BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Welcome to LehighValleyNews.com's Fest in Show, a daily offering of some of the can't-miss acts on the free stages of Bethlehem's Musikfest festival.
This year, 422 acts will play those stages during the festival's 11 days.
Read us daily during Musikfest for suggestions of the best music — and more.
Here are music acts you should see today, the fourth official day of Musikfest 2024, Monday, Aug. 5:
Lilly Moss, 1 p.m. Lagerplatz and 5 p.m. Lyrikplatz at Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas
Country music singer Lilly Moss, a Bethlehem native, Freedom High School graduate and Lafayette College student, released her fiddle-and-lap-steel-guitar-rocker song "Meet Me on Broadway" on May 31, and in the first two weeks the track already had 25,000 streams and 2.300 playlist adds on Spotify. On Nov. 7, Moss will be honored as Emerging Artist of the Year at the Linny Awards at SteelStacks.
Jeiris Cook, 7 p.m. Lyrikplatz at Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas
Jeiris Cook describes his music as folk/Americana/R&B/Soul, but it's the latter two that distinguish him from others in the genre. Cook dove into full-time musicianship at 37 after a career as a warehouse manager, and the way real life infuses his music — in the way of classic Motown — shows. In September, he released his debut album "Patchwork" with a show at the famed Stanhope House in New Jersey. Also, 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Main Street Stage.
Saxsquatch, 7 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. Community Stage
The explanation is simple: a man dressed in a Bigfoot costume plays saxophone over backing tracks. The appeal is more complex: at first sight, delightfully silly, but upon listening, surprisingly sympathetic renditions of such songs as Toto's "Africa." ArtsQuest Senior Programming Officer Patrick Brogan said Saxsquatch — also known as Dean Mitchell, the former saxophonist for The Marcus King Band, opened for another visually interesting act, Here Come the Mummies, at SteelStacks last fall. "And while kitschy, I found myself saying, 'This is really good,'" Brogan said. "It's not something you're going to listen to for a two-hour block of time, but we put them on the Town Square in these, like, half-an-hour, an hour turnovers of other stages. ... And in an era of Instagramming and Snapchatting and stuff, this is certainly something to post on your story, and then you find yourself staying because this is, like, really good. 'Yeah, I want to hear more of this.'" Also, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, Community Stage
Blair Crimmins and the Hookers, 7:30 p.m. Stadtsplatz
In the Blast Furnace Room at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in 2016, Atlanta-based Blair Crimmins and the Hookers played a broad musical palette of Ragtime, Dixieland jazz, folk, bluegrass and even rockabilly and indie rock. Plus, "Blair is a seminal frontman, charismatically carrying himself through a set with a backing horn section," ArtsQuest's Brogan said. "The versatility of their music, anyone can enjoy. Anyone and everyone enjoys Blair Crimmins and the Hookers."
Tim Harakal, 8 p.m. Lyrikplatz at Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas
Longtime local favorite Tim Harakal plays often throughout the Lehigh Valley, but is worth stopping to hear at Musikfest. His singer-songwriter/folk songs are thoughtful and playfully complex, but easy to simply listen to, as well.
