Alan Walker plays WVIA's May Homegrown Concert Series

By: Gabrielle Lang,, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
·2 min read

May 24—PITTSTON — Alan Walker plays WVIA's Homegrown Concert Series on Wednesday, May 24 followed by Dustin Douglas and The Electric Gentlemen.

The series hosted by George Graham presents a wide range of music genres and typically features a solo act followed by a local music group. The May 2023 Homegrown Concert runs from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at WVIA Public Media Studios. These shows happen monthly with WVIA and are free to attend!

Alan Walker's performance will feature him, stripped-down on vocals and piano. He plans to play songs from his debut solo album, "Something Up My Sleeve" from 2018, as well as his upcoming record that will be released towards the end of 2023.

With his former band Brilliant Mistakes, Walker played all over the place in the early 90s through 2011. In fact, they actually played The Homegrown Series here about a decade ago! They had a ton of fun playing the WVIA stage and Walker kept in touch with George Graham over the years — now, he's excited to return solo! '

Walker was lead singer, pianist, and organ player for the New York City rootsy/melodic pop legends. The band frequented the downtown NYC club scene and had their first gig at CBGB's back in the early 90s. He's now been playing music for over 30 years and been enjoying working on his own original music in recent years.

Born and raised in New York City, it was always Walker's and Brilliant Mistakes' home base. But now that he's out on his own, he's able to be a free agent to the surrounding Northern states and bring his act to new regions.

"I write piano music but not necessarily music for piano," said Walker of what concert-goers can expect. "I've always been a band guy, but I'm kind of excited to go ahead and do it own my own."

Walker is looking forward to coming to NEPA and showing us what he's been working on in his solo career. He'll play songs both new and old, and maybe even throw in some Brilliant Mistakes songs from his past life. Walker said, "I haven't really done solo shows since I was much younger so this is a new thing for me. It'll be exciting to see how these songs come out on the stage."

After a COVID hiatus, the WVIA Homegrown Concert Series got a rebirth and now it's back in full force with concerts every month. See Alan Walker perform Wednesday, May 24, along with blues rockers, Dustin Douglas & The Electric Gentlemen.