Arts & Culture

On Thursday, ArtsQuest and public officials gathered for a ceremonial "brick-breaking" marking the start of construction work at the former Bethlehem Steel Turn and Grind Shop at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.

Straight No Chaser will perform at the theater at 3 and 7 p.m. Dec. 5. And the stage play "Waitress" at 7 p.m. Dec. 15 and 16.

Friday's show, which started this year's lineup of 48 concerts, gave the audience its first exposure to a new state-of-the-art sound system that replaces a public address system developed 25 years ago.

Two-thirds of the way through construction, the new Creativity Center is ahead of schedule, below budget, growing in size and adding new elements of creativity, opportunity and community, officials said.

WWE will return to the Lehigh Valley this summer, bringing its 2026 Summer Tour to the PPL Center on Thursday, July 16, marking the company’s first live event in Allentown in roughly three years.

The Freddy Awards is now in its 24th year. The ceremony will take place on May 21 at State Theatre.

Country music star Martina McBride and Justin Hayward, who led The Moody Blues for more than 50 years, are among four new shows announced for the theater's 100th season.

Musikfest announced 331 music acts announced for about 500 concerts on the festival's 15 free stages during its July 31-Aug. 9 run, with a July 30 preview night.

The season will offer 48 shows and open May 15.

Hard rock band The Used will perform at Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem on July 22. Tickets are available at the venue website or box office.

The women's boutique is located at 140 C Northampton Street in downtown Easton.

Punk band Pissed Jeans, which started in the Lehigh Valley, will perform at Archer Music Hall in Allentown on April 12.

Comic fans, gamers, movie fanatics, cosplayers and more will return to the Agri-Plex in Allentown this weekend for the 24th annual Lehigh Valley Comic Convention.

Chris Janson, whose song “Buy Me a Boat” peaked at No. 2 and sold double-platinum in 2015, will perform at Wind Creek Event Center 8 p.m. Oct. 9.

Kay Haring will read from her children's book, "Keith Haring: The Boy Who Just Kept Drawing," at the Sigal Museum on Saturday, April 12.

Swan Lake, written 150 years ago by Russian composer Tchaikovsky and one of the most popular ballets of all time, will return to the theater at 2 p.m. Oct. 26. And Let’s Sing Taylor — A Live Band Experience Celebrating Taylor Swift, which calls itself “the ultimate tribute to the music of Taylor Swift,” will perform at the center at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 20. And it will include a tribute to an even more recent hitmaker — Olivia Rodrigo.

Dylan Scott will perform Sept. 12 as the final show for the Sounds of Summer concert series. And Led Zeppelin tribute band Get the Led Out is set to perform Aug. 29.

Gilberto Santa Rosa, nicknamed "El Caballero de la Salsa" (The Gentleman of Salsa)," will perform on the festival's main Steel Stage at 7 p.m. Aug. 7.

Hundreds of students attending the event aimed to give students a chance to connect with ArtsQuest’s employees in the music programming, production, and other arts nonprofit sectors.

J&J Demolition Derby, a Labor Day mainstay at Allentown Fairgrounds, will return for its closing-night grandstand entertainment offering at 5 p.m. Sept. 1, the fair announced Monday.

The projects were among 81 community projects across Pennsylvania for which Gov. Josh Shapiro announced grants through the Main Street Matters program.

Chris Cagle, who had the No. 1 hit "I Breathe In, I Breathe Out" in 2001, and topped the Country Albums chart with his self-titled disc in 2003, will perform at 8 p.m. June 20.