BETHLEHEM, Pa. — They are talent agents in the making.
Thanks to a marketing class taught at Freedom and Liberty high schools in Bethlehem, Alexis Lester and Logan Sheetz already have selected their college majors.
The pair are enrolled in Marketing Musikfest, an elective course that gives students real-world experience in choosing bands for ArtsQuest's huge Musikfest festival in downtown and South Side Bethlehem, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary with its annual August run.
- Students from a "Marketing Musikfest" class have selected six bands to perform at Musikfest
- The class members attend Freedom and Liberty High Schools
- The free concerts take place Saturday, Aug. 5 at the Plaza Tropical
On Wednesday, the class announced musical acts they have booked to perform on Aug. 5 at Musikfest's Plaza Tropical stage.
Among the line-up: Surf and rock groupBlue Wave Theory, indie rock band The Skating Party, "The Voice" alum Christian Porter, alt-rockers Flavor Waveand Brooklyn duo The Locations.
Local high school band Alter Ego also will take the stage at the festival for the first time. The band is made up of students at Freedom and Wilson Area High School in Easton and was chosen winner of Freedom's F.A.M.E (Freedom's Amazing Musicians and Entertainers) contest.
Booking bands, writing releases
Marketing Musikfest is the brainchild of ArtsQuest Chief Programming Officer Patrick Brogan and Bethlehem School District Assistant Superintendent Jack Silva, who came up with the class in 2012.
The course started in 2013 and was led by business teachers Anne Skelly at Liberty and Robert Petrosky at Freedom. Matthew Philips took over the class in 2023 for Skelly, who recently retired.
During the semester, students work alongside ArtsQuest staff who teach them about negotiating with bands and musicians, graphic design tips, advertising on social media and communications tools such as the ABCs of press releases and how to send professional emails.
"The premise of engaging high school students in real-world business applications of concert and festival promotions seems simple enough, but it's so much more than that," Brogan said.
"Over the course of the semester, the students flex new muscles in further developing their communication skills, negotiation skills, discerning curation of musical acts, marketing strategy and thought, civil engagement in their very own community."
Making the cut
In the classroom, students are given access to Sonicbids, a music industry website that connects bands, music promoters and major brands through an online platform.
"We spent a couple days on Sonicbids looking at bands and listening to their music and then we decide our favorites," Sheetz, a junior at Liberty, said.
The teens choose music from different genres ranging from pop darlings to beachy tunes, so that everything doesn't sound the same onstage.
"First, we pick what we like," Lester said. "Luckily, there are a lot people in the class and we all have different opinions. We're in different groups and it ends up being diversified without even trying."
Often, the students' work doesn't end with the class.
Class members often volunteer at the festival during the performances of the bands they book, so they get a chance to meet the artists and celebrate what they've learned.
"I learned a lot about music throughout this process. I also learned about the difference aspects of (the festival). I never considered how much work is put in to get an artist on the stage."Alexis Lester, senior at Freedom High School
"At the beginning of the school year, I didn't know much about marketing," Lester said. "I had no idea what I wanted to major in.
"Honestly, I'm so grateful I decided to take these classes. I really want to go to college for marketing and I would love to do really great things with it."
The free concerts start at noon at the T-Mobile Plaza Tropical, Main and Spring Streets.
