Music

1980s hitmakers Styx and REO Speedwagon performed a co-headlining show Wednesday at the opening night of the Allentown Fair grandstand.

The Allentown Fair kicks off its 171st year on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the Allentown Fairgrounds. The fair, which will include entertainment, rides, food, refreshments, exhibits and more, runs through Monday, Sept. 4 at 9 p.m.

Backed by a four-man band and a back-up singer, Sheena Easton performed 15 songs in precisely 90 minutes at Mount Airy Casino Resort on Saturday.

The summer spectacle returns with headlining concerts, amusement rides, livestock shows and free family fun.

The Hooters performed to a nearly sold-out crowd Friday at Univest Performance Center in Quakertown.

The festival will feature bachata and merengue music and Latin eats such as empanadas and mofongo.

The local singer will debut her newest music at the National Sokols on Saturday.

The Weight Band, featuring former The Band guitarist Jim Weider, will perform at 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24, at Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks.

The Hooters, who combined ska and folk-rock on 1980s hits such as “Day By Day” and “And We Danced,” will perform at 8 p.m. at Univest Performance Center, 301 W. Mill St. Gates open at 6, and an opening act will go on at 6:30 p.m.

Starting Wednesday, gates at the Allentown Fairgrounds will close between Liberty and Chew Streets, the north and south borders of the grounds.

The Musical Box, a Canadian band that says it recreates "historic Genesis concerts of the past," will perform the 1973 album "Genesis Live" at 7 p.m. June 15.

ArtsQuest has announced three new shows for Musikfest Cafe.

Archer Music Hall developers City Center and operators Live Nation gave the media an early look at the venue before its scheduled March 8 opening by gold-selling Brazilian metal band Cavalera.

Tickets, at $119, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 31 at the fair's website or at its box office on Allentown Fairgrounds at 17th and Liberty streets.

Peter Frampton, best known for his 1976 album “Frampton Comes Alive,” which was the biggest-selling live album for more than 20 years, will play Thursday, April 3.

Marilyn Manson, the heavy-makeup-wearing alternative rocker whose 1996 album “Antichrist Superstar” branded him a negative influence on young people but sold double platinum, will perform at 8 p.m. May 7, it was announced.

Nazareth-based Martin Guitar will showcase new guitars, including an acoustic double-neck, at the National Association of Music Merchants trade show in Anaheim this week.

Live Nation, the huge entertainment company that will run the Archer Music Hall, will hold a job fair Thursday and Friday, Jan. 23-24. It has said it expects to fill more than 200 permanent jobs at the venue in nearly 20 categories.

The Burt Bacharach Songbook Live is coming in April to Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem.

Pop-soul group Lawrence, best known for its Top 40 Pop chart hit "Whatcha Want," will perform in the venue on Oct. 11, it was announced.

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 perform on Musikfest's main Steel Stage on Aug. 5.

The broad range of shows coming to Allentown's new Archer Music Hall includes an all-star revue of New Orleans musicians that headlined Musikfest's main stage, an iconic original punk band and an early 2000s teen chart-topper.