BETHLEHEM, Pa. — In 2014, Kendal Conrad, a Pottstown-based singer, won an online contest to share Musikfest's main stage for a duet with country music star Keith Urban.
This year at Musikfest, Conrad again will share the main stage with a top country music act. But this time, Conrad will play a full set of songs by herself.
She'll be the opening act for Dan + Shay on Aug. 6.
- Musikfest announced the opening acts for the main stage headliners at this year's festival
- At least five of the opening acts have strong Lehigh Valley connections
- Musikfest is set for Aug. 3-13. Tickets for main stage headliners are available on the Musikfest website
Conrad, who also plays frequently in the Lehigh Valley, was among the lineup of opening acts for Musikfest's main stage headliners announced Monday.
They also include several other Lehigh Valley favorites.
Among them are Slingshot Dakota, the native Lehigh Valley indie-rockers who are making waves nationally, and percussionist Pablo Batista, who is among the most popular Latin and salsa music players in the region.
Conrad also will play sets at 1:30 p.m. Sunday and 5 p.m. Tuesday at Musikfest's Main Street stage and 7 p.m. Aug. 11 at Lyrikplatz.
The 2023 lineup
Here's the lineup:
- AJR, Aug. 3: Livingston.
- Walk The Moon, Aug. 4: Slingshot Dakota. Slingshot Dakota formed in Bethlehem and now are based in Allentown. The husband-and-wife keyboard-and-drums duo of Carly Camando and Tom Patterson, who have been together since 2003 and caught a lot of industry attention at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, a few years ago, also will open Musikfest with a headline set at Americaplatz at 5 p.m. Thursday. Also opening, Brigitte Calls Me Baby.
- G-Eazy, Aug. 5: Red McFly. Red McFly, from Allentown, is a hip-hop artist who has produced beats for Kanye West and French Montana. He released his most recent album, “Life is Crazy,” in 2022. Also opening, iamchelseaiam.
- Dan + Shay, Aug. 6: Kendal Conrad. In addition to performing with Urban, singer-songwriter Conrad has opened for Blake Shelton at Dick’s Sporting Goods Open to a crowd of 18,000 and other artists such as Sara Evans, Aabama, Kane Brown, Jerrod Niemann and Dylan Schneider. Her single "Leader of the Pack" has more than 26 million views on TikTok and 1 million plays on SoundCloud. Also opening, Johnathan Hutcherson.
- Walker Hayes, Aug. 7: Breland.
- Keith Sweat & Monica, Aug. 8: Maxamilly. Maxamilly, a Miami native who now lives in the Lehigh Valley, is a multi-instrumentalist-producer who specializes in guitar.
- Goo Goo Dolls and O.A.R. + O.A.R, No opening act.
- El Gran Combo, Aug. 11: Pablo Batista. Pablo Batista is a master percussionist from Bethlehem, who has performed with artists such as Alicia Keys and Patti Labelle. He has played throughout the Valley with his Latin Ensemble and The Mambo Syndicate.
- Maren Morris, Aug. 12: October Rose. The country duo October Rose is from New York but played a headline show in the Lehigh Valley in 2018 at the former Pig Pen Fun Bar in Allentown.
- Train, Aug. 13 — Better Than Ezra.
