BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Welcome to another year of LehighValleyNew.com's Fest in Show, a daily offering of some of the can't-miss acts on the 16 free stages of Bethlehem's Musikfest festival.
This year, more than 400 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 our picks for closing night, Sunday, Aug. 10:
Grace Kelly, 7:30 p.m. Stadtplatz
A musical prodigy, singer-saxophonist-songwriter-composer and band leader, Kelly has rocked the jazz world with her electro-jazz-pop. She's released 15 albums and was a member of the house band for "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" — all before reaching her mid-twenties. In 2022, she became the youngest member of Berklee College of Music's Board of Trustees. She got standing ovations at a Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks performance last year. "Unlike any jazz saxophone player you might be thinking of," ArtsQuest Chief Programming Officer Patrick Brogan said. "Her energy just radiates off the stage into the audience. She will be off the stage and in the audience running around, playing sax. She's not to miss on the festival lineup this year."
Philadelphia Funk Authority, 8 p.m. Festplatz
The veteran Southeastern Pennsylvania band plays dance and party music — funk, R&B, soul and other music from the past 40 years — and also is a Musikfest and ArtsQuest favorite that has played paid-ticket shows in Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center. Catch the show and you’ll close the festival while probably dancing and smiling.
We May Be Right: A Tribute to Billy Joel, 8:30 p.m. Zinzenplatz
Again, we're not huge fans of tributes, but awareness of Joel is up because of the "Billy Joel: And So It Goes" HBO documentary. "A New York City Skyline sets the backdrop with the band delivering hit after hit along with some of Billy's best deep cuts," the band says. Plus, Joel has a long history with the Lehigh Valley (ever hear a song called "Allentown"?) If just the people who claim to have been at Joel's 1973 show at Northampton's Roxy Theater show up, it'll be packed.
Billy Bauer Band's Dave Matthews Tribute, 9:30 p.m. Stadtplatz
Based in Bethlehem, for nearly two decades Billy Bauer has been a Lehigh Valley music scene mainstay that has played Musikfest and opened for national artists such as Uncle Kracker, O.A.R., Phillip Phillips, Tim Reynolds, Young the Giant, Blues Traveler, Gin Blossoms and Third Eye Blind. This will be Bauer's third show at this year's Musikfest — previously performing solo, with his Billy Bauer Band and here with his steadily performing tribute to the Dave Matthews Band. "You know, we always try to close the festival on a high note," Brogan said. "Billy Bauer Band is doing that with its Dave Matthews tribute."
Craig Thatcher Band with special guests, 9:30 p.m. Americaplatz
If there's ever been a Musikfest house musician, it's Thatcher, who will perform for his 36th consecutive year. He headlined Musikfest in 2014 when ZZ Top canceled at the last moment. The next year, ZZ Top played and Thatcher opened for them. He leads popular tribute shows to Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, The Allman Brothers and Jimi Hendrix. He'll be joined by Billy Wear, Chico Huff, Cliff Starkey, Brett Andrew, Joel Shimer, Billy Murnin and other guests.
