Arts & Culture

ArtsQuest and Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks announced Monday an open call for artists to create an official poster and program book artwork for the 2026 Levitt concert season. The deadline to apply to the artist open call is Friday, Dec. 12, and finalists will be notified by Friday, Dec. 19.

Country singer, songwriter and fiddler Alison Krauss will perform at Easton's State Theatre at 7:30 p.m. July 20.

A capella group Straight No Chaser, with members Walter Chase of Forks and Jerome Collins of Allentown (front, third from left) play two shows at Easton's State Theatre today, Dec 7.

Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites on Saturday night recognized Historic Hotel Bethlehem for its historical preservation efforts. The group held its annual Benefactor’s Reception & Awards ceremony at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks.

Organized by the SouthSide Arts District, First Friday is a monthly community celebration across South Bethlehem, featuring art, live music, cultural experiences and historical attractions.

A popular retro stylist band that was among the bigger-named acts to play an early show at Allentown's new Archer Music Hall will return to the area to play Wind Creek Event Center. So will a top comedian who has been a favorite of the Lehigh Valley.

Doogie Horner will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday during the fourth annual Winter WonderJam show presented by the "Your Next Favorite Band" podcast at Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem.

Dogs in festive sweaters and antlers stole the show at Lights & Leashes, the dog-friendly night at Illumination at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown. The event will return Dec. 17 and Dec. 30 for more tail-wagging family fun.

The zoo held a ribbon-cutting at the Fred & Anne Jaindl Family Barnyard and St. Luke's Children's Hospital Playground Wednesday, marking the completion of phase one of its Children's Activity Area project. The two spaces now are officially open to the public.

Pure Prairie League will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem. It helped bring mainstream success to the country-rock and Southern Rock genres with its 1972 album "Bustin' Out," and its Top 30 hit "Aimie."

Tickets, starting at $126.65, remain available at the PPL Center website or the box office at 701 W. Hamilton St., Allentown.

In PPL Center's nearly 12-year history, it has been host for a handful of "final" tours. On Thursday, June 11, ballad-rockers Journey will be the latest.

"There are few events around the world that bring people together like the World Cup," ArtsQuest Chief Operating Officer Curt Mosel said at a news conference Friday. "And this year, our team will be taking it up a notch."

Bad Company Legacy, which includes two members of the group that from 1974-92 sold 20 million copies of hits such as “Can’t Get Enough,” “Feel Like Making Love” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy,” will perform at 7 p.m. Nov. 1. And Morgan Wade, whose hit "Wilder Days" helped get her nominated for the Academy of Country Music's New Female Artist of the Year in 2023, will perform at 8 p.m. Aug. 28.

A rainy Memorial Day weekend forecast is forcing some schedule changes across the Lehigh Valley, but several of the region’s biggest annual events say they’re moving forward — rain or shine.

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.