BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Three early 1990s radio rock groups who sold a collective 20 million albums and had 20 Top 20 hits on various charts will perform at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks this summer, it was announced Tuesday.
Platinum-selling hit-making jam band Blues Traveler, whose biggest hit, 1995's “Run-Around,” set a then-record for most weeks on the Billboard charts, will perform at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25.
Tickets for the show, at $65–$69, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 23 on the ArtsQuest website or at the box office at the ArtsQuest Center, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem.ArtsQuest website
Joining that band will be Gin Blossoms, who from 1993-96 had the hits “Hey Jealousy,” “Found Out About You,” “Til I Hear It From You” and “Follow You Down.”
Also on the bill will be Spin Doctors, whose 1991 album "Pocket Full of Kryptonite" sold 5 million copies and produced the Top 10 Mainstream Rock hits "Two Princes," "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" and "Jimmy Olsen's Blues."
Tickets for the show, at $65–$69, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 23 on the ArtsQuest website or at the box office at the ArtsQuest Center, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem.
The show is the first to be announced in the Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks paid summer concert series, which in 2025 offered such acts as alternative rock band Cake, platinum-selling folk group The Head and the Heart and rap-rock group Hollywood Undead.
It will be held just two weeks after the huge Musikfest festival concludes on the SteelStacks campus. Musikfest this year will be held July 31-Aug. 9.
Charting hits, platinum sales
Blues Travelers in 1990 released its self-titled debut album, which recorded gold sales, as did its next two albums, 1991's "Travelers and Thieves" and 1993's "Save His Soul."
But its biggest success came with the 1995 album, "four," which peaked at No. 8 on Billboard's Albums chart and sold six-times platinum.
The disc included "Run-Around," which peaked at No. 8 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.
“It’s rare when a package feels so much like home that it carries a spirit which becomes tangible to an audience."Blues Traveler frontman John Popper
The song spent a then-record 45 weeks on Billboard's Singles chart.
Blues Traveler continued to have success with its 1997 album "Straight On Till Morning," which hit platinum sales, but its subsequent singles charted mostly on the Adult Alternative chart.
Its last charting hit, 2003's "Let Her and Let Go," peaked at No. 19 on that chart.
The band has released 16 albums, with 2021's "Traveler's Blues," a collection of blues covers, being nominated for the Grammy for Best Traditional Blues album.
Its latest, "Traveler’s Soul," a collection of R&B and soul covers, was released in 2023.
The band's frontman, John Popper, who is revered as among the best harmonica players in rock music, played a solo show at ArtsQuest's RiverJazz festival in 2018.
Gins and Spins
Gin Blossoms first found success with its 1992 album “New Miserable Experience,” which went four times platinum and produced four hits: the gold “Hey Jealousy,” the No. 1 “Found Out About You,” as well as “Until I Fall Away” and “Allison Road.”
The group also had Top 3 hits with “Til I Hear It From You” from the soundtrack of the 1995 movie “Empire Records,” and “Follow You Down” from its 1996 sophomore disc “Congratulations, I’m Sorry.”
The song "As Long as It Matters," also from that disc, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 1997.
Gin Blossoms since has released three more albums, with the most recent being 2018’s “Mixed Reality.”
Gin Blossoms last performed in the area at Wind Creek Event Center in 2024 and at Musikfest Cafe at SteelStacks in 2021.
Alternative rock band Spin Doctors is commemorating the 35th anniversary of its debit album, "Pocket Full of Kryptonite," which hit No. 3 on Billboard's Albums chart.
That album produced the hit “Two Princes,” which topped the Pop chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.
Its sophomore album, 1994's "Turn It Upside Down," also sold platinum and peaked at No. 28 and has a Top 10 Mainstream Rock chart hit with "You Let Your Heart Go Too Fast."
It has released five more albums, with the latest being last year's "Face Full of Cake" — its first release in 12 years — but have not had chart success.
Blues Traveler's Popper said in a release that the Levitt Pavilion show is a celebration of long-standing friendships forged on the road.
“It’s rare when a package feels so much like home that it carries a spirit which becomes tangible to an audience,” Popper said.
“So we’ve decided to take this show everywhere we missed last year. We’re excited to bring it to you.”
