BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Welcome to LehighValleyNews.com's Fest in Show, a daily offering of some of the can't-miss acts on the stages of Musikfest.
Read us daily during Musikfest for suggestions of the best music — and more.
The music
Cimafunk, 7:30 p.m. Americaplatz
Cimafunk combines funk and hip-hop, with his latest album, “El Alimento,” nominated for a 2023 Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album. ArtsQuest Programming Director Patrick Brogan said he saw him perform at Philadelphia radio station WXPN’s XPoNential Festival two years ago, and “they were the highlight .. and everywhere they go, they’re, like, the festival stopper that everyone’s talking about afterward.” Cimafunk played at the Newport Folk Festival last week. “Cimafunk is one of my top picks for the whole festival,” Brogan said. “A Cuban artist with an American band behind him. Afro-Cuban rock – it’s a dynamic forum.”
Joe Lazorik, 6 p.m. Lyrikplatz
Joe Lazorik is a jukebox — or, more accurately, an American songbook. A Lehigh Valley piano player with more than 40 years of experience, he specializes in party entertainment and sing-alongs, with a repertoire that spans turn-of-the-century classics, folk songs, ballads, patriotic selections, show tunes, TV theme songs and hits of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. Remarkably, he’s making his Musikfest debut.
Drew Green, 9:30 p.m. Americaplatz
Drew Green first had success by co-writing the song “Colorado” that Florida Georgia Line performed on its fourth album, “Can’t Say I’m Country.” Green has since become a performer in his own right, releasing his debut EP, “Dirt Boy Vol. 1,” in 2020, and “Dirt Boy Vol. 2” a year later. With several Spotify hits that have gotten more than a million plays, “he’s our country pick,” Brogan said.
Dave Fry, Noon, 1:30 p.m., Main Street
Folk singer and children’s performer Dave Fry is the very definition of Musikfest mainstay – and for the whole Lehigh Valley music scene. He was a founder of the venerable folk club Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem and in 2016 won a Lehigh Valley Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. And he continues his streak of playing every single Musikfest “We’re working on some 40th-anniversary spotlights, and he’s played at every Musikfest,” Brogan said.
