BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Indie-pop trio AJR will headline the main stage at Bethlehem's Musikfest festival on the opening night of the festival's 40th year, it was announced Monday.
AJR, a brother trio known for its hits "I'm Ready," "Weak," "Burn Down the House" and "Bang," will perform Aug. 4.
They join a previously announced show on Aug. 9 by alt-rockers Goo Goo Dolls and O.A.R. and Grammy Award-winning country music duo Dan + Shay on Aug. 6 in Musikfest’s main stage lineup.
- Musikfest has announced indie-pop trio AJR will headline the festival next summer
- The trio joins country duo Dan + Shay and alt-rockers Goo Goo Dolls and O.A.R. in Musikfest's main stage lineup
- Tickets go on sale Friday
Tickets, at $35-$89 and $224 for Steel Terrace, go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Friday at the ArtsQuest Center box office at 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem, at www.musikfest.org and 610-332-3378.
AJR headlined Allentown Fair last year.
The three brothers, native New Yorkers, use the initials from their first names -- Adam, Jack and Ryan Met (nee Metzger) – to call themselves AJR.
AJR released its debut album, "Living Room," in 2015, with its double-platinum hit "I'm Ready."
But it hit the charts in 2017 its platinum sophomore album, "The Click," and its triple-platinum hit "Weak" and the platinum follow-up "Sober Up" in 2017. Its single "Burn Down the House" in 2018 went double platinum.
It 2019 album "Neotheater" went to No. 1 on the Indie albums chart, and produced the platinum hit "100 Bad Days."
Its most recent album, 2021's "OK Orchestra," also hit No. 1 on the Indie albums chart and No. 10 on the overall albums chart and had sold gold status.
It produced the double-platinum hit "Bang," which gave the trio its first Top 10 overall hit, and its most recent hit, the platinum "Way Less Said."
The announcement comes in time for tickets to be bought as holiday gifts.
Musikfest will run Aug. 4-13 in downtown Bethlehem and the SteelStacks campus in South Bethlehem.
Musikfest for the past two years has not only returned from the pandemic restrictions, but added an 11th headline act by offering a Thursday “preview” concert. It was country star Darius Rucker in 2021 and Boyz II Men last year.
