BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Tickets for the initial lineup of 20 concerts and shows at the new Archer Music Hall in downtown Allentown went on sale Thursday — and revealed a bit more about the venue.
Perhaps the biggest revelation is the price of tickets. For the 20 announced shows, the average price for a standing, general admission ticket will be $46.30.
Nearly all shows will be standing general admission on the main floor, with seats available in the balcony.
Of course, there's a pretty wide span — from $19 for Gasolina Party, a touring Reggaeton and Latin Music party, to $77.50 for genre-bending cover band Lake Street Dive.
There also will be VIP balcony seats and premium VIP tables above the stage in the balcony, which will command top prices of up to $223.60 for post-hardcore rockers Silverstein.
Other details revealed were that, for most shows, the 1,600-capacity venue will have the open, standing main floor, and 132 seats upstairs, with standing areas behind them.
The VIP tables — one or two per show — will have four seats each.
Shows in the venue's smaller Arrow room, which has a 500 capacity for standing, general admission shows, will be a bit lower — an average of $35.75.
That's because most of those shows will be up-and-coming artists.
Archer will open with gold-selling Brazilian metal band Cavalera on March 8.
The Archer said more shows are to be announced soon.
Our Top 10 most anticipated shows
Here are the Top 10 shows so far that we're anticipating most:
1. Dead Kennedys, 6:45 p.m. March 30 (No VIP tables). $48 floor, seated and standing balcony; $89.70 VIP balcony; $206.50 balcony table.
One of the defining American bands of original punk rock during its initial run 1978-86, it had a gold album in 1980’s “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables” and 1987’s compilation album “Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death.”
It broke up but reformed without frontman Jello Biafra in 2001 with original guitarist East Bay Ray, original bassist Klaus Flouride, and classic lineup drummer D.H. Peligro.
2. Jojo, 7 p.m. March 31. $53 standing floor, standing and seated balcony; $102.05 VIP balcony; $150.45 balcony table.
With her 2004 debut single "Leave (Get Out)," when she was 13, Jojo became the youngest solo artist to ever top Billboard’s Mainstream Top 40 chart.
Her 2004 self-titled debut album sold four times platinum and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, and her gold follow-up, “High Road,” peaked at No. 3 and her third album, 2016’s “Mad Love,” at No. 6.
She also has had an acting career and appeared on several TV shows and in the films “Aquamarine” and “Runaway Vacation,” and made her Broadway debut in 2023 in “Moulin Rouge! The Musical.”
3. Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, 7 p.m. July 25. $59 standing floor and standing and seated balcony; $168.15 balcony table.
An all-star revue of New Orleans musicians headlined by horn-playing bandleader Trombone Shorty (real name Troy Andrews) and his band Orleans Avenue, combines ragtime, jazz, gospel, soul, R&B and hip-hop.
Orleans Avenue is a harder-edged funk group that uses brass-band beats, rock dynamics and improvisation in a jazz tradition.
Trombone Shorty grew up in New Orleans in a family of musicians and singers and released his debut album, “Trombone Shorty’s Swingin’ Gate,” in 2002. He since has released 11 more discs as a band leader. His 2011 disc “Backatown” was nominated for a Grammy Award.
Trombone Shorty in 2018 headlined Musikfest’s main Steel Stage with Cyril Neville, Preservation Hall Jazz Band and others.
4. Lake Street Dive, 7 p.m. May 18. $77.50 standing floor, seated and standing balcony; $209.45 balcony table.
Brooklyn cover stylist band Lake Street Dive, whose 2016 album “Side Pony” topped Billboard’s Rock, Alternative and Folk Albums charts, first captured the attention of more than 3 million viewers on YouTube for its cover of the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back.”
It later gained popularity performing on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” “The Late Show With David Letterman,” “The Colbert Report” and “Conan.”
Led by award-winning jazz vocalist Rachael Price, the quartet released its first disc, “In this episode,” in 2006. It since has released seven others, including “Good Together” in June. It has toured non-stop, and sold out Radio City Music Hall in New York. It has twice played Musikfest Café at ArtsQuest Center.
5. Static-X, with Gwar, at 5:30 p.m. June 12. $56.50 standing floor, standing and seated balcony; $136.90 balcony table.
Industrial-metal band Static-X started its recording career with its platinum 1999 album “Wisconsin Death Trip,” which produced three Top 40 Mainstream Rock hits, “Bled for Days,” “Push It” and “I’m With Stupid.”
It followed with the gold 2001 album “Machine,” which peaked at No. 11 on the overall Albums chart and also produced three Top 40 Mainstream rock hits.
The band has since released six more albums, four of which have peaked in the Top 40, and has put 11 songs in the Top 40 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
The theatrical heavy metal shock band Gwar lost founding frontman Odorus Urungus in 2014, and continues to perform with no original members.
6. Drive-By Truckers and Deer Tick, 7 p.m. July 24. $59 standing floor, seated and standing balcony, $149.85 balcony table.
Roots rockers Drive-By Truckers, over 26 years of recording, have had seven albums reach the Top 10 on the Indie chart – including all seven of its discs from 2006-20. Its 2010 album “The Big To-Do” topped the chart. Its latest disc was 2022’s “Welcome 2 Club XIII.”
Rocker Jason Isbell was the band’s guitarist and singer from 2001-07, when he went solo.
Alternative folk-rock band Deer Tick, critically praised for its raucous road-warrior shows and roots-rocking albums, has released nine studio discs since its 2007 debut “War Elephant.”
