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.

The annual winter arts festival will include a photo contest, vendors, and food trucks. Organizers are still seeking artists and vendors to take part.

Tickets for the show, the prices of which have not been released, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at PPLCenter.com.

The group, which over a career of nearly 60 years has released 22 gold or platinum albums, and which, according to Billboard magazine, is the most successful American band in history, will perform 7:30 p.m. June 27 at Easton’s State Theater.

Toby Keith was a favorite of Lehigh Valley fans. He played at least eight headline shows here, starting in 1998 at the Allentown Fairgrounds. His last performance here was a 2021 headline show at Allentown Fair’s grandstand.

Customers can order Taylor Swift-themed chocolates and Super Bowl cakes from Vegan Treats, the popular Bethlehem bakery on Linden Street.

Musikfest will have a new music conference in its lineup for this year.

With its workspace drastically reduced at the proposed Bethlehem Cultural Arts Center at the current site of the Banana Factory, the Pennsylvania Youth Theatre's search for a new venue continues

ArtsQuest's annual Souper Bowl brought hundreds to the SteelStacks campus a week before the big game. The contest pitted Lehigh Valley chefs and caterers against one another for bragging rights to the Lehigh Valley's best soup.

The Latino Ice House Committee held its inaugural networking event over the weekend. Said one of the artists: "We need that sense of community. We need to come together and support each other."

Professors from Penn State, American University and the University of Michigan will lead a series of discussions at the Center for Ethics at Muhlenberg College.

By the time Allentown Fair concert tickets went on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, 141 people were in line, bundled in winter coats and many with umbrellas.

As part of Black History Month, we celebrate the contributions of local artists, dancers, actors and community leaders, whose achievements stand out year-round.