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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Over the next few weeks, the Musikfest poster will appear on all platforms, including ArtsQuest websites. It will be used as the official festival 2024 poster and mug, as well as incorporated into other official festival merchandise and apparel throughout the year. -
Dolly Parton has announced that “Dolly Parton ROCKSTAR: The Global First Listen Event” will take place at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15.
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"Corteo," which Cirque du Soleil said has performed before 10 million spectators in 20 countries on four continents, will perform six shows March 28-31 at PPL Center. It will be the show's first time in Allentown.
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The festival, which normally costs $11 advance or $12 day-of on Fridays, will be free from 5 to 8 p.m. "each and every Friday," ArtsQuest announced.
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The last showing of "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" at Frank Banko Alehouse Cinema in Bethlehem’s ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks is Nov. 5. It also ends its run then at AMC Allentown 16, 1700 Catasauqua Road, Allentown, and The Movie Tavern-Trexlertown, 6150 Hamilton Blvd., Allentown.
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The festival still drew a combined 38,500 people over its Oct. 6-8 an Oct. 13-15, ArtsQuest said.
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Pierson has performed in various configurations, including bands, trios, duos and solos. Her Heather Pierson Acoustic Trio hit No. 2 on the Folk Radio Charts in 2015 with its song "Still She Will Fly" and No. 1 on the Folk Radio Albums chart with its 2017 full-length debut, "Singin’."
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The entire movie — all 2 hours and 48 minutes of it (more about that later) — is footage of a performance of Swift's Eras Tour concert filmed at the tour's last U.S. dates at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles in early August.
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On Thursday the new concert movie 'Taylor Swift The Eras Tour' will open at ArtsQuest's Frank Banko Alehouse Cinema, bringing Taylor Swift back to the Lehigh Valley in film version, but she has a long, real history in the area, as well.
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The expanded ice rink, which will be 50-by-120 feet — 1,500 square feet bigger than last year — will officially open Nov. 21 and run through Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 15
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Country singer Dylan Gossett will perform at Wind Creek Event Center on Thursday, March 5. The Temptations, who from 1965-89 had 45 Top 10 R&B hits, will perform with The Four Tops, who from 1965-72 had 15 Top 10 hits on the R&B chart, on Friday, April 10. Tickets are on sale at the event center website and its box office at 77 Wind Creek Blvd.
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Biohazard plays Allentown's Archer Music Hall, with Swollen Teeth, Bayway and Onyx, at 5:30 p.m. today, Oct. 31. Tickets, at $59.50 for general admission standing, remain available at the Archer website and at the box office at 939 Hamilton St.
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Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan announced Thursday that an Allentown man charged in a fatal shooting outside a child's birthday party last year has been sentenced. He will serve 11 ½ to 28 years in state prison in the death of an Alburtis man.
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Charley Crockett, whose 2022 album "The Man From Waco," 2024's "$10 Cowboy," and this year's "Lonesome Drifter" and "Dollar a Day" all hit the Top 200, will perform Saturday, March 7.
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Alfeni Romero-Taveras, 22, of Allentown, was charged Friday in the June 1, 2024, death of Angel Martinez-Velez on a basketball court at Fountain Park on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
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Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, best known for its 1970 Top 10 hit "Mr. Bojangles" and its 1987 platinum Country chart hit "Fishin' in the Dark," will perform Friday, April 10.
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The Indoor Auto Racing Series, in which the cars compete on the concrete floor, will roar back into the arena Jan. 9-10 to kick off the 2026 series.
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With ArtsQuest's 33rd Christkindlmarkt opening in three weeks, construction of its new Winter Wonderland area is underway on the SteelStacks campus. And ArtsQuest has announced additional details of the German-themed holiday market, which will open Nov. 14.
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Dog Man: The Musical, a live stage production of the popular children's graphic novel series, will perform at Easton's State Theatre on March 26. Tickets go on sale Friday, Oct. 24.
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Blues singer ZZ Ward, who was featured on Guns 'N Roses guitarist Slash's S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival show that headlined Musikfest in 2024, will perform Thursday, March 19.
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Parkland Superintendent Mark Madson, Assistant Superintendent Michelle Minotti and Chief Financial Officer Leslie Frisbie were awarded five-year extensions on Tuesday, the district said in a news release.
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Rob Thomas, whose band matchbox twenty’s 1996 debut album “Yourself or Someone Like You” sold 12 million copies and produced four of the band’s dozen hits — “Push,” “3 a.m.,” “Real World” and “Back 2 Good” — will return to the center at 8 p.m. Jan. 16.
