Music

ArtsQuest has announced that 26 bands from Pennsylvania and New Jersey will compete over five dates in February and March, in front of live audiences and a judging panel of music educators at Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center.

Easton's band and orchestra took an incredible trip down to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl High School Band Competition at the end of 2025, dominated the competition and enjoyed a bit of Big Easy culture.

Scranton rock band Tigers Jaw will perform at Allentown's Archer Music Hall as part of the venue's Pennsylvania's Own series of Keystone State musical act. Tickets went on sale Friday.

Secondhand Serenade, the acoustic rocker who had the double-platinum hit "Fall for You" in 2008 and put three songs in the Top 20 on Billboard's Indie Albums chart, will perform Friday, June 19.

The Broken Record, whose decor and even food names follow a music theme, held a soft opening at its strip-center location at 6776 Hamilton Blvd. in Lower Macungie Township.

A look back at some of our favorite arts, culture, and entertainment stories of the year, including Allentown Art Museum's must-see windows, Musikfest, Super Bowl bling, and a rock legend's last performance in Allentown.

Griddle 145, which since 2011 has operated on MacArthur Road, will close Wednesday, Dec. 31, the restaurant announced in a Facebook post today, Saturday, Dec. 27.

Pink Talking Fish, a tribute to Pink Floyd, Talking Heads and Phish, will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 10, it was announced.

The event center has announced it's offering 25% off tickets to seven select shows, including matchbox twenty singer Rob Thomas, jazz singer Diana Krall and alternative rockers Bush.

Dan Kelly, who has fronted the band Fortunate Youth since its 2009 start, will perform a solo acoustic show at 6:30 p.m. March 19 at Rising River Brewing, 1955 Willow Lane.

The Doobie Brothers played Allentown's PPL Center on Saturday, Sept. 28. One of its biggest hits, the band tells everyone to "Listen to the Music." That song was sage suggestion for those who saw the band Saturday at PPL Center. The story of the show could be told in the song's lyrics.

The Doobie Brothers tour stops at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28 at Allentown's PPL Center. Tickets, at $39-$250, remain available at the PPL Center website.

Alan Doyle, a singer-guitarist for Great Big Sea, will perform at 7:30 p.m. March 6 — a week before St. Patrick's Day — at Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center. Tickets go on sale Friday.

College Hill PorchFest is back on Sunday, September 29, with its largest event yet, featuring around 70 performers across 35 porches, along with plenty of other community-based activities.

The Temptations, who from 1965-89 had 45 Top 10 R&B hits, will perform at 8 p.m. April 25. They will be joined by The Four Tops, who from 1965-72 had 15 Top 10 hits on the R&B chart.

The International Cultural Festival will he held at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 22.

Miller Symphony Hall is marking two major milestones for the Symphony Orchestra's 74th season as the hall celebrates its quasquicentennial and its music director celebrates 30 years.

Bullet for My Valentine, which has had 16 Top 40 songs on the Mainstream Rock and Alternative Rock charts, will perform at 6:30 p.m. May 9 at Wind Creek Event Center. Joining it on the show will be Trivium, whose 2011 album "In Waves" hit No. 13 and whose 2015 song "Until the World Goes Cold" hit the Top 10 on the Mainstream Rock chart.

Performers Kassi Ashton, Kelsey Hart, Meghan Patrick and Annie Bosko will be the lineup for Cat Country 96 Jingle Jam, which traditionally night for up-and-coming country acts performing acoustic music.

”A Sousa Band Concert” with the Allentown Band playing the music of famed composer and conductor John Philip Sousa will be held Sunday, Oct. 13, at Miller Symphony Hall, 23 N. Sixth St., Allentown. At the show, the first Sousaphone — the large-belled instrument in the tuba family named after Sousa — will be displayed.

Allentown Farmers Market, Brass Rail and food truck fare complement free local and regional musical talent through mid-October.

In the decade since Allentown's PPL Center opened on Sept. 12, 2014, with a concert by The Eagles, the venue has presented 83 concerts, including comedy shows.