Music

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.

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."

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.

Emblem3, best known for the 2013 song "Chloe (You're the One I Want)," will perform in Archer's Arrow room at 7 p.m. Nov. 14, it was announced.

Neko Case, who has been nominated for three Grammy Awards and also is a member of the high-charting Canadian power pop super group The New Pornographers, will perform at 7 p.m. Jan. 17.

Singer Gladys Knight, who from 1967 to 1991 had nearly three-dozen Top 10 hits in the soul and R&B charts, will perform at Wind Creek Event Center at 8 p.m. Dec. 4. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 15.

Here's a breakdown of our rankings for the best main Steel Stage shows for the 11 nights of Musikfest 2025 in Bethlehem.

It's been two weeks since rock band Heart canceled its opening-night headline concert at Allentown Fair, and it looks like the fair is set to announce a replacement.

For the first time, the two-day festival will feature a barbecue competition, along with 11 blues performers. It will take place Friday, July 19 and Saturday, July 20 at SteelStacks.

Through this month, the symphony is offering a 10% discount on tickets to its popular Holiday Pops concert on Dec. 21 and Repertory Dance Theatre's "Nutcracker" on Dec. 7-8, both at Miller Symphony Hall at 23 S. 6th St., Allentown.

Michael W. Smith, who has won three Grammy Awards and 45 Dove Awards and has been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 21.

ArtsQuest is holding a one-day sale that eliminates those pesky price-pumping fees on eight of the 11 headline shows at the SteelStage venue. But the sale ends at 11:59 p.m. today, July 12.

The 37th Annual Blueberry Festival runs Saturday and Sunday, with live music, food, kids activities, outdoor games, and of course, blueberries. New this year is the Blueberry Tavern Tent, serving centuries-old tipples for tasting and taking.

The Dickies and The Queers will perform at 7 p.m. Nov. 2 at Maingate Nightclub, 448 N. 17th St. Allentown.

South African rockers Seether, who had the chart-topping songs “Broken (with Amy Lee),” “Remedy,” “Fake It” and “Country Song,” will team up with Skillet, which has had 25 Top 10 Christian chart singles, 12 of which went gold or platinum, to play the event center at 6 p.m. Sept. 21.

Brett Scallions, the original singer of 1990s hit band Fuel, will perform an acoustic solo show at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 13, at Signature Event Center, 137 Erin Lane, Brodheadsville. Tickets, at $30, remain available at www.TicketWeb.com.

Duran Duran, which was among the best-selling acts of the 1980s, with five gold and platinum albums, will play Allentown's PPL Center on Oct. 21.

Hot temperatures and Jamaican-centric food teamed with cool music at the third annual OneEarth ReggaeFest at SteelStacks in Bethlehem on Saturday.

Scott Tournet will open for rock group The Record Company at Musikfest Cafe July 12.