John J. Moser
News DirectorI’m deputy director for news at LehighValleyNews.com and have been a reporter and editor at newspapers in Pennsylvania and North Carolina for nearly 40 years. I spent more than 30 years at The Morning Call in Allentown as a reporter, copy editor and editor, and for 12 years was its music critic and entertainment writer. I’ve captured more than two dozen statewide and national awards for writing and editing, and was part of a team of reporters in North Carolina that was runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. Contact me at JohnM@lehighvalleynews.com or 610-984-8183.
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At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 19, Copeland will headline ArtsQuest's Blast Furnace Blues Festival, performing on the Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks stage. The concert and festival are free. -
Straight No Chaser, the popular a cappella group whose membership includes two Lehigh Valley natives and had a viral hit with its internet video of “Twelve Days of Christmas” mashed with Toto’s “Africa,” will perform two holiday shows, at 3 and 7 p.m. Dec. 7, as part of the newly announced season.
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Set It Off, the Tampa, Florida, band whose song "Fake Ass Friends" hit No. 15 on Billboard's Hard Rock chart last year, will perform at the venue on Dec. 6, it was announced.
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“Tony n Tina’s Wedding,” which had popular runs at Musikfest Café at ArtsQuest Center in Bethlehem from 2012-17, will perform one night only Aug. 22 at Bear Creek Mountain Resort.
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The Bacon Brothers, which features acclaimed actor Kevin Bacon with his brother Michael, will kick off the new season Sept. 7. And Morgan Freeman's Symphonic Blues Experience will follow Sept. 12, with the Academy Award-winner on stage, narrating a cinematic journey through the heart of the Mississippi Delta, where the Blues was born.
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Joey Valence & Brae, which in August is schedule to release its third album, will perform at the venue at 8 p.m. Oct. 25 as part of Archer's Pennsylvania’s Own series.
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Pure Prairie League, which with The Eagles defined country rock in the early 1970s and had a No. 1 hit with the song “Let Me Love You Tonight,” will play Thursday, Dec. 4.
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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.
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Beep Boop, Beep Boop: A Sci-Fi Film Festival will be back at ArtsQuest Center's Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas for a fourth year July 25-28, with 11 films over four days.
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Pennsylvania Music Preservation Society will present Music Alive at the Ritz, a series of shows on Sundays through October.
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Gabby's Dollhouse Live, a live stage show with puppets based on the popular preschooler Netflix series, will perform at Easton's State Theatre on Jan. 27, it was announced.
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Criminal charges — including involuntary manslaughter in one case — have been filed against two Northampton County young people who, trying to replicate TikTok challenges, seriously injured and killed participants, the Northampton County District Attorney's Office said.
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Leroy Mendez, 37, was charged with aggravated assault, aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI and accidents involving death or personal injury, all felonies, police said.
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Maingate Night Club, at 17th and Liberty streets, whose owner Dominic Germano for more than two years has sought a partner, has closed for good, Germano said in a Facebook post late Monday.
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Brenda Rodriguez entered the plea before Lehigh County Judge Robert L. Steinberg. She is scheduled to be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 5 and could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
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Greg Gutfeld, whose Fox News program "Gutfeld!" is television's most-watched late-night talk show, gave a presentation at the PPL Center in Allentown on Saturday night. He said he decided that overcoming fear was part of the message of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot Sept. 10.
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Nick Hexum, lead singer for rock band 311, will perform with folk band Water Tower at Archer Music Hall in Allentown at 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21. Tickets remain available.
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Comedian Tom Shillue will perorm at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, as opening act for the Gutfeld Live 2025 show at Allentown's PPL Center. Tickets, at $49.60-$86.90, remain available at the PPL Center website.
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Matthew Torres pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle while DUI and other charges in the Aug. 4, 2024, death of Leanna Ferraj, 24, of Brooklyn, New York, who was a front-seat passenger in his car.
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Christkindlmarkt will open Nov. 14 and run Fridays through Sundays through Nov. 30. It then will open Thursdays-Sundays, Dec. 4 though Dec. 21.
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The 12th annual Winter Light Spectacular, with 1.2 million holiday lights — which the zoo says is more than any other Pennsylvania attraction — will kick off Nov. 14 and run through Jan. 3.
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The grant will be used to help replace all 91 windows with historically accurate, insulated glass and wood models to "enhance the building’s energy efficiency while preserving its historical integrity," a news release says.
