BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Musikfest is going country again for 2024.
Old Dominion, best known for its multi-platinum hits “Break Up With Him,” “Snapback” and “Written in the Sand," was announced Monday as the second headliner for the 10-day Bethlehem festival.
The group will play the main Steel Stage at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6.
Musikfest will run Aug. 2-11, with an Aug. 1 preview night.
Tickets for Old Dominion, at $50 to $119, are available for ArtsQuest members today 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.
Rapper Ludacris was announced as the first headliner a week ago. He'll perform Saturday, Aug. 10. As with that show, Monday's announcement comes in time for people to buy tickets for holiday gifts.
Old Dominion in 2017 drew 3,600 people to a paid-ticket show at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks — the largest ever in the history of the Levitt's Yuengling Summer Concert series and bigger than crowd at three of Musikfest’s headline shows that year.ArtsQuest records
Old Dominion in 2017 drew 3,600 people to a paid-ticket show at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks — the largest ever in the history of the Levitt's Yuengling Summer Concert series and bigger than the crowd at three of Musikfest’s headline shows that year.
Old Dominion broke through with the chart-topping, double-platinum hit "Break Up With Him" in 2015 from its debut album "Meat and Candy."
Follow-up No. 1 hits from that disc — the double-platinum "Snapback" and platinum "Song for Another Time" — pushed that disc to No. 3 and platinum sales.
Continued success
The group followed with the gold, No. 1 album "Happy Endings" in 2017. It produced the hits "No Such Thing as a Broken Heart" and "Hotel Key," both platinum, and the group's biggest hit, the triple-platinum "Written in the Sand."
Its 2019 self-titled album also hit No. 1 and had two No. 1 platinum hits, "Make It Sweet" and "One Man Band."
Its most recent platinum hit was 2021's "I Was on a Boat That Day."
It released its most recent album, "Memory Lane," in October. Its title track hit No. 4 on the Country charts.
In all, Old Dominion has had 10 Top 10 hits, seven of which hit No. 1 and nine of which sold gold or platinum.
Old Dominion is a six-time and reigning Academy of Country Music Vocal Group of the Year, and five-time and current Country Music Association Vocal Group, and is a People’s Choice Country Music Artist of the Year nominee.
In addition to its hits, the band as songwriters has delivered major hits for Keith Urban (“Wild Hearts”), Sam Hunt (“Make You Miss Me”), Blake Shelton (“Sangria”), Kelsea Ballerini (“I Hate Love Songs”), Dierks Bentley (“Say You Do”), Band Perry (“Better Dig Two”) and Kenny Chesney (the three-week No. 1 “Save It For A Rainy Day”).
Success with country music
Musikfest, which this year is in its 41st year, rarely booked country music acts in its early years. But for the past decade, it has consistently booked country — with success.
The festival seemed to turn a corner on country in 2013, when it booked Darius Rucker, who gave the festival its only sellout that year.
Then in 2014, country singer Keith Urban also was the only sellout, as well as giving Musikfest its then-earliest sellout (by early February).
Rucker again was the festival’s only sellout in 2015, and Lady Antebellum its only sellout in 2016. In 2017, country singer Toby Keith was among three headliners who sold out.
Last year, Musikfest offered three country acts: Marin Morris, Walker Hayes and Dan+Shay. None of those sold out.
