Music

A popular retro stylist band that was among the bigger-named acts to play an early show at Allentown's new Archer Music Hall will return to the area to play Wind Creek Event Center. So will a top comedian who has been a favorite of the Lehigh Valley.

Pure Prairie League will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem. It helped bring mainstream success to the country-rock and Southern Rock genres with its 1972 album "Bustin' Out," and its Top 30 hit "Aimie."

Scotty McCreery, who won “American Idol” in 2011 and since has released three No. 1 Country chart albums and two other Top 10 discs, will perform at 7 p.m. April 26, it was announced.

Bush, whose 1994 debut album “Sixteen Stone” sold six-times platinum — the band sold 10 million copies with its first three albums — will perform Friday, Feb. 20, in Bethlehem.

Two Feet, which topped the Alternative chart, will perform Sunday, April 13. And Dayseeker, which this year had the Top 10 rock hits "Crawl Back to My Coffin" and "Bloodlust," will perform Tuesday, May 6.

Let Freedom Sing, to be held at 7 p.m. May 27 at Allentown’s Coca-Cola Park, seeks to unite more than 5,000 voices from across the region for “a choral experience to the community, uniting in celebration.”

“Weird Al” Yankovic, best known for turning Michael Jackson’s 1984 hit “Beat It” into the parody “Eat It” for a Top 15 hit that was certified gold, will perform at Musikfest 2026, it was announced.

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.

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.

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

Operators of The Archer Music Hall — Live Nation — very soon should be announcing the downtown Allentown venue's first shows, especially with February pegged as the opening month.

Starting with a show at Lehigh University's Stabler Arena in 1981, Dylan played the Lehigh Valley 10 times — some of them significant shows.

Ditch the Chinese food and the sweatpants: Here are some fun ideas to help you and yours ring in the New Year in the Lehigh Valley.

ArtsQuest in November at a gala news conference announced a renewed push to renovate the 26,000-square-foot brick structure that would open in 2027 or 2028.

"A Complete Unknown" — a biopic on Bob Dylan, portrayed by actor Timothée Chalamet — opens in area theaters today, Dec. 25.

The Freddy Awards aren't until May, but several theater departments have already announced their spring productions to be held in April and May.

Tigirlily Gold will perform on Friday, Jan. 31, as part of Philadelphia country radio station WXTU-FM 92.5's Ski Day at Bear Creek. Also performing will be 2020 "American Idol" contestant Megan Knight.

Cavalera, a gold-record-selling metal band from Brazil that has placed three albums on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart, on Monday announced its latest tour. Its flier lists a March 8 show at The Archer.

The Gene Simmons Band will perform at Wind Creek Event Center on Thursday, May 8, as part of a tour that so far has 14 dates.

Tommy Castro, who has won the Blues Foundation B.B. King Entertainer of the Year four times, will perform with his band The Painkillers on Feb. 27. And Low Cut Connie, the Philadelphia retro-piano-rock band that has shown up on Barack Obama's Spotify Summer Playlist and gotten effusive praise from Elton John, will perform March 5.

Eric Hutchinson, whose 2008 song “Rock & Roll” topped that chart, and who also hit the chart with 2009’s “OK, It’s Alright With Me” and 2012’s “Watching You Watch Him,” will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 23.

The Four Phantoms in Concert, featuring Brent Barrett, John Cudia, Franc D’Ambrosio and Ciarán Sheehan, will perform "iconic hits from Broadway and beyond" on Saturday, March 29.