Music

At the Allentown Fair grandstand on Thursday, the hyperactivity was dialed back a measure for Blippi: The Wonderful World Tour, and the kids — who made up about half the audience of perhaps 3,000 — were at least exposed to learning.

The crowd at Allentown Fair for Cheap Trick and Blue Oyster Cult was there to hear the hits of their youth and — for the most part — got what they wanted.

Blippi: The Wonderful World Tour hits the grandstand stage at Allentown Fair at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29. Tickets, at $30 each, remain available at the fair website.

Nearly 50 years later, Blue Öyster Cult still is performing, and this year even released "Ghost Stories," its first album of new material in four years and only second in 23 years. The group also will open for fellow 1970s rockers Cheap Trick as the grandstand feature for opening night at Allentown Fair at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28.

Jayna Elise, who auditioned on "Idol" in both Season 21 in 2023 and Season 22 the past spring, recently was chosen for the role of Turner in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, which performs at Easton's State Theatre on Oct. 1-2.

Allentown Fair’s main Grandstand stage is inarguably one of its biggest draws — offering top music, performances and other acts in the Lehigh Valley’s largest-capacity arena. Here's how we rank this year's headliners.

The Hooters play Univest Performing Center in Quakertown at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23. The group performed to a nearly sold-out crowd in Quakertown last year.

Performances by tribute bands The Four Horsemen: A Celebration of Metallica on Aug. 30 and Strutter, a tribute to KISS, on Aug. 31 both will be free with fair admission. Maingate is adjacent to the fair and can be accessed from the fairgrounds at 17th and Liberty streets, Allentown.

Jonny Craig, the singer who led indie bands Dance Gavin Dance, Emarosa and Slaves, will perform at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, at Northampton's Gin Mill & Grille.

Musikfest, the largest non-gated music festival in the country, said it still had record crowds for its headline Steel Stage, and the most sold-out headline shows in its history.

Attendees can enjoy a cold one before performances while listening to live music at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival at DeSales University.

Tool, whose 1993 album “Undertow,” 1996 album “Ænima” and 2001 album “Lateralus” all sold triple-platinum, will perform at the PPL Center at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7.

Juneteenth Lehigh Valley will be celebrated with a week of festivities in 2023.

Over a 19-song, hour-and-40-minute show, Live’s performance in the summer's first paid-ticket show at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks ranged from acceptably perfunctory to positively stunning, but not with the consistency the band had with its former members.

Hall will perform new solo music from his album "BeforeAfter" at the Wind Creek Event Center on Friday, June 2.

El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, a popular Puerto Rican salsa band widely known as El Gran Combo, will headline the main Steel Stage at the massive music festival in downtown and South Side Bethlehem on Aug. 11, it was announced Tuesday.

ArtsQuest concluded its Memorial Day Commemoration with a "Time to Remember" ceremony and a rock concert.

Trischka leads a bluegrass quintet in a program he calls, EarlJam, another homage to Earl Scruggs.

The family-friendly festival will take place over Memoral Day weekend, Friday, May 26 to Sunday, May 28 at Cedar Crest College.

Looking for something to do to celebrate the unofficial kick off to summer? You can take advantage of these events happening right here in the Lehigh Valley.

Bluesy rocker Boz Scaggs, best known for his 1970s hits "Lowdown" and "Ledo Shuffle," performs at 7 p.m. Sunday at Miller Symphony Hall in Allentown.

If nostalgia is your jam, ArtsQuest has something special for you this summer — a limited-edition Musikfest mug.