Arts & Culture

The broad range of shows coming to Allentown's new Archer Music Hall includes an all-star revue of New Orleans musicians that headlined Musikfest's main stage, an iconic original punk band and an early 2000s teen chart-topper.

The new exhibits feature artwork by well-known creatives and former residents of the New Arts Program, plus pieces by local artists Rain Black and Mallory Zondag.

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers tribute band Damn the Torpedoes will perform Friday, Jan. 17, at Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.

A top-priced $99 ticket for country star Darius Rucker at Musikfest on Aug. 3 normally would come with a $10 service fee, a $8.50 Musikfest venue fee and a $1 ticket vendor fee. So normally, you'd pay $19.50 in fees (a 19.7% upcharge) per ticket. But not today.

The fledgling cultural center on Church Road in Martins Creek is at the former Good Shepherd Church, built in 1864. The center offers monthly lunches for seniors, free classes for children, monthly movie nights, book clubs and gardening.

The 109th PA Farm Show is in full swing and continues through Saturday in Harrisburg. Find out how Lehigh Valley competitors placed in the Family Living and Commodities competitions.

Ahead of the Civic Theatre's staging of "Jesus Christ Superstar," Ted Neeley, star of the 1973 film, will visit Allentown for a special appearance.

The Lehigh Valley Arts and Culture Alliance is offering grants to individual artists and nonprofits to help revamp parts of downtown Allentown. LVACA also seeks artists to paint a mural on the Spiral parking garage on Linden St.

ArtsQuest's annual celebration of Three Kings Day brought hundreds of families to SteelStacks Sunday. The festivities celebrate not only the holiday, but the cultures that observe it.

In the last year and a half, Allentown School District spent more than $1.4 million on new instruments and hired 34 educators to teach the related arts, which include band, choir and orchestra, among others.

David Lee Roth, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a vocalist for Van Halen, will perform at 8 p.m. Aug. 17, it was announced.

Marianas Trench, which was chosen the Junos' Group of the Year in 2013, will perform at Archer on Tuesday, Oct. 7, as part of its just-announced The Force of Nature Tour.

Lehigh Valley 250, a partnership among regional arts, culture, education and history organizations, was formed to create a series of exhibitions, walking tours, digital offerings and performances beginning this year and carrying through July 2026.

Sone Ntoh, an Emmaus High School graduate, will look to impress the Baltimore Ravens at its rookie camp the first weekend of May. The former Monmouth University star running back signed a free agent contract with the team.

The youth group's spring production of "Mary Poppins" begins on Friday, May 9, at the Charles A. Brown Ice House in Bethlehem.

Another Day Dawns, the only Lehigh Valley act in 55 years to hit any Billboard chart, will be direct support for Scranton metalcore group Motionless in White's two shows next week. The shows will be at 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 9, and Saturday, May 10.

John Lodge, who was bassist for The Moody Blues for most of the band's 54 years, will perform at 8 p.m. July 24. And Staind, which sold 10 million copies of its first five albums, three of which hit No. 1, will perform at 8 p.m. Sept. 11.

Students from the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts will have their creations showcased at a new "Industrial Chic" exhibition at the school's Corpora Gallery. There will be a free reception Friday evening on May 2.

Willson's studio is at 1321 N. 15th St. The final open house will occur Friday, May 2, through Sunday, May 3.

Augustana, best known for its Top 10 hit "Boston" in 2006 and Top 5 hit "Sweet and Low" in 2008, will play a free show at 7 p.m. Aug. 9 at the downtown and South Side Bethlehem music festival. The group is among a list of 323 musical acts Musikfest announced Wednesday will perform more than 500 concerts on its 15 free stages during the July 31-Aug. 10 festival.

Black Violin, Dark Star Orchestra, Sam Bush all set shows for Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center art SteelStacks.

An underutilized roller hockey rink at Jordan Meadows Park has been transformed into the Queen City’s first Mini-Pitch modular sports system focused on soccer.