Owner of Encore Studios, Dan Dearborn talks to The Weekender about his mission to elevate local bands and musicians.

Photo Credit — Gabrielle Lang

<p>Encore Studios has everything artists need in-house to rehearse, record, and grow.</p>
                                 <p>Photo Credit — Gabrielle Lang</p>

Encore Studios has everything artists need in-house to rehearse, record, and grow.

Photo Credit — Gabrielle Lang

<p>Photo Credit — Gabrielle Lang</p>

Photo Credit — Gabrielle Lang

<p>The voice recording booth at Encore Studios where many local musicians have come to make their recent albums.</p>
                                 <p>Photo Credit — Gabrielle Lang</p>

The voice recording booth at Encore Studios where many local musicians have come to make their recent albums.

Photo Credit — Gabrielle Lang

<p>Encore Studios is a space geared towards musicians, with everything a budding band needs to write, rehearse, record, and create.</p>
                                 <p>Photo Credit — Gabrielle Lang</p>

Encore Studios is a space geared towards musicians, with everything a budding band needs to write, rehearse, record, and create.

Photo Credit — Gabrielle Lang

<p>Dan Dearborn has all kinds of instruments for use and on display at Encore Studios, adding to the creative atomsphere.</p>
                                 <p>Photo Credit — Gabrielle Lang</p>

Dan Dearborn has all kinds of instruments for use and on display at Encore Studios, adding to the creative atomsphere.

Photo Credit — Gabrielle Lang

<p>Dan Dearborn opened Encore Studios during the pandemic and has since grown the studio into a full-service recording and fully-stocked rehearsal space.</p>
                                 <p>Photo Credit — Gabrielle Lang</p>

Dan Dearborn opened Encore Studios during the pandemic and has since grown the studio into a full-service recording and fully-stocked rehearsal space.

Photo Credit — Gabrielle Lang

ARCHBALD — Encore Studios has everything bands need to both rehearse and record their masterpieces. Owner and producer Dan Dearborn uses his lifelong knowledge of the music industry to level up local bands and musicians.

Musicians in NEPA often believe they need to buy all their own equipment and use their own homes for a rehearsal space, just because that’s the garage-band way that pop culture has taught us. But, thanks to intuitive places like Encore Studios, artists have options.

“I moved up here in 2006, and I was playing a little music, and I noticed there were no rehearsal studios, and I just felt like that was strange,” said Dearborn when I met with him at the studio. “Nobody in New Jersey plays in their house past the age of, like, 14. Just because there’s just places you go, so people aren’t bringing their stuff to your house, making a racket, dragging your drums back and forth.”

Dan Dearborn opened Encore Studios in Archbald on the Scranton-Carbondale Highway a little over four years ago. “So, COVID happened, and I thought what better thing to do than start a business,” he laughed.

Originally started as a rehearsal space, Encore Studios morphed into a full-scale recording studio. COVID was devastating for the music community. When live music shut down and musicians had nowhere to play, Dearborn opened his studio for recordings, rehearsals, live streams, interviews, and more to help keep music alive.

So, where does all this knowledge come from? “I come from a musical family,” Dearborn said. “My family owned Patelson’s Music House in Manhattan, which was the second-largest classical sheet music publishing company in the world for 65 years, closed in 2011. We were right across from Carnegie Hall.”

From this music-forward upbringing, Dearborn began singing as a child, then took up the guitar, and now can play a bit of everything. He said he was always a shy kid, but felt he could really break free from that in the realm of music. He went on to tour with successful rock bands like Mischief, Glimmers, and Dead Guy Live who became “professional openers” in their own right, often hitting 250 gates a year. He saw a lot of venues, a lot of crowds, and a lot of music.

Now, Dearborn is honored to use that experience to advise young musicians and pass on his musical insight to the local arts community. With Encore Studios, he’s proud to give the advice he wishes he’d gotten over the years.

“It’s funny—I was never as engaged with music when it was my professional vocation as I am now. I’m much more involved emotionally in the process of creating and being a musician than I was when I was doing it,” he said.

Encore Studios

COVID reshaped the music industry. While live events suffered, performers felt the greatest impact. Bands now face lower pay, increased responsibility for their own costs, and more self-promotion demands. The “Justin Bieber discovered on YouTube” window has closed. With every band on social media now, standing out and getting signed has become harder than ever.

“The one thing I fight with a lot of bands who come in is knowing their worth,” said Dearborn. “Pre-COVID was $500 a band. Now, the normal post-COVID is $200 a band or even free.”

But Dearborn insists these musicians shouldn’t undervalue themselves. They’re talented; they’re a commodity, and they should know that.

Encore Studios goes beyond recording and rehearsal. Due to his vast industry experience, Dearborn finds that young musicians often come to him for guidance—even on band dynamics.

