Arts & Culture

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.

The final weekend of Musikfest is upon us, and while the festival is perhaps its best-know attractions, its "spectacles" — as Musikfest calls them — and street performers have become important to the environment of the ‘Fest.

Recently retired Parkland art teacher Linda La Due said her students were her greatest masterpieces.

Alt-rock band Wheatus, known for its 2000 hit "Teenage Dirtbag, will play Musikfest's Americaplatz stage at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks at 9:30 p.m. Aug. 11

Nazareth Area High School's production won five Freddy Awards — including Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical — at the ceremony Thursday night at Easton's State Theatre.

The ninth annual Good Neighbor Awards recipients were Darian Colbert and Yolanda Colbert, Ilene Hochberg Wood and Judith A. Harris. The ceremony was held at the Univest Public Media Center, home to Lehigh Valley Public Media, which consists of PBS39, 91.3 WLVR Radio and LehighValleyNews.com.

ArtsQuest has announced the lineup for its free festival that celebrates the musical genre founded in Jamaica, which will return to the SteelStacks campus for a fourth year, from noon to midnight July 5.

Jerry Cantrell, who founded the band Alice in Chains, will perform a solo concert at 7 p.m. Sept. 2 at Archer Music Hall.

ArtsQuest, in partnership with the city, announced ArtsQuest’s Friday Concerts at Union Terrace Amphitheater.

The fair on Monday announced the free-with-admission lineup for its 173rd edition, which will run Aug. 27 through Labor Day Monday, Sept. 1, at Allentown Fairgrounds.

About 9,000 fans watched Cosmic Baseball at Coca-Cola Park on Friday night. The game pitted Tri-City Chili Peppers and GloMojis wearing glow-in-the-dark uniforms and caps illuminated by UV light.

Kameron Marlow, best known for his 2021 platinum hit "Giving You Up" and 2022's gold "Steady Heart," will open the show at 7 p.m. Aug. 29, it was announced.

The celebration will take over Hamilton Street from 9th Street to 11th Street from 1 to 7 p.m., Sunday, May 18.

Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks will open the 2025 season — its 15th at the foot of the blast furnaces — with Boston indie pop-funk band Couch.

Old Dominion, best known for its multi-platinum hits “Break Up With Him,” “Snapback” and “Written in the Sand," will perform Sept. 4 at PPL Center. Supporting acts on the show will be singer-songwriters Ernest and Redferrin.

The stage show "Sesame Street Live: Elmo and Friends Say Hello" will be performed at 6 p.m. Nov. 21 at Easton's State Theatre.