Entertainment News

In the decade since Allentown's PPL Center opened on Sept. 12, 2014, with a concert by The Eagles, the venue has presented 83 concerts, including comedy shows.

It might feel early, but some local farms are gearing up to begin their fall festivities. Most pumpkin patches, corn mazes and hay rides open to the public this month. Find out when.

Pentatonix posted a 35-second video on its TikTok account Wednesday of it singing with David Archuleta at Allentown Fair with the comment, "You CRUSHED this😉 Allentown, you were amazing❤️."

SteelStacks Smackdown, which presenter Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations described as its "biggest live show yet featuring the finest talent from across the independent wrestling scene and television," will be at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 5 in Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks.

Alan Parsons Project, which from 1976-84 had seven gold and platinum albums that collectively sold more than 5 million copies, will perform Friday, Nov. 15.

Cirque du Soleil's "Crystal," which had a successful run at PPL Center in 2018, will return early in 2025 "due to popular demand," Cirque announced.

Labor Day marked the end of the 172nd annual Great Allentown Fair. From typical fair fare to live entertainment, what stood out to many was the optimal weather.

The ventriloquist and comedian brought his act to the second-to-last day of the Allentown Fair. It was his seventh headline show at the fair.

Local media faced off against politicians for the Allentown Fair's annual grape stomping competition. This year was different, though, with the media team winning for the first time in years.

Five-member vocal group Pentatonix returned Saturday to Allentown Fair for an audience about three-quarters of 7,500 and — this time on a lovely night — proved it wasn't just a one-note wonder.

Musikfest 2024 begins with a preview night on Thursday. The 11-day festival will feature more than 422 artists and more than 500 concerts. Headliners include Greta Van Fleet, ZZ Top, Ludacris and Jowell & Randy.

The Puerto Rican Day Parade and Festival will return to Allentown on Sunday, July 28. It kicks off at noon at North Fifth and Hamilton streets.

Tickets for the 50 shows in the new season go on sale to theater members at 10 a.m. Aug. 1 and to the public at 10 a.m. Aug. 8 at www.statetheatre.org, or at the box office at 453 Northampton St., Easton.

Coca-Cola Park will host 'Illumination,' a walk-through holiday lights experience beginning November 15, Lehigh Valley IronPigs General Manager Kurt Landes announced at a press conference Wednesday.

Dr. Jana Houser specializes in radar analysis of tornadoes and the supercell thunderstorms that produce them. She recently served as a consultant on "Twisters."

Erica Silver, a music teacher with the Allentown School District, is the youth chorale's newest conductor and Alaina Swartz is the new director of education and community engagement.

It's still more than a month before the 37th annual Celtic Classic takes over downtown with kilts and kegs, but contests for the festival that celebrates all things Irish, Scottish and Welsh already are starting.

Diana Ross, who with The Supremes had a dozen No. 1 hits in the 1960s, then a half dozen more as a solo artist in the 1970s and ’80s, will perform at the center at 8 p.m. Oct. 18.

ArtsQuest, in partnership with Trans-Bridge Lines and Penn State University, on Monday announced a new satellite parking lot will be established at Penn State Lehigh Valley.

The opening night (the fest continues 2-11 p.m. today) offered New York gospel-blues trio The Harlem Gospel Travelers as headliners, and they offered an enthusiastic set. But it was some of the supporting acts that elevated the experience.

Cheap Trick, which was to be the opener for a show by rock band Heart, was announced Friday as the replacement for Heart as grandstand opening-night headliner at 7 p.m. Aug. 28. It will be joined for the show by another 1970s hit rock group — Blue Oyster Cult, best known for its 1976 hit "(Don't Fear) The Reaper."

It's been two weeks since rock band Heart canceled its opening-night headline concert at Allentown Fair, and it looks like the fair is set to announce a replacement.