BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Musikfest will have a Southern rock band as a headliner next year.
Lynyrd Skynyrd was announced Tuesday as the third headliner for the 10-day Bethlehem festival.
The group will play the main Steel Stage at 7 p.m. Aug. 7.
Musikfest will run Aug. 2-11, with an Aug. 1 preview night.
Tickets for Lynyrd Skynard, at $35 to $109, are available for ArtsQuest members at noon Dec. 13 for ArtsQuest members and will go on sale to the general 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.
“It’s about the legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and what it stands for, what the fans are all about. There’s nothing like getting out there playing a great show with Skynyrd and seeing people love this music.”Lynyrd Skynyrd vocalist Johnny Van Zant in a release
Rapper Ludacris was announced as the first headliner two week ago — he'll play Saturday, Aug. 10 — and country music group Old Dominionas the second headliner last week. It will perform Tuesday, Aug. 6.
Tickets for both remain on sale. People now can buy tickets for three headline concerts in time for holiday gifts.
It's unusual for Musikfest to have announced three headliners this early. Last year, for example, Musikfest didn't announce its first headliner until Dec. 5.
Third time at Musikfest
Lynyrd Skynyrd also played Musikfest in 2000 and 2010.
Best known for its songs "Free Bird," "That Smell" and "Sweet Home Alabama," Lynyrd Skynyrd is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the band’s debut album "Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd."
The final original touring member of the band, Gary Rossington, died in March. Original drummer Artimus Pyle is no longer part of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The band now travels forward "with a primary mission of celebrating a legacy that honors all whom have made a resonating contribution to the lives of hundreds of millions of fans globally."Lynyrd Skynyrd, in a release
The band now travels forward "with a primary mission of celebrating a legacy that honors all whom have made a resonating contribution to the lives of hundreds of millions of fans globally," it said in a release.
Johnny Van Zant, Ronnie Van Zant's brother, who has been the band's vocalist since 1987, said, “It’s about the legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and what it stands for, what the fans are all about. There’s nothing like getting out there playing a great show with Skynyrd and seeing people love this music.”
Classic rock has done well at Musikfest
Lynyrd Skynyrd released "Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd" in August, 1973. The album sold double platinum and included the hit "Gimme Three Steps."
But it was the band's second album, 1974's "Second Helping," which also went double platinum, that produced its biggest hit, the gold "Sweet Home Alabama," which hit the Top 10.
In 1977, the band was involved in a plane crash that killed singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist and backing vocalist Steve Gains.
Its album "Street Survivors," released three days before the crash, also sold double platinum and included the hits "What's Your Name" and "That Smell."
Classic rock has been a mainstay of Musikfest since the festival's first year in 1984, when it offered "American Pie" singer Don Mclean. The next year, it had Blood Sweat and Tears.
In the 1990s, Blood, Sweat and Tears returned, and REO Speedwagon, Three Dog Night and Credence Clearwater Revisited also played.
Even as recently as recently as 2019, the festival had Steve Miller Band as a headliner and in 2018 offered Styx and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and in 2017 had Chicago and Santana.
