Scranton Jazz Festival Set for Aug. 1-3

SCRANTON — The 20th annual Scranton Jazz Festival is set to begin on Friday, Aug. 1. What began as a one-day concert with 300 people has ballooned over the past two decades to become a three-day celebration of music enjoyed by thousands.

"Jazz has always had a strong place in Northeast Pennsylvania," said Marko Marcinko, the festival's artistic director. "At one time, many well-known jazz artists lived in the Poconos. … the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area also has a long history of jazz and jazz events going back to the 1920s and all the way up to present day. The more we can promote America's greatest export to the world — jazz — the better."

Marcinko is also an organizer of Wilkes-Barre's Cavalcade of Jazz, which just had its second annual event in June.

The Scranton festival has attracted some of jazz's most renowned artists, but guests will get to hear much more than just one genre. That is exemplified by the festival's 2025 headliner, the band Tower of Power, whose hits include "You're Still a Young Man," "So Very Hard to Go," and "What Is Hip?"

"The audience will experience a great fusion of R&B, funk, soul, jazz, doo wop, Latin and more. Jazz incorporates many elements of music and is always transforming itself," Marcinko said. "Tower [of Power] embodies this and also entertains the audience at the highest level."

According to Marcinko, previous headliners of the Scranton Jazz Festival have included the Average White Band, Chuck Mangione, Spyro Gyra, and the Manhattan Transfer.

The jazz festival includes both ticketed events and a variety of venue-specific, open events on the Jazz Walk. Musicians like Pittston native Paul Rostock, a bassist who toured with Frank Sinatra Jr. for over 30 years, will be among those playing during the Jazz Walk.

"For a small market festival, it's really unique because it's got a very high level of musicianship," Rostock said of the festival in Scranton.

Rostock said that while it can be a challenge to get audiences of all ages out to a live event, the Scranton Jazz Festival has embraced younger fans through the diversity of sounds.

"If you look at even the main jazz festivals like Newport or New Orleans, most of it — half or more — is more like a pop, R&B schedule now," Rostock noted. "It just gets back to trying to bring in as much of a diverse audience."