Music

At the Allentown Fair grandstand on Thursday, the hyperactivity was dialed back a measure for Blippi: The Wonderful World Tour, and the kids — who made up about half the audience of perhaps 3,000 — were at least exposed to learning.

The crowd at Allentown Fair for Cheap Trick and Blue Oyster Cult was there to hear the hits of their youth and — for the most part — got what they wanted.

Blippi: The Wonderful World Tour hits the grandstand stage at Allentown Fair at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29. Tickets, at $30 each, remain available at the fair website.

Nearly 50 years later, Blue Öyster Cult still is performing, and this year even released "Ghost Stories," its first album of new material in four years and only second in 23 years. The group also will open for fellow 1970s rockers Cheap Trick as the grandstand feature for opening night at Allentown Fair at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28.

Jayna Elise, who auditioned on "Idol" in both Season 21 in 2023 and Season 22 the past spring, recently was chosen for the role of Turner in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, which performs at Easton's State Theatre on Oct. 1-2.

Allentown Fair’s main Grandstand stage is inarguably one of its biggest draws — offering top music, performances and other acts in the Lehigh Valley’s largest-capacity arena. Here's how we rank this year's headliners.

The Hooters play Univest Performing Center in Quakertown at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23. The group performed to a nearly sold-out crowd in Quakertown last year.

Performances by tribute bands The Four Horsemen: A Celebration of Metallica on Aug. 30 and Strutter, a tribute to KISS, on Aug. 31 both will be free with fair admission. Maingate is adjacent to the fair and can be accessed from the fairgrounds at 17th and Liberty streets, Allentown.

Jonny Craig, the singer who led indie bands Dance Gavin Dance, Emarosa and Slaves, will perform at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, at Northampton's Gin Mill & Grille.

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.

Gates for the headliner show now will open at 4 p.m. and the Old Dominion performance will begin at 5 p.m., the festival said in a release.

Slash brought his own 'fest to Musikfest on Monday night with The S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival, a celebration of the past, present and future of the blues.

Welcome to LehighValleyNew.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.

The Puerto Rican reggaeton superstars, who came on the scene in the early 2000s, performed a medley of their hits like "Loco" "Bonita" at Musikfest on Aug. 4.

Welcome to LehighValleyNew.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.

Marlo Shankweiler, guitarist for Melt, talks about her homegrown roots before her performance at Musikfest on Sunday.

In a rain-delayed concert of 16 songs in 97 minutes, Shinedown put on a virtual master class on how to please fans, playing a breadth of hits from the band's 21 years, connecting with the crowd and putting on a display of staging, with explosions, fire and images on a big screen.

Welcome to LehighValleyNew.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.

The three bands sang their hits from the '90s at the second night on the main Steel Stage on Friday, Aug. 2.

Welcome to LehighValleyNew.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.

While mid-afternoon rain on Friday forced postponement of Musikfest opening ceremonies, it did not deter folks from attending the festival — just as many food vendors expected.

Greta Van Fleet's hour-and-52-minute show covered just 11 songs, as the group favored long, meandering guitar solos, and a drum solo, over the hard-hitting rock with which it started.