“There’s no training ground for musicians. You can take a music lesson, you can go to college and get a degree, but there’s nobody to manage you emotionally getting along with three or four other people in a band,” he said. “There’s not a ton of support for the amazing community out there, especially spreading the word and reaching people.”

Another modern challenge is simply gathering as a group, which is where Encore Studios fills the gap. A dedicated rehearsal space at a set time allows bands to focus on their craft in a more productive way than procrastinating for hours in somebody’s basement.

Encore Studios wants to play a vital role in helping NEPA musicians reach new people in new ways—not just in rock music, either. Maybe that well-rounded mission is what won Encore Studios the Steamtown Music Award for Recording Studio of the Year in 2024 and 2022!

In the past few years, Encore Studios has worked with acts like Dance Hall Devils, University Drive, Methadonix, Dallas, Pucker Up, The Summitts, DJ Dapper Don, Wagner Road, Betty White Devil, and many more. Many of these accomplished artists were also nominated or took home Steamtown Music Awards at the 2024 awards ceremony at The VSpot!

Dearborn loves watching the progression of the artists he works with, like No Fight, No Victory, who he saw rehearse for the first time at his studio and now, in 2024, they’ve won Metal Artist of the Year.

For Dearborn and his artists, it’s about much more than recording an album; it’s about people coming in, starting from their first rehearsal, and creating their legacy from there. When recording with a band, he’s focused on giving them all the tools they need.

Encore Studios

Encore Studios is honored by its recognition at the 2024 Steamtown Music Awards, but Dearborn is especially proud of Steeze PA, who also lends his knowledge to the studio and its clients. Steeze accepted the award on the studio’s behalf and also won the People’s Choice Award for Producer/Recording Engineer of the Year himself. Dearborn said that was even more meaningful than the studio’s win.

“He is a phenomenal guy, and I want nothing more than him to be as big or bigger than the studio,” said Dearborn. “He’s quick. He’s knowledgeable. He’s got a great ear. He’s got a great background, but he’s a special producer for hip-hop.”

“It’s great having that representation at the studio because I think, in the market, there’s hip-hop studios and then there are rock studios—I don’t want this to be the rock place, I don’t want this to be the funk place. Whoever wants to do something artistically creative in music should be able to come here and have this be their safe haven for whatever time they’re here,” Dearborn said.

With Dan Dearborn and Steeze PA under one roof at Encore Studios, they bring a wealth of knowledge to the industry and continue to learn from each other.

“I’ve grown as a musician just being partnered with him because I think if you come from the hip-hop world, you maybe look differently at rock music. And if you come from the rock world, you definitely look at hip-hop differently. And I’ve now watched the way these guys create their music and the way they work in the studio and amazingly you gain a whole new perspective on what art really is,” said Dearborn. “There’s so many ways to make music and I’ve grown to appreciate a whole genre that maybe I dismissed because I was too old or it wasn’t my thing.”

There’s more than just great hard rock in NEPA, and Steeze PA has embraced this diversity at Encore Studios. Earlier in 2024, Steeze PA launched the Atmospfere Music Festival at the Ritz Theater, Scranton’s first hip-hop festival and his own first festival as well.

“Historically, hip-hop artists don’t play out every weekend or every other weekend, so it was a large undertaking,” Dearborn explained. “Then watching them work was good because I remember when I was 20, I was a basket case. I needed managers just to get me to a gig. These guys are actively handling both the business and the art.”

Performance is essential to music, and seeing it live is an experience distinct from a music video or radio play. If hip-hop artists continue to grow their shows in NEPA, it will encourage everyone to up their game. Musicians ultimately raise each other up and there’s certainly no shortage of talent in our community. It’s just about getting them out there and getting out to see them too!

“I’d like to see more opportunities for hip-hop artists to get out there and perform their craft,” Dearborn said.



				                                Encore Studios is located in Archbald off the Scranton-Carbondale Highway.
                                 Photo Credit — Gabrielle Lang

Encore Studios strives to make a positive impact on Northeastern Pennsylvania’s music community. Dearborn is also planning a specialty compilation album with some of the area bands—more details to come.

Dearborn also helps artists promote themselves using his platforms, often going live with them in the studio to discuss their band, events, and music. “I tell bands all the time if they have something to promote, if they have gigs coming up, come on in, and we’ll do a live stream,” Dearborn said.

Encore Studios supports the journey of NEPA musicians from first rehearsal to live performances to debut albums and everything in between. Through his expert mentorship and collaborative spirit, Dan Dearborn has created a sanctuary where local artists can thrive, learn, and explore new creative directions. With Steeze PA and Dearborn under one roof, Encore Studios will continue helping powerful local talent unlock their full potential.