Classical hip-hop duo, seminal progressive bluegrass player, Grateful Dead tribute, more set for Musikfest Cafe shows

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A music duo that played at President Obama’s inauguration, won the Showtime at the Apollo Legend title and backed Alicia Keys at the Billboard Awards is returning to SteelStacks.

So is a popular Grateful Dead tribute band that has performed for nearly 30 years.

And a mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music and is a two-time International Bluegrass Music Hall inductee also is coming to the venue.

Black Violin, a duo of classical hip-hop violinists that played SteelStacks in 2015 as part of a tour of Levitt Pavilions nationwide, will return to play at 7 p.m. Nov. 9, it was announced.

Dark Star Orchestra, the popular Grateful Dead tribute band that has played more than 3,000 shows, will return at 7:30 p.m. July 15.

And Sam Bush, who was in the seminal progressive bluegrass band New Grass Revival and has had six of his solo albums reach the Top 10 on the Bluegrass chart, will perform at 7:30 p.m. July 16.

Tickets for Black Violin, at $40-$65, and for Dark Star Orchestra, at $39.50-$59.50, both go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, May 2, at the SteelStacks website, or at the box office at 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem.

Tickets for Bush, at $33-$55 already are on sale.

Top acts' background

Black Violin, the duo of Kevin “Kev Marcus” Sylvester and Wilner “Wil B” Baptiste, won the Apollo Theater showcase in 2005, went on tour with Linkin Park and put together its own Broadway show in 2012.

In 2013, they headlined the South By Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, when the band scheduled to play at the keynote address of Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl canceled.

They also played Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks in 2014.

The duo has released five albums.

The seven-member Dark Star Orchestra has played live shows together since 1997.

Its concerts are built from the Dead’s extensive catalog, and on any given night, the band will perform a show based on a set list from the Grateful Dead’s 30 years of extensive touring or use its catalog to program a unique set list.

Bush was with New Grass Revival 1972-89, during which released nine studio albums, two live albums and appeared on albums by Leon Russell, Peter Rowan and others.

It was inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2020.

Since becoming a solo artist, Bush has been nominated for 14 Grammy Awards, most recently for Best Bluegrass Album for "Radio John: The Songs of John Hartford."

He has won three Grammys — most recently in 2002 for Album of the Year for appearing on "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" with various artists.

Bush was inducted into the Hall of Fame a second time in 2023 as a solo artist, making him the sixth artist inducted twice.

Other upcoming shows

Other upcoming shows recently announced for Musikfest Cafe include:

• Save Ferris, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 13. Tickets: $20-$35. The California band, formed in 1995, was seminal in the third wave of ska. It had two songs hit the Top 40 on the Alternative chart — "Come On Eileen" in 1997 and "Goodbye" in 1998.
• An Evening of Holiday Jazzy Pop with Corinne — An Easton Children's Home Benefit, 7 p.m. Dec. 7. Tickets: $30. Lehigh Valley-based jazz chanteuse Corrine Mammana returns with her fundraising Christmas show, which she's done since 2017.
• Comedian Michael Blackson, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18. Tickets: $45-$75. Blackson, who calls himself "The African King of Comedy" (he was born in Ghana), got his start in Philadelphia comedy clubs and had a role in the 2000 Ice Cube movie “Next Friday.” He also appeared on BET’s "ComicView" series, HBO’s "Def Comedy Jam" and "Showtime at Harlem."
• The Discoteks, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 27. Tickets: $10-$25. Formed in 2014 by Odell M, former bassist of the disco group The Trammps, the nine-piece band's members have played with Chubby Checker, Paul Anka, The Platters, Bobby Rydell and Peggy Lee. They play music from the golden era of disco and Motown.