Celebrating Bethlehem's Southside Culture
Every Wednesday evening shortly before 7 pm, Zoellner Arts Center’s Baker Hall at Lehigh University transforms from an impressive, yet silent, concert space into a humming, bustling hive of activity. Students run in from every conceivable part of campus, shed their coats and backpacks, unpack their instruments, and bound onto the brightly-lit stage. Musical sounds…
As Halloween quickly comes into view, it’s about time to plan yourself a spectacularly spooky weekend! Of course, early Friday evening will be spent tending to the doorbell and passing out candy to the children of Bethlehem. But, as the trick-or-treaters head home and the weekend goes on, South Bethlehem will host numerous exciting shows…
With the strike of a crunchy, low E chord, the ride began. For twelve minutes I explored the diverse blues music of John Sears and found myself captivated by his new EP. Needless to say, I’m glad I clicked on that link. In commemoration of his still fairly new band, the four songs on “John…
The relatively small room was filling up quickly as myself and two friends arrived for the Stan Rogers Tribute show at the Godfrey Daniels Listening Room on Saturday night. Patrons mingled with one another, members of the band drifting among them. As fate would have it the second annual tribute show fell on the 150th…
Think Musikfest only offers live music? Think again! See a different side of Musikfest this year. New for 2017, the Spark Orthodontics Familienplatz boasts creative arts, workshops, rides, and more. Nestled in the colonial industrial quarter next to the Monocacy Creek on Bethlehem’s north side, Familienplatz has something for every Musikfester—from tots to adults, inexperienced…
On the nights of June 11 and 13, crowds of Beatles fans attended the limited showing of Scott Freiman’s film Deconstructing The Beatles’ Rubber Soul, as part of the “talkback series” at the SteelStacks Theater. Rubber Soul strikes me as the red-headed step child of “favorite Beatles albums.” Usually, the choices are Sgt Pepper or…
On Friday, June 9th Tom and Betty Druckenmiller with Norm Williams took to the Godfrey Daniels stage, which celebrated 41 years in March. In an attempt to make the listening room as much like a porch as possible the group brought iced tea which they served in mason jars and Tom brought along an antique…
Dick Boak from C.F. Martin & Co. regaled an intimate crowd at NCC’s Fab Lab Coffee House on Thursday evening, May 18, with stories of his fascinating career, songs performed on his beloved autoharp, and jam sessions with musicians from the audience including local luminary Dave Fry. One of the most amazing careers anyone could ever…
“On the Road & In the Round: Songwriters & Story Tellers” with Thom Schuyler, Craig Bickhardt, Jack Sundrud, and Jack Murray was held at Godfrey Daniels on Friday, March 24th. The men have been coming to Bethlehem for over five years to play together. The camaraderie and rapport between the musicians were infectious as they…
“I’ve always wanted to start a band, and I just decided to do that this past December,” John Sears shared on the patio outside of Southside 313, sitting across the table from his fellow guitarist Nick Baranowski. Sears is the frontman, guitarist, and vocalist of John Sears and the Stock Music Company. Dragging on his…