ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A three-time Grammy Award-winning a cappella group will play a headline show at Allentown Fair’s grandstand this summer, the fair announced Thursday.
Pentatonix, the five-member group whose self-titled album in 2015 and the follow up “A Pentatonix Christmas” in 2016 both hit No. 1, will perform at 7 p.m. Aug. 31.
Tickets, at $72 and $92, go on sale to the public starting at 10 a.m. Feb. 2 at the fair box office or at Ticketmaster.com. Special box office hours will be 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Feb. 2 and Feb. 8.Allentown Fair release
Tickets, at $72 and $92, go on sale to the public starting at 10 a.m. Feb. 2 at the fair box office or at Ticketmaster.com. Special box office hours will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 2 and Feb. 8. All show tickets include admission into the fair.
Pentatonix is the second headliner to be announced for this year’s fair, for which the 172nd year is scheduled for Aug. 28-Sept. 2.
It was announced Wednesday that country music superstar Brad Paisley will perform at 7 p.m. Aug. 30. Tickets for that show also go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 2.
Fair Marketing and Entertainment Manager Jessica Ciecwisz said the fair will announce a third headliner on Friday, and plans to present five grandstand headline shows as well as the annual demolition derby this year.
Pentatonix played a sold-out show to an audience of 10,536 at Allentown Fair grandstand in 2017 (at the time, the group’s largest audience for a Pennsylvania show).
The group also played at Allentown’s PPL Center in 2019.
New album, and its start
Pentatonix's most recent disc, “The Greatest Christmas Hits,” released in October, was its 11th album or EP to reach the Top 10 on Billboard’s overall Albums chart and its seventh to reach to Top 5 on Billboard’s Holiday Albums chart.
Its 2016 Christmas album, “A Pentatonix Christmas,” hit No. 1 and sold platinum, with a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” reaching No. 2 on the iTunes singles chart and getting 20 million video views in its first week.
Its YouTube channel has more than 20 million subscribers, and the group has generated billions of video views, according to the fair’s announcement.
The group formed in Arlington, Texas, in 2011 and that year won the third season of the NBC singing competition “The Sing-Off.”
Its first three EPs and two albums achieved gold records, with covers of Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” featuring Lindsey Stirling and “Daft Punk,” its tribute to the French electronic music duo, which has more than 400 million views on YouTube.
“Daft Punk” also won the group its first Grammy Award in 2015, for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella category for its 2022 album “Holidays Around the World.”
Breakthrough and achievements
But Pentatonix really had its breakthrough with its 2014 album “That’s Christmas to Me,” which went to No. 2 on Billboard’s Albums chart, sold double-platinum and won the group its second Grammy for “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.”
The single “Mary Did You Know” off that disc gave the group its first platinum hit.
Pentatonix has been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Album this year for its 2022 disc “Holidays Around the World.”Grammy Awards website
Its next album, 2015’s self-titled disc, went to No. 1 and sold gold, and had the gold hit “Can’t Sleep Love.” Its 2016 disc, “A Pentatonix Christmas,” also hit No .1, went platinum, and gave the group another platinum hit with a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”
In 2018 Pentatonix won its third Grammy, in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance category, for its duet with Dolly Parton on her song “Jolene.”
It has been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Album this year for its 2022 disc “Holidays Around the World.”
In 2015, the group appeared in the movie “Pitch Perfect 2,” and in 2016 starred in its own NBC Christmas special, “A Pentatonix Christmas Special.” It also starred in the 2022 Disney+ holiday special “Pentatonix: Around the World for the Holidays.”
