Arts & Culture

1970s and 1980s hitmakers Heart and Cheap Trick will headline Allentown Fair grandstand this summer.

ArtsQuest Communications Director Jennifer LoConte confirmed in an email that the festival will be two days — a Friday/Saturday lineup — free to the public and presented outdoors at SteelStacks.

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.

As the North American Music Merchant's yearly show kicks off in California, music lovers in Nazareth can check out C.F. Martin's newest lineup at their local headquarters.

Jeff Dunham will headline the Allentown Fair's grandstand stage at 7 p.m. Sept. 1. The comic ventriloquist has sold more tickets at the fair than any other comedy artist.

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.

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.

Straight No Chaser, the popular a cappella group whose membership includes two Lehigh Valley natives and had a viral hit with its internet video of “Twelve Days of Christmas” mashed with Toto’s “Africa,” will perform two holiday shows, at 3 and 7 p.m. Dec. 7, as part of the newly announced season.

Set It Off, the Tampa, Florida, band whose song "Fake Ass Friends" hit No. 15 on Billboard's Hard Rock chart last year, will perform at the venue on Dec. 6, it was announced.

“Tony n Tina’s Wedding,” which had popular runs at Musikfest Café at ArtsQuest Center in Bethlehem from 2012-17, will perform one night only Aug. 22 at Bear Creek Mountain Resort.

The Bacon Brothers, which features acclaimed actor Kevin Bacon with his brother Michael, will kick off the new season Sept. 7. And Morgan Freeman's Symphonic Blues Experience will follow Sept. 12, with the Academy Award-winner on stage, narrating a cinematic journey through the heart of the Mississippi Delta, where the Blues was born.

Joey Valence & Brae, which in August is schedule to release its third album, will perform at the venue at 8 p.m. Oct. 25 as part of Archer's Pennsylvania’s Own series.

Playwright August Kiss Fegley, director Katie Kunkel and Aubree Ann Williams star in the six-woman show set in a Colorado brothel during the 19th century.

Heritage Day in Easton commemorates the July 8, 1776, reading of the Declaration of Independence — one of just three cities where the new document was publicly read after its signing in Philadelphia. Activities and musical performances are being held throughout the day.

The ABC-TV morning show filmed at the oldest drive-in movie theater on Friday, July 11 as part of its "50 States in 50 Weeks: America the Beautiful" series.

Easton's Heritage Day, made famous for the reenactment of one of the earliest public readings of the Declaration of Independence, will feature plenty of historical reenactments, food, fun and music on Saturday. A fireworks display is set for Sunday night.

Pure Prairie League, which with The Eagles defined country rock in the early 1970s and had a No. 1 hit with the song “Let Me Love You Tonight,” will play Thursday, Dec. 4.

The Dubai chocolate trend was in the Lehigh Valley years before it went viral online. But recently, the trend has recirculated online and brought about new inspiration at local businesses.

Regional country singer Kendal Conrad, chart-topping punk-pop group Boys Like Girls and more have been announced as Musikfest main Steel Stage supporting acts.