Pittston City, Luzerne County, Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce and the City of Wilkes-Barre officials present for the Rockin’ the County event at Pittston City Friday evening. Left to right: Michael Lombardo, Pittston mayor; Mary Kroptavich, Pittston City Main Street manager; David Yonki, Wilkes-Barre City; Ted Wampole, Visit Luzerne County; Michelle Mikitish, Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Rockin’ the County, Art Walk, free movie make for fun time
A.J. Jump, drummer for The Mule Team, tests his drum kit after assembling it atop a flatbed truck prior to participating in Rockin’ the County event on Friday evening.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
The City of Pittston Police Department leads a flatbed truck with the Scranton-based band The Mule Team atop as they parade through the streets of Pittston for one of the legs of Rockin’ the County concert series on Friday evening.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Mark Evitts, left, and his daughter Jessica, right, of Bear Creek, applaud the band The Mule Team as they played atop a flatbed truck in downtown Pittston on Friday evening.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
The Mule Team’s singer Roy Williams, left, and drummer A.J. Jump, center, and bass player Ian O’Hara, perform along with the rest of the band as they stop in front of the Pittston Tomato Festival lot on Friday.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
PITTSTON — The Rockin’ the County concert series pulled into the City of Pittston Friday evening as The Mule Team performed through the streets atop a flatbed truck on one of the busiest nights of the summer in the city.
The Mule Team band was the feature act driving around the city where weather conditions were perfect.
In addition to Rockin’ the County, the City of Pittston was holding a postponed 2nd Friday Art Walk from two weeks earlier when a coastal storm halted the event. The city also featured the movie “The Goonies” at the city’s Slope Amphitheater at sunset.
“It’s a great night in the city tonight with the Art Walk, the movie at The Slope and this event, I’m really excited,” Pittston Mayor Michael Lombardo said. “One of the things that came out of the whole struggles with the whole pandemic. I think our relationship with the county is now at a different level and we’re interacting more with the tourism bureau and that’s a positive.
“I’d like to thank Dave Pedri and Ted Wampole for selecting us as one of the sites for the concert series.”
In an effort to fill the void of live entertainment within Luzerne County due to COVID-19, county officials came up with a solution to have bands perform each week through neighborhoods of five municipalities in Luzerne County on five consecutive Fridays.
Chosen bands perform on a flatbed truck making their way through neighborhoods for residents to enjoy live music from their porches. In return, the county asked residents to stay socially distant and follow health guidelines.
The Mule Team performed Friday evening in Pittston from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on a designated route starting on South Main Street and weaving off and on Main Street before ending at William and Main Streets. The flatbed stopped at various locations for several minutes before moving to the next destination.
A.J. Jump, a member of The Mule Team, was happy to finally perform live at the Rockin’ the County event after all of their appearances were canceled due to the coronavirus over the last four months.
“I played last week with the Indigo Moon Band and the people of Hazleton really, really loved it and were thanking us as we were going by,” Jump said. “It’s just a way for us to still play safely and bring music to the community.”
“The event in Hazleton last week was a huge success and people came out and said ‘thank you’ for doing this,” Ted Wampole, of Visit Luzerne County, said. “This event is perfectly timed because of the Art Walk and (Mayor) Mike Lombardo and Mary Kroptavich (Pittston City Main Street. manager) have been extremely supportive. We’re looking forward to Nanticoke next week and Kingston/Forty Fort the week after.”
Mark Evitts, his daughter, Jessica, and family made the trip from Bear Creek just to hear The Mule Team.
“We’ve heard them before at the Kirby. They were great and when we heard they were coming here, we decided to put our masks on come out,” Evitts said.
The Times Leader partnered with the government of Luzerne County and Visit Luzerne County to bring Rockin’ the County to residents of Luzerne County.
