Music

Regional country singer Kendal Conrad, chart-topping punk-pop group Boys Like Girls and more have been announced as Musikfest main Steel Stage supporting acts.

Pennsylvania Music Preservation Society will present Music Alive at the Ritz, a series of shows on Sundays through October.

Sponge, whose biggest hit, “Molly (16 Candles Down the Drain),” hit No. 3 on Billboard's Hot Modern Rock charts in 1994, will perform at The Gin Mill and Grill in Northampton. Sponge will top a five-act show at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 13 in what the venue calls a "customer appreciation pre-Xmas bash."

Foreigner, which ruled the charts from 1977 to 1987 with songs such as “Feels Like the First Time," "Hot Blooded" and "Waiting for a Girl Like You," will perform at Wind Creek Event Center on Sunday, Dec. 7.

Drake Bell, best known for his starring roles on Nickelodeon’s “The Amanda Show” with Amanda Bynes from 1999-02, and “Drake & Josh” from 2004-07, will perform at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 17 at Gin Mill and Grille, at 1750 Main St., Northampton.

Check out a roundup of activities, places, and times to see the fireworks as the Lehigh Valley celebrates Independence Day.

Fourth Fridays are back in Easton, promoting locally-owned businesses and bringing the community together with the return of the Cash Mob.

Steel Panther, which has had five albums top Billboard's Comedy chart, will perform at 8 p.m. Sept. 11 at Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, it was announced.

From 8 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. Friday, June 27, you'll be able to buy tickets for five of Musikfest's 11 headline shows, two paid-ticket Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks shows and nine Musikfest Cafe shows without paying any service fees.

Howie Mandel, who since 2010 has been a judge on “America’s Got Talent,” will perform with fellow comedian Brad Garrett at 8 p.m. Aug. 24. And Alan Parsons Live Project, which continues the work of Alan Parsons Project, will perform at 8 p.m. Oct. 2.

Bruce Hornsby, best known for his hits chart-topping hits "The Way It Is," "Mandolin Rain" and "The Valley Road" in 1986-87, will perform at 7 p.m. July 2 at Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center.

Sublime With Rome, the version of the ska band Sublime that reformed with new lead Rome Ramirez in 2009, will perform 8 p.m. Aug. 22 at Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem.

Scotty McCreery, who won “American Idol” in 2011 and since has released three No. 1 Country chart albums and two other Top 10 discs, will perform at 6 p.m. Friday, June 21.

Top reggaeton Jowell and Randy will perform on Musikfest's main Steel Stage at 7 p.m. Aug. 4.

More than 250 students will perform this weekend at Lehigh Valley Mall. The Lehigh Valley Music Teachers Association's 42nd annual Playathon fundraiser continues Sunday.

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.

Parliament-Funkadelic dominated R&B music during the 1970s, with more than 40 R&B hit singles, including three No. 1s, and three platinum albums.

Big Time Rush will perform at 7 p.m. Aug. 9, the festival announced.

Shinedown, best known for its 2000s songs "Second Chance," "Sound of Madness" and "If You Only Knew," will headline Musikfest's Steel Stage on Aug. 3, it was announced.

John Legend, best known for his 14-times platinum No. 1 hit “All of Me” from 2013, will perform “A Night of Songs and Stories” at 8 p.m. June 22 at Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem.

The group moe., which has played at most every summer jam festival, including Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Japan’s Fuji Rock and even the 30th anniversary of Woodstock in 1999, will perform at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 10.

The group, which over a career of nearly 60 years has released 22 gold or platinum albums, and which, according to Billboard magazine, is the most successful American band in history, will perform 7:30 p.m. June 27 at Easton’s State Theater.