NEPA Scene Staff

Styx and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts kick off 35th annual Musikfest in Bethlehem on Aug. 3

Decrease Font Size Increase Font Size Text Size Print This Page

From a press release:

Soon after their stop at the Giant Center in Hershey, it was announced today that classic rock legends Styx and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts will kick off Musikfest’s 35th anniversary, headlining the first night of the Bethlehem festival on the Sands Steel Stage on Friday, Aug. 3 at 7 p.m.

Tickets for this concert at PNC Plaza (645 E. 1st St., Bethlehem) at the SteelStacks, which are $44-$59, go on sale next Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. to ArtsQuest Members and on Friday, March 2 at 10 a.m. to the public at musikfest.org and 610-332-3378.

The multi-million-selling rock band Styx is best known for their electrifying, upbeat tracks and soaring power ballads. Over the course of their 40-year career, the group has released 15 studio albums, six best-of compilations, and four live albums, garnering eight Top 10 singles and selling 30 million albums worldwide. The band draws from over four decades of joyous singalongs and hard-driving deep cuts, with hits like “The Grand Illusion,” “Blue Collar Man,” “Lady,” “Miss America,” “Man in the Wilderness,” “Crystal Ball,” “Come Sail Away,” “Renegade,” and more.

Joan Jett is an originator, an innovator, and a visionary. As the leader of the hard-rocking Blackhearts, with whom she has become a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, she’s had eight platinum and gold albums and nine Top 40 singles, including the classics “Bad Reputation,” “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll,” “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” and “Crimson and Clover.”

Since co-founding the Runaways, the pioneering all-girl punk rock quintet, at age 15, Jett has spent her life breaking barriers and challenging expectations. Her independent record label, Blackheart, was founded in 1980 after she was rejected by no less than 23 labels and has grown to be one of the longest running indie labels that continues to give voice to new bands. As a producer, she has overseen albums by Bikini Kill, Circus Lupus, and the Germs’ L.A. punk masterpiece “GI.”

The Styx and Joan Jett concert is supported by Capital BlueCross, PenTeleData, Edward Business Systems, B. Braun/Aesculap, and media partner 99.9 The Hawk. Other Sands Steel Stage headliners announced so far include Trombone Shorty’s Voodoo Threauxdown Tour on Musikfest Preview Night on Aug. 2, Brantley Gilbert on Aug. 10, and Jason Mraz on Aug. 12.

One of the largest music festivals in the nation, Musikfest features more than 500 performances on 16 stages throughout Bethlehem over 10 days. Proceeds from Musikfest 2018 support ArtsQuest’s free programming for the community year-round at the Banana Factory arts center and the SteelStacks arts and cultural campus. Dates for the 35th edition of the festival are Friday, Aug. 3 through Sunday, Aug. 12.

See NEPA Scene’s photos of Godsmack and Like a Storm at Musikfest 2017 here and the original lineup of Live playing at last year’s festival here.