BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A fast-rising country music star also has Musikfest's fastest-selling concert tickets.
And another country star who in just six years on the charts has had nine gold and platinum singles also is nearing a sellout.
Megan Moroney, who last year won the Academy of Country Music's New Female Artist of the Year, is the first artist to sell out a concert on this year's Musikfest main Steel Stage.
And Riley Green, best known for his triple-platinum single "I Wish Grandpas Never Died" and platinum hits "There Was This Girl" "Different Round Here," has only a few VIP seats left.
Musikfest's website says no tickets remain available for Moroney's preview night show on July 31 and limited $250 seats in the VIP Steel Terrace remain for Green's Aug. 1 show.www.musikfest.org
That's according to Musikfest's website, which says no tickets remain available for Moroney's preview night show on Thursday, July 31, and limited $250 seats in the VIP Steel Terrace remain for Green's Friday, Aug. 1, show.
ArtsQuest acknowledged the sellout on its Facebook account Thursday.
ArtsQuest typically will not say a show is sold out before Steel Stage — a temporary facility in the parking lots on the SteelStacks campus — is erected days before Musikfest.
Often, the stage configuration leaves room for additional seats.
In recent years, Steel Stage has had a capacity of 6,500.
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.
Artists riding popularity wave
Moroney is riding the wave of a new hit, "6 Months Later." Released July 14, it already has hit the Top 10 on Billboard's Country chart and crossed over to Top 30 on the overall Singles chart.
Moroney also has a new album on the way; another song from it, "You Had to Be There (with Kenny Chesney)" was released in May.
Moroney kicked off her career with the triple-platinum hit "Tennessee Orange" in 2022.
Her debut album, "Lucky," released in 2023, hit No. 10 on the Country chart and sold gold. It also produced a second platinum hit, "I'm Not Pretty," which peaked at No. 14 on the Country Airplay chart.
Moroney's sophomore album, "Am I Okay?," was released in 2024 and hit No. 3 on the Country Albums chart. It also crossed over to No. 9 on the overall albums chart.
Green, too, 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.
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.
Tickets for Moroney's Musikfest show were the fifth announced for this year's 42nd annual festival, going on sale in early December.
Green's show was the first announced for this year's Musikfest, and tickets went on sale in November.
How other shows are selling
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.
