Life

Music Review: Dierks Bentley’s ‘Broken Branches’ offers safe, familiar, cold beer country

Nashville hitmaker Dierks Bentley has delivered “Broken Branches,” his eleventh studio album that leans into some well-tread country rock territory, the kind that invariably involves broken hearts, trucks and a cold beer.

Music festivals have become more open to harm reduction initiatives. How far will it go?

NEW YORK — The sounds of muffled percussion and audience cheers reverberate throughout the grounds. Brand activations, makeshift bars and restaurant pop-ups control traffic as a sea of bodies move from set to set. Sandwiched between is a row of nonprofits across familiar causes: hunger, housing and voter registration.

For Sharon Van Etten, making her latest album was both spiritual and psychological

LOS ANGELES — As she was putting together her seventh and most recent record, Sharon Van Etten came up with a tongue-in-cheek idea for its title. “Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory,” she wanted to call it — a reference to both her interest in psychology and a play on the familial dynamics that often exist within a band.

What’s Up, NEPA? — Week of June 12, 2025

GREATER WILKES-BARRE

Drink like an Egyptian: Black Earth Magical Cafe is area’s first alcohol-free bar

OLD FORGE — With a King Tut coffin and hieroglyphic mural designs, Black Earth Magical Cafe is like being inside a pharaoh’s home — or final resting place. Paintings on the wall depict dogs as pharaohs, just some of the Egyptian-themed restaurant and sanctuary’s decorations.

Rockin’ the River back with a bang

WILKES-BARRE — The outdoor concert series that has become Luzerne County tradition is back at Nesbitt Park at the River Common on Fridays for the rest of July.

On The Pizza Trail: The Frog Pond Pub

WILKES-BARRE - They made me a pizza I couldn’t refuse.

Penn State to offer Taylor Swift class

WYOMISSING — Penn State Berks announced the campus is offering a new course that studies the cultural and musical impact Taylor Swift has had on the world, according to a report by our newsgathering partners at Eyewitness News WBRE/WYOU.

Tamaqua Railfest set for Saturday, Aug. 26

TAMAQUA — A new event celebrating the community’s rich railroad and coal mining heritage debuts this weekend.

Weekender Spotlight