Entertainment News

The 40th Musikfest drew to a successful close on Sunday night in Bethlehem. The nation's largest open-gate free music festival delivered more than 500 free performances, plus paid-ticket headliners. Organizers believe a record of roughly 1.25 million attended the 11-day event. An official count is expected to be announced Tuesday.

The Grammy-winning band closed out the 11-day spread with a 90-minute set of their biggest hits and covers of The Eagles and Journey.

In a stripped down production that felt custom-made for the Musikfest stage, Morris capped a 17-song set with three songs that put a rush of energy into the crowd as the skies opened up over Bethlehem.

Musikfest attracts tens of thousands of people to the city each day during its 10-day run. Officials said they’re continuously working to lessen the event’s impact on the environment.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

Dorney Park's upcoming new roller coaster Iron Menace is a multi-million dollar project that officials hope will bring attendance back to pre-pandemic levels.

The legendary salsa group performed their biggest hits and displayed perfectly-timed dance moves.

Here are the Musikfest acts and more you should see today, Saturday, Aug. 12.

HangDog Outdoor Adventure opened its doors Friday, offering visitors plenty of adrenaline-rush inducing options throughout its massive 115-element obstacle center.

Alt-rock band Wheatus, known for its 2000 hit "Teenage Dirtbag, will play Musikfest's Americaplatz stage at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks at 9:30 p.m. Aug. 11

Sting, who topped the charts with such songs as "Every Breath You Take" as bassist and vocalist of The Police, then with "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" as a solo artist, will perform Nov. 20-21.

Live Nation head of club programming Molly Warren said the Archer is viewed as a resource being built where there's already a "thriving community" for music — the Lehigh Valley — that embraces artists of many genres.

A punk band that started at Nazareth Area High School will perform at 7 p.m. April 12 in the venue's The Arrow room. And Emo Night Brooklyn, which started as parties in the 2010s that captured the youthful, Do It Yourself milieu of the genre, will perform at 8 p.m. March 22, also in The Arrow.

Lisa VanArsdale, a local podcaster and comedian, will perform her one-woman show on Sunday, Feb. 23.

James Arthur, who won the ninth series of "The X Factor" in Britian 2012 and is best known for the 2016 hit "Say You Won't Let Go," will perform at the event center at 7:30 p.m. July 3.

Central Moravian Church is one of three Historic Bethlehem structures on a new 90-minute World Heritage Tour visitors finally can enter. The Saturdays-only tour starts this weekend.

Three chart-topping reggae-based bands will perform at 8 p.m. June 11 at the Musikfest Cafe. Joining Tropidelic will be reggae-rock band Ballyhoo! and Reggae-punk band Authority Zero.

Who needs hearts when you have Hambone? The beloved IronPigs 'Pork Racers' are teaming up to deliver goodies to sweethearts across the Lehigh Valley.

Fresh off a Super Bowl victory, Eagles star Saquon Barkley gave a nod to Coplay and Whitehall as helping to shape him as a football player and a person. Barkley was interviewed on "The Howard Stern Show" on SiriusXM.

Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom has unveiled a new lineup for the 2025 season that featured a range of new festivals, holiday celebrations and exclusive family-friendly experiences.

Tune in as 91.3 WLVR host Brad Klein interviews Lauren McChesney of Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre, which has recently found success with the 18-34 age group.

Star Wars Day at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown will take place from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15.