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.
-
Heart's headline opening night of Allentown Fair's grandstand on Wednesday wasn't the typical 50th anniversary blowout, but seemed more an acknowledgement of the band's triumph. -
John Fogerty, who with the group Creedence Clearwater Revival sold 30 million albums — 13 of which sold gold or platinum — will perform his Legacy Tour at 8 p.m. Nov. 8.
-
With Allentown Fair opening its 173rd year today, music critic John J. Moser has 25 years of reviewing grandstand shows behind him. These are the best he's seen, ranked in order.
-
Heart will perform a grandstand show at 7 p.m. Aug. 27 on the opening night of Allentown Fair. Tickets remain available.
-
The new Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Regional Music Awards has an official website, and is taking nominations for its first ceremony later this year.
-
ArtsQuest's Cold Brew Hullabaloo, a cold coffee convention that debuted at Musikfest Café at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks last year, will return Sept. 14, it was announced.
-
The Struts performed Wednesday night at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks. The focus of the concert was a celebration of the 10th anniversary U.S. release of their debut album, "Everybody Wants."
-
The new eatery, Okatshe, will open at 947 W. Hamilton St., connected to The Moxy Allentown Downtown Hotel in mid-September, Garces announced in a release.
-
Cheap Trick, which had its first hit with “Surrender” in 1978 and 10 years later had its biggest hit with “The Flame,” will perform Oct. 22. And Jason Bonham, son of the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, with his Led Zeppelin Evening will perform Nov. 15.
-
The Struts stop at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20, at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks for a paid-ticket show in which it will play the entire album, as well as other songs.
-
Better Than Ezra, which had the No. 1 Modern Rock single “Good,” and the Top 5 Modern Rock hit “In the Blood” from its 1993 debut album “Deluxe,” will join the show Friday, Aug. 2, on Musikfest’s main stage
-
Godsmack, best known for its hits “Bulletproof,” “Voodoo” and “I Stand Alone,” will perform at the arena at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25.
-
J&J Demolition Derby, a Labor Day mainstay at Allentown Fairgrounds, will return to the fair for its closing-night grandstand entertainment offering on Sept. 2.
-
Blippi, whose energetic and educational antics have made him a global sensation, will bring his live show Blippi: The Wonderful World Tour to the fair on Aug. 29.
-
Rockers Orgy, with opening act Cold, will play at 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 17, at Maingate Nightclub in Allentown. Tickets, at $25 in advance and $30 day of show, are available at maingatenightclub.com
-
Tickets for both shows will go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Friday, May 10, at ArtsQuest Center, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem, or at www.SteelStacks.org.
-
The nine-man Straight No Chaser will perform at 3 and 7 p.m. Dec. 7, the theater said in a release. Tickets, at $39.50-$74.50, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, May 10, on the State Theatre website.
-
Malina Moye, who combines influences of hip hop, rock, funk and soul and whose 2018 album “Bad As I Wanna Be” topped the Blue Albums chart, will perform at the free festival.
-
Almost Queen, which performs the music of bombastic 1970s and '80s rockers Queen, will perform July 13 at Univest Performance Center in Quakertown. And Get The Led Out, which performs the music of 1970s heavy metal band Led Zeppelin, will close out the season with a show Aug. 24.
-
Nashville artist-songwriter George Birge, whose song "Beer Beer, Truck Truck" went viral on social media in 2021, then who hit No. 1 with the song "Mind On You" in 2022, will be Brad Paisley's "special guest" at the Aug. 30 concert at Allentown Fair grandstand.
-
The series of 10 Wednesday night movies will feature new and classic Disney fare, recent blockbusters and some films with important anniversaries.
-
Sugar Ray, which had the chart-topping hits "Fly" in 1997 and "Every Morning" in 1999, will take Musikfest's Steel Stage on Aug. 2, the first full night of the festival.
