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Musikfest, still a week away, says second headline concert is sold out

Steel Stage
John J. Moser
/
LehighValleyNews.com
Musikfest's main Steel Stage under construction Friday. The festival now has sold out two of its 11 main-stage headline concerts for the festival, which opens Thursday, July 31.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Musikfest still is six days away from kicking off its 42nd year, but two of its 11 main stage headliner acts now have sold out, the festival announced Friday.

Country music hitmaker Riley Green has no tickets left for his Aug. 1 Steel Stage concert, Musikfest presenters ArtsQuest said on its Facebook page.

The festival's website also shows no tickets available.

"Country fans, you showed up for this one — Riley Green’s Friday, August 1 performance at the Wind Creek Steel Stage is completely sold out!"
Musikfest on Facebook.

Megan Moroney, who last year won the Academy of Country Music's New Female Artist of the Year, on Wednesday became the first Musikfest headliner this year to sell out.

At that time, Green, best known for his triple-platinum single "I Wish Grandpas Never Died" and platinum hits "There Was This Girl" "Different Round Here," had just a few VIP seats left.

"Country fans, you showed up for this one — Riley Green’s Friday, August 1 performance at the Wind Creek Steel Stage is completely sold out!" Musikfest said on Facebook.

With two shows sold out the festival warned about "searching for tickets through our social media comments."

"If you come across posts from individuals claiming to be 'looking to sell tickets/passes' or stating they can no longer attend, please do not engage," it said.

"These accounts are most likely bots or scams. Rest assured, our team is diligently working to remove these comments as quickly as possible. ArtsQuest is also not responsible for any purchases made on a third-party site for this performance."

Steel Stage
John J. Moser
/
LehighValleyNews.com
Musikfest's main Steel Stage under construction Friday. The festival opens with a preview night Thursday, July 31.

Early sellouts unusual

It's unusual for ArtsQuest to say a show is sold out before Steel Stage — a temporary facility in the parking lots on the SteelStacks campus — is erected.

The stage still was under construction Friday. Often, the stage configuration leaves room for additional seats.

In recent years, Steel Stage has had a capacity of 6,500.

But also unusual is for Musikfest to have two sold-out headline shows before the festival opens. After the July 31 preview night, Musikfest this year will run Aug. 1-10 in downtown Bethlehem and the SteelStacks campus is South Bethlehem.

Last year, Musikfest had the most sold-out headline shows in its history — four, by rockers Greta Van Fleet and Shinedown, country chart-toppers Old Dominion and rapper Ludacris.

The prior record for sold-out shows was three in 2017 with Santana, Chicago and Toby Keith.

Other shows also selling well

But Green is having a hit summer. In June, his song "Worst Way" became his third No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart, and his first as a solo artist, and has reached double-platinum sales.

Riley Green
Amy Harris/Amy Harris/Invision/AP
/
Invision
Riley Green performs during the Country Radio Seminar on Friday, March 1, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. Green will play Bethlehem's Musikfest in 2025.

A newer single, "Don't Mind If I Do (featuring Ella Langley)," was formally released Monday, July 21, and already has sold gold and is in the Top 25 on the Country chart.

Green released his third album, "Don't Mind If I Do," on Oct. 18. It hit No. 8 on the Billboard Country albums chart, and debuted at No. 25 on the overall albums chart.

The Avett Brothers, which the Musikfest website shows are close to selling out the sections closest to the stage. Darius Rucker on Aug. 3, The Black Crowes on Aug. 4, Third Eye Blind on Aug. 8 and Jordan Davis on Aug. 9 also have sold out some sections closest to the stage.
Musikfest.org

Other headline shows on the Musikfest lineup that are selling well are The Avett Brothers, which the Musikfest website shows are close to selling out the sections closest to the stage.

Darius Rucker on Aug. 3, The Black Crowes on Aug. 4, Third Eye Blind on Aug. 8 and Jordan Davis on Aug. 9 also have sold out some sections closest to the stage; Third Eye Blind also has sold out the standing section, according to the website.

Nelly on Aug. 6 also has sold out standing-only tickets.

All sections have seats available for Chicago on Aug. 5, Gilberto Santa Rosa on Aug. 7, and The Black Keys on Aug. 10, according to the website.

Steel Stage concerts are the only paid-ticket shows at Musikfest, which offers more than 400 free performances during its annual run.