Matthew Morgis

JERMYN – Just a few short months after Eleanor Rigby’s opened last year, its owners were already brainstorming ideas for a two-day winter festival for the cost of a traditional show.

Next weekend, the plan comes to life with the Heart-On Fest, which welcomes more than 30 bands to the all-ages music venue in Jermyn.

“The ultimate goal was to come up with a festival that could be very affordable for local kids and local bands,” club co-owner Joe Caviston said.

The event, set for Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 12 and Feb. 13, is split into two genes. Saturday’s bill is filled with hardcore acts including Reign Supreme, Strength for a Reason, and Death End Path, along with locals like Absolution and Graces Downfall.

Sunday is geared for the fans of pop music with Patent Pending as the headliner alongside hip-hop acts like Kelsey and Official Squad and rock talents including Boston’s Phone Calls From Home and Scranton’s Nowhere Slow.

Last year’s event drew more than 1,000 fans to see acts like Motionless in White. Caviston, who said that Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has one of the best hardcore scenes in the country, said he is expecting similar numbers.

“The advantage to this show is that we are able to give people a really cheap show with a lot of bands on the bill. The headliners bring out a lot of people, but it gives a ton of locals a chance to play with each other and with some more experienced bands,” he said.

Patent Pending frontman Joe Ragosta had a lot to say about the show.

“What’s cool is that they separated the days according to what sound your band has,” he said. “Normally when we play festivals like this we are the only pop-punk band and the rest is a bunch of metal bands. Eleanor Rigby’s is an amazing club and can do things like this because of the amazing people behind it.”

Patent Pending is officially based in Long Island, N.Y., but one band member hails from Stroudsburg. They recently headlined a show at the Sherman Theater. The band has toured internationally and will soon begin recording a new full-length album – their first since 2006’s “Ave Each Other, The Whale Are Doing Fine.”

“We’ve been able to have a lot of success in northeast Pa., just because we’ve played there since we were about 14,” Ragosta said. “Our first show was in a garage in a town just outside of Stroudsburg. Being in New York, 365 days out of the year there is a big tour in town. So why would anyone come see Patent Pending when Green Day is playing down the street? We would often have to travel just to get a start and northeast Pennsylvania was always a place to go.

“It’s cool to come back and headline one of the few festivals in the area.”