PHOTOS: Musikfest 2018, Day 2
The skies cleared on Saturday and, despite flooding issues putting part of Musikfest’s North Side out of commission, there was still plenty of ‘Festing to be done on Day 2.
The skies cleared on Saturday and, despite flooding issues putting part of Musikfest’s North Side out of commission, there was still plenty of ‘Festing to be done on Day 2.
After a rainy, stormy, humid week, things cleared up just in time for a beautiful day for a cause at Hellertown’s Dimmick Park.
We’re back with another edition of the New Release Radar, highlighting the new music you need to know about in the Lehigh Valley — and occasionally beyond.
Every epic tale has an origin story.
For Lehigh Valley Underground, it begins in rural New Jersey in August 2013.
It’s been one year since Valley-based original rock band The Hook started their DIY journey. Since then Carlos, Chris, Youssef and Joe have performed 60 shows throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, wrote, recorded, produced and released a 15-track debut LP, “Moonshine & Honey,” raised hundreds of dollars in support of suicide awareness — and more is on the way.
This October, The Hook is taking their debut album to new heights with a trip across the country to the Pacific Northwest for their first-ever tour, A Taste of Moonshine & Honey. With seven dates on the books (and counting) in Washington and Oregon, from Vancouver to Bend, The Hook has their four-eyes set on introducing their sound to the Pacific Northwest and bringing this journey full circle to frontman Carlos Barata’s second home. This June, LVU and Fig Bethlehem shed some light on The Hook’s roots in the region. This summer, The Hook will officially roll out their complete tour schedule on Facebook, Instagram and readysetgethooked.com.
“We’re incredibly excited to share our music in Washington and Oregon,” Barata said. “As a new band, 3,000+ miles away, we’re just blown away, honored, and grateful for how receptive folks in the Pacific Northwest have been. We’re really excited to take “Moonshine & Honey” to new places, and make new friends and fans along the way.”
For tour, album, booking and general inquiries, please contact the band at readysetgethooked.com, readysetgethooked@gmail.com, or Facebook and Instagram @readysetgethooked
We’ve had good luck with the weather so far in June. Not only did the threat of rain disappear on June 1 for both Out to Lunch and First Friday, but the weather for the past two weeks have been particularly spectacular when the weekend has rolled around!
We’ve teamed up with South Bethlehem’s Color Me Mine Lehigh Valley on quite a few music events over the past year. Some have, of course, been a part of our First Friday Concert Series, while we’ve also worked together to host performances during SouthSide Arts & Music Festival and other independent ventures.
On Saturday, August 25, we’ll be back at it again!
New Jersey-based rock-trio Best Hit TV announced their debut full-length album titled Being Emotionally Manipulative isn’t Very Punk Rock of You, which is set for release on July 20. The announcement came on with the release of their song “Part of Me” as a preview single. Recorded in their Newark rehearsal space, the album will follow two previous EP releases and a string of shows across New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York.
Bethlehem-based rock band The Beautiful Distortion is one of 60 acts that received a call-back to audition for the “Music Under New York” (MTA MUSIC) program in May. MTA MUSIC provides more than 7,500 performances each year at approximately 30 locations throughout the New York City subway system. Every spring, MTA MUSIC presents a day of invite-only auditions in Manhattan to review and add new performers to their official roster.
Due to take a road trip to Philly this weekend? Naturally, you can find plenty of live music in the nation’s fifth largest city almost any night of the week.
However, if you’re going to go that far, you might as well rock for a cause.