Music

Country singer Kane Brown's concert headlining Allentown Fair's grandstand Friday showed not only that it's real enough to connect with fans of both genres, but really good, too.

Heart's headline opening night of Allentown Fair's grandstand on Wednesday wasn't the typical 50th anniversary blowout, but seemed more an acknowledgement of the band's triumph.

John Fogerty, who with the group Creedence Clearwater Revival sold 30 million albums — 13 of which sold gold or platinum — will perform his Legacy Tour at 8 p.m. Nov. 8.

With Allentown Fair opening its 173rd year today, music critic John J. Moser has 25 years of reviewing grandstand shows behind him. These are the best he's seen, ranked in order.

Heart will perform a grandstand show at 7 p.m. Aug. 27 on the opening night of Allentown Fair. Tickets remain available.

The new Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Regional Music Awards has an official website, and is taking nominations for its first ceremony later this year.

The Struts performed Wednesday night at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks. The focus of the concert was a celebration of the 10th anniversary U.S. release of their debut album, "Everybody Wants."

Cheap Trick, which had its first hit with “Surrender” in 1978 and 10 years later had its biggest hit with “The Flame,” will perform Oct. 22. And Jason Bonham, son of the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, with his Led Zeppelin Evening will perform Nov. 15.

The Struts stop at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20, at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks for a paid-ticket show in which it will play the entire album, as well as other songs.

Emblem3, best known for the 2013 song "Chloe (You're the One I Want)," will perform in Archer's Arrow room at 7 p.m. Nov. 14, it was announced.

Band of Horses, best known for its double-platinum 2006 hit "The Funeral," and City and Colour, known for its 2015 Adult Alternative chart hits "Wasted Love" and "Lover Come Back," will perform Sunday, Sept. 8.

Better Than Ezra, which had the No. 1 Modern Rock single “Good,” and the Top 5 Modern Rock hit “In the Blood” from its 1993 debut album “Deluxe,” will join the show Friday, Aug. 2, on Musikfest’s main stage

J&J Demolition Derby, a Labor Day mainstay at Allentown Fairgrounds, will return to the fair for its closing-night grandstand entertainment offering on Sept. 2.

Blippi, whose energetic and educational antics have made him a global sensation, will bring his live show Blippi: The Wonderful World Tour to the fair on Aug. 29.

Rockers Orgy, with opening act Cold, will play at 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 17, at Maingate Nightclub in Allentown. Tickets, at $25 in advance and $30 day of show, are available at maingatenightclub.com

Kutztown University's jazz ensemble was recognized by DownBeat magazine for Outstanding Performance in its Student Music Awards. It's the 10th win for Kutztown's commercial music program but the first for the jazz ensemble.

Tickets for both shows will go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Friday, May 10, at ArtsQuest Center, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem, or at www.SteelStacks.org.

The nine-man Straight No Chaser will perform at 3 and 7 p.m. Dec. 7, the theater said in a release. Tickets, at $39.50-$74.50, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, May 10, on the State Theatre website.

Malina Moye, who combines influences of hip hop, rock, funk and soul and whose 2018 album “Bad As I Wanna Be” topped the Blue Albums chart, will perform at the free festival.

The 116th Bethlehem Bach Festival takes place Fridays, May 10 and 17 and Saturdays, May 11 and 18 at the Zoellner Center for the Arts, Packer Memorial Church, Moravian University and Incarnation of our Lord Church.

Bethlehem Area School District students involved in the innovative Marketing MusikFest class announced the bands they booked for the big Lehigh Valley festival on Friday, May 3.

Nashville artist-songwriter George Birge, whose song "Beer Beer, Truck Truck" went viral on social media in 2021, then who hit No. 1 with the song "Mind On You" in 2022, will be Brad Paisley's "special guest" at the Aug. 30 concert at Allentown Fair grandstand.