Nepa Scene

In Episode 8, we chat with singer, songwriter, and mandolinist JP Biondo, who is both a solo artist and a member of Cabinet, the popular Scranton/Wilkes-Barre jamgrass band hosting the fifth annual Susquehanna Breakdown Music Festival at The Pavilion at Montage Mountain in Scranton on Friday, May 19 and Saturday, May 20. We talk about whether or not he would define Cabinet’s music as “bluegrass” and how that type of music came out of NEPA, his personal musical influences and how they play a role in the band, jamming and improvisation, keeping the band together despite being spread out across several states, recording their new album “Cool River” in Vermont with Phish engineer Ben Collette, taking musical risks and not worrying what others may think, letting fans record shows and releasing them for free online, his solo work and recording locally at the Windmill Agency, a song written by his mother, the importance of family in his own life and in the band and their special relationship with fans, playing Mont