Arts & Culture

Organizers had hinted that this year's crowds were expected to break records. On Tuesday, ArtsQuest confirmed it. More than 1.3 million visited Bethlehem during the 11 nights of Musikfest 2023.

The opening line of The Band's song "The Weight" — “I pulled into Nazareth/Was feelin' about half past dead” — has again put the spotlight on the Northampton County borough with the death of its writer, Robbie Robertson.

The time-lapse was shot from the weather camera atop the Univest Public Media Center on the SteelStacks campus.

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.

Giuseppe Iatarola, 11, of Hellertown, is a widely known gearhead looking to make a mark on the automotive industry with his YouTube channel and MotorWeek segment.

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.

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

Pentatonix, the five-member group whose self-titled album in 2015 and the follow up “A Pentatonix Christmas” in 2016 both hit No. 1, will perform at 7 p.m. Aug. 31.

An Arab-American comedy exploring the breakdown of a marriage and the its ripple effect on a family will play at the Zoellner Arts Center.

Brad Paisley will headline Allentown Fair for the third time. He performed there in 2009, and in 2007 had Taylor Swift as his opening act.

.38 Special, best known for the 1981 hit “Hold on Loosely” and 1982’s “Caught Up in You,” will perform Aug. 16 as part of the series at Univest Performance Center.

Seventeen restaurants in Bethlehem will offer discounted meals and drinks from Jan. 28 through Feb. 3 as part of restaurant week.

The Black Crowes, best known for its No. 1 hits "Hard to Handle" and "She Talks to Angels" will perform at 8 p.m. on May 3 at Wind Creek.

Brooks and Dunn, the country music Hall of Fame duo that had a dozen gold and platinum albums and more than 40 Top 10 Country chart hits before retiring in 2010, will reform for another tour, it was announced Monday.

El Sistema Lehigh Valley, an after school program that impacts over 120 students in the area, is one of the programs set to benefit from a unique new position at the orchestra

Veganuary, a challenge in which people give up animal-based products for the month of January, might seem hard, but it's easier than ever thanks to resources in the Lehigh Valley.

The Easton-based artist will show her work and participate in a discussion at the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown on Saturday, Jan. 27.

Orgy, known best for its 1998 hit cover of the New Order song “Blue Monday,” will perform at 5:30 p.m. May 17 at MainGate Night Club as part of a tour to mark the anniversary of its album “Candyass,” which included “Blue Monday.”

This year, the touring show features dozens of professional skaters, acrobats and high-tech performance tricks.