Music

Musikfest, the largest non-gated music festival in the country, said it still had record crowds for its headline Steel Stage, and the most sold-out headline shows in its history.

Rod Stewart, who in his 55-year recording career has sold more than 40 million albums in the United States alone and had nearly 30 Top 25 hits, will perform at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23.

Rock 'n' roll road veterans ZZ Top brought its time-tested Texas blues-driven sound to South Bethlehem’s Steel Stage for the final headline show of the 10-day festival.

This year's Musikfest was at times disrupted by rain and severe storms. Despite the challenges, 2024 will probably rank in the Top 10 'Fests for attendance, organizers said.

The rapper and actor performed a medley of his greatest hits at Musikfest including "Rollout (My Business)" and "Area Codes."

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.

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.

One of the standout pieces of merch for this year's Musikfest is the '85 vintage tee, a product of local printer Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations, which has harbored a love for the local arts scene for years.

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.

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.

Elvis Costello, whose career bridged punk and new wave music with mainstream, will perform with his band The Imposters at 8 p.m. Sept. 8 at Wind Creek Event Center, it was announced. Joining him onstage will be guitarist Charlie Sexton, who hit the Billboard chart with his own album in 1989, then toured with Bob Dylan and recorded with Lucinda Williams and Shawn Colvin.

Eric Hutchinson's new Best Of tour stops at Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks at 7:30 p.m. tonight, April 23. Tickets for the show, at $40 (some areas are sold out) remain available at the SteelStacks website.

Submissions for the singing competition will be accepted until June, but organizers say early applicants have the competitive edge. The winner will take home $2,000.

"The Book of Mormon," which has grossed nearly $1billion, making it one of the most successful musicals of all time, will return to the theater for three performances Sept. 27-28.

Visitors can find rare records and artwork at the free flea market that will take place from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Charles A. Smith Ice House in Bethlehem. Later in the day, four punk bands will take the stage.

Archer Music Hall, the new downtown concert venue, has announced a concert series that will showcase Pennsylvania acts. The series, called Pennsylvania’s Own, will start May 9 with Motionless in White.

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 8:30 p.m. Aug. 20.

Z.Z. Top, which had the hits “Tush” in the 1970s and “Legs” and “Sharp Dressed Man” in the 1980s, will perform at Wind Creek Event Center at 8 p.m. Sept. 21, it was announced Tuesday.

Three Dog Night, which from 1975-83 had 19 Top 30 hits on the Billboard Singles chart, and Little River Band, which had 11 Top 30 hits from 1977-83, will perform at 6 p.m. Aug. 15.

The festival will be held Friday and Saturday, July 18-19, on the SteelStacks campus, with performances at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks and the Town Square Community Stage.

Punk band Pissed Jeans, which started in the Lehigh Valley, will perform at Archer Music Hall in Allentown on April 12.

Chris Janson, whose song “Buy Me a Boat” peaked at No. 2 and sold double-platinum in 2015, will perform at Wind Creek Event Center 8 p.m. Oct. 9.