Arts & Culture

The Box Tops will be the opening act for another 1960s act, Herman's Hermits with Peter Noone, at Easton's State Theatre.Tickets, at $70-$90, remain available.

The new state-of-the-art system replaces a public address system developed 25 years ago. It will "deliver improved sound quality, broader coverage and an enhanced experience overall for performers and audiences," ArtsQuest said.

CountryFest, a free festival set for Aug. 21-22, "will bring the heart and soul of country music to the Lehigh Valley with two full days of live performances, great food and high-energy fun," ArtsQuest said in a release.

The fourth annual No Planet B Jamboree, a free festival featuring music, sustainable vendors and more, will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 25, at the Town Square Community Stage outside ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.

Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Patty Griffin and Canadian singer Kathleen Edwards will perform a show July 16 at Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center in Bethlehem. Tickets fo on sale at noon Friday, April 17.

Now that Musikfest has completed the announcements of the headliners on its main Steel Stage, the festival still has to reveal the wide offerings on the festival's 15 free stages.

The Struts, whose style recalls bands such as The Rolling Stones and Queen and who has had the hits “Could Have Been Me” and “Kiss This,” will perform at 7 p.m. June 28 at Archer Music Hall, it was announced Monday.

Jesse Royal, a Jamaican who blends traditional roots reggae with modern influences and socially conscious lyrics, will perform at the July 11 festival on the SteelStacks campus. Royal will be among more than a dozen acts across three stages scheduled for the festival, set for noon-1:30 a.m.

Brian Regan, who has starred in several Comedy Central specials and refrains from profanity and off-color humor, will play State Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 25, the venue announced. And Lewis Black, known for his cantankerous comedic style and also as an author, playwright, social critic and actor, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9.

Jessica Simpson, known for her 1999 platinum single "I Wanna Love You Forever," as well as for starring in the MTV reality show "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica" with her husband, singer Nick Lachey, will perform at 8 p.m. June 11.

The display lines one wall of the Government Center's ground-floor lobby, welcoming all who enter for the rest of February for Black History Month.

Kane Brown, best known for his 11-times-platinum hit "Heaven" and his nine-times-platinum hit “What Ifs” with Lauren Alaina, will perform at Wind Creek Event Center at 8 p.m. April 23, it was just announced.

You can still get tickets to the show, but as of Sunday morning, just two premium balcony seats remained, and general admission floor tickets were up for resale at a 131% markup.

In his first public performance since the "American Idol" episode with him on it aired, Allentown singer Seth Witcher on Thursday was cagey about his status on the show.

Dashboard Confessional will perform at Archer Music Hall in Allentown on Tuesday, April 14. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 13.

Black Stone Cherry, which is observing the 20th anniversary of its self-titled debut album and is best known for its hits "Lonely Train" and "White Trash Millionaire," will perform at 8 p.m. July 10 on the Univest stage, at 301 W. Mill St.

Box Fest XVII, a professional boxing card, will take over the new downtown arena at 8 p.m. April 3, it was announced.

Seth Witcher, 26, was shown for a total of 20 seconds of screen time in a montage of acts on which the judges disagreed during auditions for the show at Belmont University in Nashville.

Actor/comedian Patrick Roach, who plays the character Randy on “Trailer Park Boys,” will bring Randy's Cheeseburger Picnic to Signature Saloon in Stroudsburg on April 1 and to The Gin Mill and Grill in Northampton on April 4.

Colombian band Grupo Niche, whose album "Cielo De Tambores" hit No. 3 on that chart, will perform at 6 p.m. July 30, as a preview night for the festival, which will run July 31-Aug. 9.

Listen to the Dissonance will return for a third year Friday, Feb. 27, at Charles A. Brown Ice House at 56 River St., Bethlehem. Performers will be vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Judah Kim, singer-songwriter Clover, songwriter-producer Barney Cortez and Nashville-based songwriter Patty PerShayla.

John Melendez, who was known as "Stuttering John" on the Stern show, then spent years in the cast on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," will perform Friday, March 6, at Civic Theatre of Allentown's The Hub at Theatre514, it was announced.