Music

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

While the Lehigh Valley IronPigs’ stadium again will have music emanating from its baseball diamond — and will look to do more — it doesn’t mean the park is likely to become a steady stop on the concert circuit, General Manager Kurt Landes said.

Organizers had hinted that this year's crowds were expected to break records. On Tuesday, ArtsQuest confirmed it. More than 1.3 million visited Bethlehem during the 11 nights of Musikfest 2023.

The time-lapse was shot from the weather camera atop the Univest Public Media Center on the SteelStacks campus.

The 40th Musikfest drew to a successful close on Sunday night in Bethlehem. The nation's largest open-gate free music festival delivered more than 500 free performances, plus paid-ticket headliners. Organizers believe a record of roughly 1.25 million attended the 11-day event. An official count is expected to be announced Tuesday.

The legendary salsa group performed their biggest hits and displayed perfectly-timed dance moves.

The ArtsQuest annual fête has an estimated 900 volunteers in 2023.

The Goo Goo Dolls played a concert of 25 songs in 107 minutes at Musikfest that included all of its hits, deep cuts and new songs.

Goo Goo Dolls, the 1990s-2000s alternative rock group who produced the platinum hits “Name,” “Iris,” “Slide,” and “Black Balloon,” has sold out its concert for tonight, Aug. 9, on Musikfest’s Steel Stage.

From lack of parking and gridlock traffic to the increased prices for headliner tickets, as well as upticks in costs for food and beverages, there are plenty of reasons why some of the Lehigh Valley’s residents don’t like — with a contingent even going so far as to actively avoid — Musikfest.

The celebration of the Isla del Encanto in Allentown was organized by the Puertorrican Culture Preservation and held on Sunday, July 28.

Musikfest 2024 begins with a preview night on Thursday. The 11-day festival will feature more than 422 artists and more than 500 concerts. Headliners include Greta Van Fleet, ZZ Top, Ludacris and Jowell & Randy.

College Hill PorchFest, a celebration of music and community across the Easton neighborhood, will return in September, with applications for performers and porches being accepted until July 31.

Tickets for the 50 shows in the new season go on sale to theater members at 10 a.m. Aug. 1 and to the public at 10 a.m. Aug. 8 at www.statetheatre.org, or at the box office at 453 Northampton St., Easton.

Erica Silver, a music teacher with the Allentown School District, is the youth chorale's newest conductor and Alaina Swartz is the new director of education and community engagement.

Diana Ross, who with The Supremes had a dozen No. 1 hits in the 1960s, then a half dozen more as a solo artist in the 1970s and ’80s, will perform at the center at 8 p.m. Oct. 18.

ArtsQuest, in partnership with Trans-Bridge Lines and Penn State University, on Monday announced a new satellite parking lot will be established at Penn State Lehigh Valley.

The opening night (the fest continues 2-11 p.m. today) offered New York gospel-blues trio The Harlem Gospel Travelers as headliners, and they offered an enthusiastic set. But it was some of the supporting acts that elevated the experience.

Cheap Trick, which was to be the opener for a show by rock band Heart, was announced Friday as the replacement for Heart as grandstand opening-night headliner at 7 p.m. Aug. 28. It will be joined for the show by another 1970s hit rock group — Blue Oyster Cult, best known for its 1976 hit "(Don't Fear) The Reaper."

It's been two weeks since rock band Heart canceled its opening-night headline concert at Allentown Fair, and it looks like the fair is set to announce a replacement.

For the first time, the two-day festival will feature a barbecue competition, along with 11 blues performers. It will take place Friday, July 19 and Saturday, July 20 at SteelStacks.

Through this month, the symphony is offering a 10% discount on tickets to its popular Holiday Pops concert on Dec. 21 and Repertory Dance Theatre's "Nutcracker" on Dec. 7-8, both at Miller Symphony Hall at 23 S. 6th St., Allentown.