my agent," he said. "And they expressed some concerns, and they wanted to know if our show was going to be family-friendly and what the content of the show was going to be like."
Weiner said his intention was "to do a totally family friendly show, as I always do at my outdoor concerts."
"We thought that walking away from that conversation, that their concerns had been addressed," he said.
Instead, Weiner said his agent received a letter about a week later "by snail mail" informing them the gig "was canceled and they were not willing to provide an explanation."
Weiner said his team spent a week or two trying to get someone from Luzerne County on the phone, "just to get an explanation, and also to coordinate the cancelation announcement."
No response came.
"They were not willing to talk to us, nor were they willing to make an announcement, which is very awkward," Weiner said.
"There's hundreds of people planning to come to the show, and people are sending us messages for the last month asking us what's happening, because (Visit Luzerne County) changed the website," he said. "And it put me in a position where we had to make the announcement."
That announcement took the form of Monday's video posted to social media, in which Weiner expressed his frustration with the county.
Crocamo said the county fulfilled its responsibilities.
"He was given a letter that said that we were not going to have him perform and that we would honor the contract and legally, that's really all we need to do," she said. "We don't have to give any reason why we choose not to have him perform."
The payment
Honoring the contract also required paying the band, which Crocamo said was done.
The contract, signed by Visit Luzerne County Executive Director Alan K. Stout, called for Low Cut Connie to receive a $1,000 deposit in March, followed by $9,000 on the day of the show.
Crocamo said that the money was paid.
The contract, reviewed by WVIA, stipulated that all deposits are non-refundable, and that the county would still have to pay the full amount due if it chose to cancel the concert.
But the payment did not come out of county taxpayer funds, Crocamo said.
The concerts are funded with a mix of visitors' bureau money — which comes from a local hotel tax — as well as from event sponsors, she said.
The replacement band is scheduled to receive $3,200 under its contract.
The decision
Crocamo reiterated that she called for the gig to be canceled.
"Yes, it was my decision," she said.
Crocamo acknowledged that she serves on the Rockin' the River committee, but that she didn't participate in the band selection process, saying she left that role to members who were engaged in the rock music community locally.
"I will participate fully going forward, and we're going to review the process on how we vet the bands," she said.
Visit Luzerne County's Stout referred a reporter back to Crocamo's initial statement when the story first broke on Monday. He did not respond to a follow-up email seeking comment sent to him and Crocamo on Tuesday for this story.
Crocamo's concerns
Crocamo did not point to a specific lyric, song or incident which caused her to have concerns. She did say she had received complaints about the band's content.
She also said she was not aware that Low Cut Connie was among artists to pull out of Kennedy Center events in Washington, D.C. earlier this year after President Donald Trump ousted the center's leadership.
Rather, Crocamo said she was concerned about how Weiner's message would be received locally.
In addition to Weiner's public statements on stage and on social media, the band recently released a song called “Livin in the USA," which addresses the fears surrounding what Weiner described as the "absolutely inhumane and anti-American" Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.
The song never mentions ICE or Trump, but it starts with the line, "Livin' in the USA, but it ain't my home," and later says "Pray for the future, let the children have a chance to stay."
"People misinterpret what people are saying, or the meaning behind what they're saying," Crocamo said.
"And I think he's vocal about his positions, and that's really all that's needed for some people to respond," Crocamo said, adding that she feared where such responses could lead.
"I'm going to state the obvious: We live in a very volatile and divisive world, and that includes Luzerne County," Crocamo said. "I take the safety concerns very seriously."
"It's out there in the open," she said of the concert venue. "You just need a few people to ignite a situation or escalate a situation, and it could really spiral out of control. I absolutely do not want that to happen."
Crocamo clarified that she was not saying Weiner would instigate any such confrontation.
"I'm not saying that at all. I'm just saying that there are such divisive elements," she said.
Weiner: Safety concerns 'absurd'
"The idea that my Low Cut Connie show would put people at risk for their safety is so absurd," Weiner said.
Rather, he said that the band has performed concerts indoors and outdoors, in red states and blue states, and "we have never had a complaint."
"Our show is about fun. We bring people together. That's why they reached out and booked us," he said.
Weiner also said he had "no intention" of performing “Livin in the USA" in Wilkes-Barre, but "even if I did, I don't think it would have been terribly divisive."
"In this particular case, I'm just talking about how people are feeling living in the USA today," he said. "I think people from all political persuasions can acknowledge that we're in a tense era, which is really what the song is alluding to."
Weiner expressed frustration that "we've never had a legitimate explanation from (Crocamo) about why they canceled us."
"And she referred to my music and my show as propaganda," he said, referencing a statement Crocamo released Monday saying the county's 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."
Weiner saw that response as "satire" in light of the replacement band.
"I love AC/DC, but the lyrics of their songs are actually not family-friendly," he said.
"The name of the band is Halfway to Hell," he added. "Like how that is more family-friendly than my show is beyond me."
Crocamo doubles down
Crocamo insisted she stands by her decision.
"I want to make sure that when people come out that they feel safe," she said.
"I just wish we could have at least three hours of just sitting back doing music and not talking about what's going on in the world," she said.
"It just would be nice just to be with each other and enjoy the music. So that's where I'm coming from."
'Caught in the crosshairs'
Weiner said he was "sympathetic to the fact that, in this day and age, everybody is sort of caught in the crosshairs," including county officials.
"You answer to the community, you answer to the people in your town or your county, and people have their feelings about things you put on," he said. "And unless you're putting on, you know, children's music, you're always going to have some amount of complaints."
But he still believes Luzerne County "made the wrong decision" and tried to "hang it on" unrealistic security concerns.
It is a tough time to be an artist in America, Weiner said, noting the loss of funding for cultural institutions and tensions such as those his band has now been affected by.
"I just hope that we can return to a time when we value art," he said.
Weiner also said he would be open to playing in Luzerne County someday if "the circumstances are right."
"I think it's wonderful that Luzerne County does this concert series and that they make it free. That's really commendable," he said.
"I hope this won't derail the mission, which is to put on inclusive, fun concerts for everyone in Luzerne County," Weiner said.
