Music

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.

Michael W. Smith, who has won three Grammy Awards and 45 Dove Awards and has been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 21.

ArtsQuest is holding a one-day sale that eliminates those pesky price-pumping fees on eight of the 11 headline shows at the SteelStage venue. But the sale ends at 11:59 p.m. today, July 12.

The 37th Annual Blueberry Festival runs Saturday and Sunday, with live music, food, kids activities, outdoor games, and of course, blueberries. New this year is the Blueberry Tavern Tent, serving centuries-old tipples for tasting and taking.

The Dickies and The Queers will perform at 7 p.m. Nov. 2 at Maingate Nightclub, 448 N. 17th St. Allentown.

South African rockers Seether, who had the chart-topping songs “Broken (with Amy Lee),” “Remedy,” “Fake It” and “Country Song,” will team up with Skillet, which has had 25 Top 10 Christian chart singles, 12 of which went gold or platinum, to play the event center at 6 p.m. Sept. 21.

Brett Scallions, the original singer of 1990s hit band Fuel, will perform an acoustic solo show at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 13, at Signature Event Center, 137 Erin Lane, Brodheadsville. Tickets, at $30, remain available at www.TicketWeb.com.

Our daily list of useful information, chosen to inform and enhance your day, includes news you can use and then some!

Our daily list of useful information, chosen to inform and enhance your day, includes news you can use and then some!

ArtsQuest will hold the first Upper Mac Days will be held Friday, June 23, through Sunday, June 25, in the Grange Park, the township's 165-acre open space.

Student performers took the stage at the Lehigh Valley Mall on Saturday and Sunday during the Lehigh Valley Music Teachers Association's 41st annual Playathon.

With a recent album, "Anthem," and a new EP, "When the Anarchy's Been Restored," set to be released, Flogging Molly will play Wind Creek Event Center on Saturday, Feb. 25.

Richard Thompson, who as a teenager played and sang with Fairport Convention — perhaps behind only Bob Dylan as seminal to the folk-rock genre — will perform at 8 p.m. May 17.

The city says by reducing the number of sponsored concerts at West Park, programmers will be able to include other bands in more neighborhoods.

The proposed Archer Music Hall would be a 31,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art entertainment venue at 935-939 Hamilton St. in Center City Allentown.

Allentown City Planning Commission on Tuesday approved the construction of a 49-unit apartment building and parking garage on West Hamilton Street. The complex would house primary occupants 55-and-older and adults with disabilities. Representatives of the neighboring music school voiced concerns about increased traffic and the safety of students, parents, and staff.

Domenic Salerni, who grew up in Bethlehem and is now a member of the Attaca Quartet, captured a Grammy for his work on the album "Shaw: Evergreen."

The band retains lead singer Ed Kowalczyk from its classic lineup, with new members guitarist Zak Loy, drummer Robin Diaz and bassist Chris Heerlein.

Allentown native and three-time Grammy Award-nominated jazz singer, Denise Donatelli, recalls how the music of legendary composer Burt Bacharach she first heard as a teenager inspired her to record an album of his songs. Bacharach died Wednesday at age 94.