Music

Christopher Jackson discusses his plans for the Bach Choir with Brad Klein.

Vanessa Collier, a saxophonist/singer, will open this year's season of free concerts at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks in Bethlehem with a performance at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 19.

Get ready for a mouthwatering fiesta at the annual Taco Fest in Easton, featuring delicious tacos from local food trucks, and refreshing beverages from breweries and bars.

A new ArtsQuest festival that will bring three days of family-friendly music, games, food and amusements to Upper Macungie Township, announced in February as a paid-ticket event, now will be free, organizers announced.

Concerts on the Grange is a two-day music festival that continues at 5:30 p.m. today, May 13, with tribute acts portraying The Doors and The Grateful Dead. Tickets, at $22 and $34, remain available on the SteelStacks website.

The students from Freedom and Liberty high schools booked the bands for Plaza Tropical as part of a marketing class.

The two events hosted in Bethlehem's Rose Garden will bring the city food and drinks, live music, artisans and more.

Yung Gravy, whose most recent hit, last year's "Betty (Get Money)," was his biggest-selling, will perform Sept. 2 in Allentown. Opening the show will be Gravy's frequent hit collaborator, rapper bbno$, best known for his 2019 triple-platinum hit "Lalala."

Pennsylvania Youth Theatre has initiated a $1 million capital campaign as it searches for a future home. The organization will likely be displaced when the Banana Factory complex is demolished for a new cultural arts center.

Badfish: A Tribute to Sublime, will perform at 7 p.m. Sunday, June 11. The band recreates the music of late 1990s ska-punk godfathers Sublime.

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.