Arts & Culture

Welcome to LehighValleyNews.com's Fest in Show, a daily offering of some of the can't-miss acts on the stages of Musikfest.

Musikfest, a 10-day festival of music, food, refreshments and more, celebrates its 40th year beginning on Thursday.

The classic & antique car festival is expected to bring thousands of visitors and hundreds of cars to the park, dating back to the early 1900s.

The Musikfest show will be the first day — and second stop — in Allman’s See It All American Tour with Donovan Frankenreiter. The tour will be an attempt by Allman and Frankenreiter to set the official world record by playing 50 shows in 50 states in 49 days.

Philadelphia psyche-pop master Kurt Vile and The Violators, who topped the Adult Album Alternative charts with the 2015 song “Pretty Pimpin’” and have had three albums in the overall Top 50, will headline a concert with the late jazz great Sun Ra’s band The Sun Ra Arkestra at Allentown’s Miller Symphony Hall.

The opening acts for Musikfest's main stage headliners have been announced. They include several Lehigh Valley favorites.

A completely dry stretch of weather is almost unheard of this time of year, said meteorologist Bobby Martrich of EPAWA Weather Consulting, the official forecaster of Musikfest.

The first celebration featured an array of talent with an emphasis on local artists.

With around 1 million people expected to attend Musikfest this year, health and safety take top priority for organizers. Everything from cooling misters to medical tents will be on site.

The Lower Macungie Township Historical Society is set to raise money for and produce a historical docudrama film focused on the 1799 Fries Rebellion, which led to a federal crackdown in the Macungie area during the John Adams administration.

Lukas Nelson, son of country music icon Willie Nelson and leader of the popular country-rock band Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real, will perform Friday, July 18.

Latino leaders who paved the way in the Lehigh Valley were celebrated at a free community panel discussion and celebration organized by Lehigh Valley Public Media.

The 1782/1834 Grist Miller’s House, after being closed to the public for a couple of decades, will open again for a free community showing from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Jefferson Health announced a five-year agreement to host a PGA TOUR Champions tournament — the pro golfers' senior circuit — at Lehigh Country Club starting in 2026.

Elvis Costello, whose career bridged punk and new wave music with mainstream, will perform with his band The Imposters at 8 p.m. Sept. 8 at Wind Creek Event Center, it was announced. Joining him onstage will be guitarist Charlie Sexton, who hit the Billboard chart with his own album in 1989, then toured with Bob Dylan and recorded with Lucinda Williams and Shawn Colvin.

The Allentown Parking Authority’s board of directors on Wednesday unanimously chose the museum’s relocation bid as its preferred project to reshape the property at the northwest corner of Tenth and Hamilton streets.

Eric Hutchinson's new Best Of tour stops at Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks at 7:30 p.m. tonight, April 23. Tickets for the show, at $40 (some areas are sold out) remain available at the SteelStacks website.

The long-running festival celebrates its 117th year with a new schedule and additions, including a flamenco and guitar concert and a lecture by Bach scholars. It will take place May 8 - 11 in Bethlehem.

ArtsQuest’s Ginvitational: A Celebration of Cocktails will return to SteelStacks for a fourth year on June 8 in Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center, it was announced.

The series of 10 Wednesday night movies will begin May 21. Families are welcome to bring lawn chairs and blankets to the Levitt lawn for the films, which start at 6:30 p.m.

Submissions for the singing competition will be accepted until June, but organizers say early applicants have the competitive edge. The winner will take home $2,000.

"The Book of Mormon," which has grossed nearly $1billion, making it one of the most successful musicals of all time, will return to the theater for three performances Sept. 27-28.