Entertainment News

There are plenty of free acts to enjoy at the unofficial last of summer celebration, including a comedian/juggler with a crown of Solo cups and a tent filled with multi-colored butterflies.

Heart's headline opening night of Allentown Fair's grandstand on Wednesday wasn't the typical 50th anniversary blowout, but seemed more an acknowledgement of the band's triumph.

Mac and cheese on a stick, barbecue-infused ice cream, and horseradish cheesesteaks are hoping to win over fairgoers in this year's food contest. Voting is done on-site, and the winners will be announced on Monday.

John Fogerty, who with the group Creedence Clearwater Revival sold 30 million albums — 13 of which sold gold or platinum — will perform his Legacy Tour at 8 p.m. Nov. 8.

The 173rd year of the Allentown Fair kicked off Wednesday night to large crowds enjoying food, live music, and the crowning of the 2025 fair queen.

After a three-year hiatus, chick hatching is back at the Allentown Fair. The exhibition will be open daily at the Lehigh County 4-Club Livestock Experience tent.

With Allentown Fair opening its 173rd year today, music critic John J. Moser has 25 years of reviewing grandstand shows behind him. These are the best he's seen, ranked in order.

Heart will perform a grandstand show at 7 p.m. Aug. 27 on the opening night of Allentown Fair. Tickets remain available.

The 173rd Great Allentown Fair opens Wednesday, Aug. 27, through Labor Day, Sept. 1. The fair features rides, food, concerts, and family fun at one of Pennsylvania’s oldest fairs.

The new Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Regional Music Awards has an official website, and is taking nominations for its first ceremony later this year.

The My Generation Tour of Gary Lewis & The Playboys, The Lovin' Spoonful and The Hollies' Terry Sylvester that stopped Friday, March 13, at Easton's State Theater was a wonderful collection of memories — and an occasional surprise.

The Oak Ridge Boys will stop at 6 p.m. Sunday, March 15, at Easton's State Theatre. Tickets, at $65-$85, remain available at the theatre website and are expected to be available at the door at 453 Northampton St.

Gary Lewis & The Playboys and The Lovin' Spoonful will perform as part of The My Generation Tour at 7:30 p.m. March 13 at Easton's State Theatre. Joining them will be Terry Sylvester of The Hollies, one of those British groups with which they competed, and which had five Top 10 hits of their own in the 1960s.

Looking at what has transpired at The Archer since it opened, Live Nation Head of Clubs Programming Molly Warren said, "We had an amazing first year."

Wilco, whose songs "I Might" and "Speak Into the Rose" hit the Top 5 on Billboard's Singles chart in 2011, will play "An Evening With Wilco" show at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks at 8 p.m. June 17.

T.I., best known for his eight-times- platinum hits "Whatever You Like" in 2008 and "Live Your Life (featuring Rihanna)," will perform at 6 p.m. Aug. 6.

James McMurtry, who in 1989 had the hit "Painting By Numbers," will perform with his band The Marshall Law Review at 7 p.m. June 21, it was announced.

The venue will hold its Archerversary at 8 p.m. March 7 in its smaller, 500-capacity Arrow room, with DJ sets from Leek and Vndtta, it said in a release.

Broadway's "Rock of Ages" Band features the musician case of the Broadway show playing what it calls playing "the greatest rock hits from the glam metal bands of the '80s."

Comedian/actor Steve Martin and funnyman Martin Short, who together have starred in successful film comedies, will perform The Best of Steve Martin and Martin Short on Friday, Nov. 6.

The Idobi Radio Summer School Tour will undertake its "junior" (as in third year of high school) year with performances by five "independent artists and bands on the verge of breaking out," the tour said in a release.

Steve Earle, best known for his 1998 Top 10 Mainstream Rock hit "Copperhead Road," will perform a show titled "51 Years of Songs & Stories" Friday, Aug. 21, at Musikfest Cafe.