BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A whopping 422 artists are on the lineup for Musikfest 2024.
Many are nationally recognized names or rising acts from nearby New York City and Philadelphia. Others traveled much farther.
Twenty-two U.S. states are represented alongside artists from Canada, Mexico, Italy, England, South Africa, Colombia and Taiwan — a truly international group.
But in many ways, the Lehigh Valley's premier music festival is just that — a Lehigh Valley festival.
"I feel like there's so much creativity and music and art in the Lehigh Valley. And even though we're spaced out, smaller towns, we have this huge event where everyone from every one of those cities can come together. It's where we all can congregate and show what we've been working on."Brenna Grealish, who performs under the stage name Bren
"I feel like there's so much creativity and music and art in the Lehigh Valley," said Brenna Grealish, who performs under the stage name Bren.
"And even though we're spaced out, smaller towns, we have this huge event where everyone from every one of those cities can come together.
"It's where we all can congregate and show what we've been working on."
Grealish, who has since moved to Philadelphia and frequently performs in the city, said Musikfest can be big for an artist trying to make an imprint on new audiences, with hundreds of people passing by.
She stuck to her roots to cheers at the Main Street stage on this year's first Friday night of Musikfest — the first of her two Musikfest performances.
"I'm Bren, I'm from Bethlehem Pennsylvania," she called out.
"I grew up here, I went to high school here, and this is my third time playing Musikfest."
One-third local talent
Artists say that while headliners may get the headlines and the buzz going, at the end of the day, the festival is in many ways built off local talent.
Roughly 30% of the artists performing at Musikfest are from what organizers describe as the "Greater Lehigh Valley" region of Lehigh and Northampton counties and nearby communities such as Palmerton, Kutztown and Lehighton.
And it's not just the free acts.
Opening acts for headliners often maintain deep ties or are based in the Lehigh Valley themselves, putting local musicians in front of large, paying audiences.
This year, Maria Loguidice (Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts) opened Thursday for the Black Eyed Peas, and Christine Havrilla (Bucks County) opened Wednesday for Lynyrd Skynyrd.
"I've really been turned on to how much of a music community the Lehigh Valley is," said Macungie musician Cathy Ritter, who scored three performance slots at the festival.
"Everyone is so, so supportive of each other. And it's, again, I'm just so grateful to have found a new community to immerse myself in."
A supportive, varied community
Unlike many other festivals, the lack of a centralized genre or theme for Musikfest leads it to have a wide variety of sounds and backgrounds represented.
"It’s a very diverse lineup of headliners and music on free stages — pop, country, classic, Latin, rap, blues, alternative, cover/tribute bands, polka — something for every genre and taste," ArtsQuest Communications Director Jennifer LoConte said.
According to ArtsQuest, which present Musikfest, 42% of artists this year are first-time performers, 48% of the festival features female members in the group, and 36% of the festival features artists of color.
Zena Goodwin, founder of Easton's Poets for Justice, the first spoken word platform to be featured at the festival, said she commends the organizers for expanding into different sounds and backgrounds for the lineup.
"As an artist, I think it's interesting that they would extend us the invitation to be a part of it ... by giving voice to spoken word," Goodwin said. "I commend them."
She said one complaint that came up last year was too much overlapping some of the diverse sounds in the schedule, making it difficult to experience them all.
Original vision still felt
Longtime Lehigh Valley musician Bev Conklin said she's grateful that in the 41st iteration of Musikfest, it still is holding true to the original vision of the event — even as it has grown.
"I have to just express a tremendous amount of respect and gratitude to [founder] Jeff Parks' vision," Conklin said.
"How it began as a grassroots event to where it is now is mind-blowing, because [the festival] has let everyone evolve along with Musikfest as it has grown, [and] we have all been given that same opportunity."
Conklin, who was set to play with BC Blue on the Liederplatz stage Friday night, said the wealth of talent in the region and on display during the festival "just blows [her] mind."
She noted nearby institutions such as Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts.
She also said she is grateful to the army of local staff and volunteers who step up to make it happen.
"The volunteers are the lifeblood of this whole event."Bev Conckin
"The volunteers are the lifeblood of this whole event," Conklin said.
"It's remarkable, from 33 years ago to be doing this to see the same people volunteering. It blows my mind. Some of them are in their 80s, and I just, I can't thank them enough.
"I feel just such a capacity to feel professional, just right in our own home, just — we're grateful."
