Music

Hip hop, widely believed to have started in the Bronx borough of New York City, quickly spread to the nearby Lehigh Valley, says organizer Michael A. Frassetto.

The free tribute concert honoring two prominent members of the Lehigh Valley's music scene takes place at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 8 at Central Moravian Church.

The Celtic Cultural Alliance, presenter of the Celtic Classic Highland Games & Festival, vows to do "everything possible" to continue the event. Rainy weather severely impacted attendance and revenues during last month's event, casting uncertainty over its future.

Saliva singer Josey Scott will bring his new Josey Scott's Saliva to The Gin Mill in Northampton Borough at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30.

WLVR's Brad Klein speaks with Mary Wright, the director of Touchstone Theatre's Festival UnBound, a five-day event that kicks off on Wednesday, Sept. 27. The festival combines theater, dance, art, poetry and music.

The famous duo, consisting of Hollywood icon Kevin and his older brother, Michael, perform on Friday, Oct. 6.

The five-day festival features songwriting, dance and poetry workshops, a performance by Jesse Rubens and an interactive performance about housing.

The rainy weather didn’t stop the festivities at the 36th annual Celtic Classic on Saturday, Sept.23.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

Now in its 35th year, the event — organized by the Celtic Cultural Alliance (CCA) — will feature five stages of Celtic entertainers, Irish food, beer and whiskey, a Haggis Bowl contest, a youth fiddle competition and a Tartan parade with pipe bands.

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.

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 Grammy-winning band closed out the 11-day spread with a 90-minute set of their biggest hits and covers of The Eagles and Journey.

In a stripped down production that felt custom-made for the Musikfest stage, Morris capped a 17-song set with three songs that put a rush of energy into the crowd as the skies opened up over Bethlehem.

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.