BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Musikfest will kick off its 42nd year this week, again bringing 1 million people for more than 400 free music performances.
But while Musikfest is best known most as being the largest free, ungated music festival in the United States, its main Steel Stage — its only paid-ticket stage — offers by far its biggest shows.
This year the festival extends to 11 days with a preview night on Thursday, July 31, and the headline shows clearly have drawn interest: Two headliners — Megan Moroney and Riley Green — already have sold out.
And just as with every year, the Steel Stage lineup also has shows that aren’t quite as attractive — but still, no doubt, have fans who are interested.
So to help you decide which to attend, we'll give you our ranking of the Top 6 Steel Stage shows at Musikfest this year:
1. Megan Moroney, 6 p.m. Thursday, July 31 (sold out)
Just as last year's festival kicked off with the best — rockers Greta Van Fleet was a sellout — fast-rising country music star Moroney is likely the best bet for this year's festival.
Moroney might not be everyone's cup of tea — including classic country fans — but she seems like the Taylor Swift of this "era" (see what I did there?) Or even the country music Sabrina Carpenter.
Which is to say that while she kicked off her career with the triple-platinum "Tennessee Orange" and was last year's Academy of Country Music's New Female Artist of the Year, expect that she'll cross over to pop music big time soon.
As evidence, her new single, "Six Months Later," despite its twangy guitar and Top 10 Country chart status, crossed over to Top 30 on the Pop chart. She has a new album due out soon.
2. Riley Green, 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1 (sold out)
Also as it did last year, Musikfest will open with two sellouts — Green's show was announced as a sellout Friday.
Green, too, is having a hit summer — but his success is solidly in the country lane.
In June, his song "Worst Way" became his third No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart and has reached double-platinum sales.
It was his sixth single to reach gold or platinum status.
A newer single, "Don't Mind If I Do (featuring Ella Langley)," was formally released a week ago, July 21, and already has sold gold and is in the Top 25 on the Country chart.
3. Darius Rucker, 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 3
At the risk of skewing these picks too heavy with country acts and too much toward the front of the festival, Rucker is a safe pick for a strong Musikfest show.
After all, he has a history with the festival: He's played headline shows in 2021, 2015 and 2013 (the last two were sellouts), and as the frontman for Hootie and The Blowfish in 1999 and 2002 (also both sellouts).
He's also a three-time Grammy Award winner. And while he's had just one new album in the past eight years, he has a heck of a catalogue of hits: He's had 13 Top 10 Country hits, 10 of which went to No. 1 and 12 of which sold gold or platinum.
Plus his Hootie hits.
Has Musikfest gone to the Darius Rucker well too many times? Not likely —the seats closest to the stage for his show are sold out.
4. Avett Brothers, 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2
There's even a country element to the music of the Avett Brothers, though it's mixed with folk, rock and Americana.
And the band also has a history with Musikfest — it also headlined in 2016, playing to a crowd of 4,107, and in 2014 to a crowd of 4,537. The group even played a Musikfest show in 2010 — but not as headliner — selling out the 1,000-seat Zoellner Arts Center.
And in 2018 it drew a sold-out crowd of 4,500 for a show in the paid-ticket Yuengling Summer Concert series just days after Musikfest, setting a Levitt record and outselling almost all the Musikfest shows that year.
The band has been nominated for nine Americana Music Awards and won five, including a Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance in 2023.
5. Black Crowes, 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 4
The Black Crowes have released only one album in the past 15 years (last year's "Happiness Bastards") and haven't had a hit song since the 1990s (the No. 1s "Hard to Handle" and "She Talks to Angels").
In fact, the group's biggest appeal is that it's back together after a second long hiatus because of disputes between brothers Chris and Rich Robinson, but it already played the more intimate Wind Creek Event Center last year, when it also was marking its 40th anniversary.
All that said, Black Crowes still is a great band that puts on a good show.
6. The Black Keys, 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10
It's hard to argue with success, and The Black Keys have had 11 gold and platinum hits — including "Lonely Boy" and "Gold on the Ceiling" — and four gold and platinum albums.
And in the past 15 years, the group has sold 6 million albums and been nominated for 17 Grammy Awards — with five wins.
Still, The Black Keys's appeal always did seem more targeted to a certain rock audience, and these years later can sounds like it belongs to a certain era (the 2010s).
Still a solid show, though.
Honorable mention: Chicago, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5
Speaking of success, Chicago is among the Top 30 best-selling music acts of all time, with more than 120 million copies of its 46 albums sold worldwide, and it's one of the longest-running rock bands of all time, now in its 57th year.
The group has had 37 Top 20 hits, eight of which went to No. 1 — “If You Leave Me Now,” “Hard to Say I’m Sorry,” “Look Away,” “Here in My Heart,” “You’re the Inspiration,” “Wishing You Were Here,” “Call on Me” and “Beginnings.”
“If You Leave Me Now” won a Grammy Award in 1977, and the band has the iconic hits “25 or 6 to 4,” “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is” and “Colour My World.”
It was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. A pretty much can't-miss show.
Honorable mention: Nelly, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 6
Nelly also is known for a certain era — the 2000s. But what a time it was for the rapper.
Nelly is ranked No. 3 on Billboard’s definitive list of the best-selling artists of the 2000s, having sold more than 30 million albums and singles in less than 10 years.
He also ranks as the fourth-best-selling hip hop artist in American music history, according to the RIAA, with 21 million albums sold in the United States.
He's best known for his hits "Hot in Herre," "Dilemma" (with Kelly Rowland), “Ride Wit’ Me” with City Spud and “Just a Dream” — all from 2000-10.
Other Steel Stage headliners this year:
Jordan Davis, 6 p.m. Aug. 9. Davis is a fine headliner, with his first single, 2017's "Singles You Up," going triple-platinum and 2021's "Buy Dirt" (featuring Luke Bryan) going five times platinum. But in a year loaded with top country, Davis is the lesser attraction.
Gilberto Santa Rosa on Aug. 7. Rosa, the Gentleman of Salsa, is a strong name in a specific genre, and Musikfest has embraced variety in its lineup, but the appeal of this show is narrower than others on the lineup.
Third Eye Blind, 6 p.m. Aug. 8. Yes, Third Eye Blind has hits — “Semi-Charmed Life,” “Jumper,” “How It’s Going To Be” and “Graduate” — but the last was more than 25 years ago, and the group has played much more intimate area venues (including Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks in 2014). In fact, the opening act, Boys Like Girls, whose 2009 album "Love Drunk," hit No. 1 on the Rock and Alternative charts and had the platinum hits "Love Drunk" and "Two is Better Than One," probably should have been the headliner.
