Music

A look back at some of our favorite arts, culture, and entertainment stories of the year, including Allentown Art Museum's must-see windows, Musikfest, Super Bowl bling, and a rock legend's last performance in Allentown.

Griddle 145, which since 2011 has operated on MacArthur Road, will close Wednesday, Dec. 31, the restaurant announced in a Facebook post today, Saturday, Dec. 27.

Pink Talking Fish, a tribute to Pink Floyd, Talking Heads and Phish, will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 10, it was announced.

The event center has announced it's offering 25% off tickets to seven select shows, including matchbox twenty singer Rob Thomas, jazz singer Diana Krall and alternative rockers Bush.

Dan Kelly, who has fronted the band Fortunate Youth since its 2009 start, will perform a solo acoustic show at 6:30 p.m. March 19 at Rising River Brewing, 1955 Willow Lane.

Clave Legacy Quintet, a faith-based jazz group, performed a free concert at the ArtsQuest Center’s Palette & Pour, previewing the Three Kings celebration scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 4.

Hopelessly Devoted to You, a tribute to Olivia Newton-John, one of the best-selling female artists of all time, will play Wind Creek Event Center on March 13. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 19.

Herman’s Hermits, known for the hits “I’m Into Something Good,” “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter,” “Listen People” and “There’s a Kind of Hush,” will perform at Easton's State Theatre.

Easton's State Theatre will offer The Magical Music of Harry Potter: Live in Concert at 1 p.m.; The Music of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and Rings of Power in concert at 4:30 p.m.; and The Music of Hans Zimmer & Others: A Celebration of Film Music, presented by a pirate from Pirates of the Caribbean at 8 p.m., all on April 19.

Sweet, opening for Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad, plays tonight at Penn's Peak, 325 Maury Road, Jim Thorpe. Tickets are still available online and at the box office.

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.

If you missed the fireworks display that brought Musikfest 2024 to a close, you can catch a time-lapse of it here, recorded from the Univest Public Media Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem. The 11-day festival ended Sunday night.

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.

While memories still are fresh, the reviewers at LehighValleyNews.com have ranked their favorites of Musikfest's 11 headline shows this year.