7. Silverstein, 6 p.m. May 11, $41.25 standing floor and seated and standing balcony; $223.60 balcony table
Canadian post-hardcore rockers Silverstein has had five albums reach the Top 40 on Billboard, including three in a row – “Discovering the Waterfront” in 2005, “Arrivals & Departures” in 2007 (It broke the Top 25), and 2009’s “A Shipwreck in the Sand.”
Its 2022 song "Ultraviolet" hit the Top 40 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
Its 2020 album “A Beautiful Place to Drown” was nominated for a Juno Award for Best Rock Album.
The first disc of a double album, “Antibloom” and “Pink Moon,” is to be released Feb. 21.
8. Cavalera, with Necrot And Dead Heat, 6 p.m. March 8. Tickets; $41.25 general admission standing, $126 seated, $138.05 platinum seated table.
The gold-record-selling metal band from Brazil which has placed three albums on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart will feature Cavalera performing songs from its early releases as Sepultura, which also featured Cavalera members brothers Max and Igor Cavalera.
From 1993-2017, Sepultura produced nine albums that charted in the Top 50 on the U.S. Album and Independent Albums charts.
9. From Ashes to New, 7 p.m. June 13. $38.50 standing floor, standing and seated balcony.
The Lancaster County rock band has had a dozen singles hit the Top 30 on various rock charts, including “Through It All” (No. 6 on Mainstream Rock), "Crazy" (No. 3 on that chart), “Nightmare” (No. 4), “Hate Me Too” (No. 8) and last year’s "Barely Breathing,” which topped the Hard Rock Digital chart.
Its 2016 debut album “Day One” peaked at No. 2 on the Hard Rock chart.
10. Comedian Jim Norton, 7 p.m. March 14. Capacity 635 seated and tables. Starting at $53.50 for seated floor; balcony $59; table $71.
Norton, most famous for his time on “The Opie and Anthony Show” on XM Satellite Radio, and now host of “Jim Norton and Sam Roberts” on Sirius XM Satellite Radio from 2016-25.
He also has been the co-host of the podcast “UFC Unfiltered” with Matt Serra since 2016.
Norton has performed stand-up since the early 1990s and was a regular guest on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “The Late Show with David Letterman” and more.
Norton also is author of two bestselling books and has three one-hour comedy specials available on Hulu.
The rest of the lineup
Other announced shows:
The Travelin' McCourys, 7 p.m. March 15 (The Arrow) 500 capacity-standing general admission floor, $38.
A bluegrass band formed out of the Del McCoury Band, The Travelin’ McCourys have released two albums – 2012's “Pick,” a collaboration with Keller Williams, and 2018's self-titled disc, which won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.
Gasolina Party, 10 p.m. March 15, $19 floor and balcony; $118 balcony table.
Originally started at Belasco Theater in downtown Los Angeles, a touring Reggaeton and Latin Music party.
Cowboy Bebop LIVE, 7 p.m. March 18, $59 seated floor; $59-$88.50 seated balcony.
A live presentation of the Japanese neo-noir Western anime television series that aired 1998-99. Netflix acquired the streaming rights to the original anime and began making them available in 2021.
Ashes to Amber, 7 p.m. March 21, (The Arrow) — $27.50 general admission standing.
Ashes to Amber (real name Kane Acousta), is an independent alternative artist who plays energetic, groovy acoustic music. His song “Iris" has almost 2 million Spotify streams.
Yot Club, with Vundabar, 6 p.m. April 10 (Arrow), $38 standing floor.
Indie-pop singer-songwriter Yot Club (real name John Ryan Kaiser) is best known for his platinum single "YKWIM?" from 2022.
Lil Skies, 7 p.m. April 11 (Arrow). $45 standing floor.
Raper Lil Skies (real name Kimetrius Foose, born August 4, 1998), is best known for the Top 40 hit “I” and Top 70 hits “Nowadays” and “Red Roses.”
His major label debut album, 2018’s “Life of a Dark Rose,” peaked at No. 10 on Billboard’s Albums chart and sold gold. His 2019 album “Shelby” peaked at No. 5. His most recent disc is 2021 “Unbothered.”
Kishi Bashi, 7 p.m. May 6, (Arrow) $38.50 standing floor.
A singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and Emmy Award-nominated filmmaker, Bashi released his solo debut album, “151a,” in 2012. Subsequent albums “Lighght” in 2014, “Sonderlust” in 2016 and “Omoiyari” in 2019 all charted in the Top 20 on the Indie chart.
His most recent disc was “Kantos” in August.
The Mountain Grass Unit, 7 p.m. June 14 (Arrow). $27.50 standing floor.
A rising bluegrass band that has released an album and two EPs in three years and specializes in reimagining country, jazz, funk, rock and even metal songs to acoustic bluegrass.
Killer Queen: A Tribute To Queen, 7 p.m. July 2. $53 standing floor, standing and seated balcony; $135.70 balcony table.
Lawrence, 7 p.m. Oct. 11. $53.50 standing floor, standing and seated balcony
Pop-soul group Lawrence, best known for its Top 40 Pop chart hit "Whatcha Want," is an eight-piece group fronted by siblings Gracie and Clyde Lawrence. It released its debut album, "Breakfast," in 2016.
"Family Business," its fourth disc, was released last year and included its hit single "Don't Lose Sight," which was featured in a Microsoft commercial.
It peaked at No. 33 on the Pop chart and helped get Lawrence a performance spot on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and "CBS Saturday Morning."
Outside of the band, Gracie Lawrence is an actress who was a regular on the series "The Sex Lives of College Girls" on Max, and on Broadway, starring in "Just in Time," a new musical that tells the story of legendary singer Bobby Darin.
