Arts & Culture

While headliners make headlines, Musikfest continues to give big opportunities to local musicians from the greater Lehigh Valley, fueling about a third of the festival's performances.

A whole lot of fans of the Nickelodeon show came to see Big Time Rush in its new era as the weather finally broke at Musikfest.

Welcome to LehighValleyNews.com's Fest in Show, a daily offering of some of the can't-miss acts on the free stages of Bethlehem's Musikfest festival.

Originally from Norfolk, Virginia, Jason Benning never thought he'd find himself in the Lehigh Valley, let alone at a "music festival he's never heard of." Yet, it would lead to him meeting the love of his life

The six-time Grammy winners performed a medley of their hits at the main Steel Stage as the rain poured down on Thursday, August 8.

Chicago, which is among the Top 30 bestselling music acts of all time, with more than 120 million copies of its 46 albums sold worldwide, will play at 8 p.m. Oct. 25. And Engelbert Humperdinck, known for his hits "Release Me," "There Goes My Everything" and "A Man Without Love," will perform at 8 p.m. Dec. 7.

Welcome to LehighValleyNews.com's Fest in Show, a daily offering of some of the can't-miss acts on the free stages of Bethlehem's Musikfest festival.

Performances of eVenti Verticali SPHERE will take place at 7, 9 and 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, and 5, 7 and 9 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 11, on Lehigh Valley Public Media's plaza and ArtsQuest's Town Square.

In an hour-and 22-minute set at Musikfest's main Steel Stage on Wednesday, Lynyrd Skynyrd played 13 songs — all the hits, but also deeper tunes — spanning the band's career.

Bethlehem's Austin Shaffer downed five ears of corn in just over four and half minutes to win the Aw Shucks Corn Eating Contest at Musikfest on Wednesday night.

Bailey Zimmerman, best known for his multi-platinum hits "Fall in Love," "Rock and a Hard Place" and "Religiously," will perform at 7 p.m. Aug. 6, ArtsQuest revealed Monday.

Next month, Wind Creek Event Center owner Jeff Trainer plans to open The Broken Record, a restaurant in Lower Macungie Township that will combine a broad range of food offerings with a music theme — and perhaps more.

Crayola has announced the lineup for Crayola Creativity Week 2026, with special guests like Kate Micucci — a Nazareth native — and Questlove.

Just like the former Bethlehem shop, the store sells gently worn women’s, men’s, and kids’ clothing — all donated by members of the Barkley family.

Christmas City Village will run from Nov. 14 through Dec. 21, operating from noon to 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

Christkindlmarkt will run Fridays-Sundays through Nov. 30. It then will open Thursdays-Sundays, Dec. 4 though Dec. 21.

Illumination is back at Coca-Cola Park for the holiday season with more experiences and more lights. For its second year, the seasonal event returned with about 1.5 million lights and more chances to warm up and embrace the holiday spirit.

Holiday lights will illuminate the Lehigh Valley Zoo and Coca-Cola Park while Christmas City decks the hall with Moravian traditions this holiday season.

Circle Jerks, whose 1980 album "Group Sex" is considered to be a landmark in hardcore punk, will perform at 7 p.m. March 31 at Allentown's Archer Music Hall. Gorilla Biscuits and Negative Approach, two other hardcore band from the 1980s, will open the show.

"The Vault" is Lehigh Valley Public Media’s collection of original PBS39 programming through the years, plus community content made in the Lehigh Valley. Several programs are in PBS39's Friday night lineup through the end of the year.

Sabrina Carpenter, a Lower Milford Township native, is nominated for six Grammys this year.

Celtic Woman, an all-female Irish musical ensemble that has released 28 albums and been nominated for a Grammy Award, will perform at the venue at 7:30 p.m. March 19, it was announced.