Musikfest is an American music festival that has been held annually since 1984 in Bethlehem in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is the nation's largest non-gated free music festival. The festival begins on the first Friday in August, though it has been preceded since 2015 with a Thursday preview night involving the premium stage and adjacent areas. The festival ends the second Sunday thereafter.
Musikfest draws thousands of visitors to Bethlehem from around the nation and world in a celebration that weaves through a Moravian community that dates back to 1741. Festival visitors are treated to hundreds of free shows with great genre variety over the course of the event. Each night, the festival's premium stage, Steel Stage, formerly known as RiverPlace and Kunstplatz, hosts a nationally known recording artist. These premium concerts, along with select shows at other stages, require paid tickets to gain admission.
Musikfest is rooted in the Bethlehem area's German roots, and most of the festival's venues use , the German word for place or square, at the end of their names. A popular place for eating and listening to music, for example, is the large "Festplatz", which includes 300 dining tables, and usually features a polka band each night. Beyond that, however, Musikfest's music, food, and other attractions represent a broad range of cultures.
Musikfest is presented by ArtsQuest, a nonprofit arts organization founded to celebrate arts and culture in the Lehigh Valley and beyond. Proceeds from the event benefit ArtsQuest ventures such as the Banana Factory community arts center in South Bethlehem, and other nonprofit groups throughout the region. Musikfest served as the inspiration for major plot elements of the music film Killian & the Comeback Kids.
Musikfest 2026 Musikfest 43 took place from July 30 to August 9.
Musikfest 2026 Poster The official Musikfest 2026 poster was created by painter and illustrator Doug Boehm. The 2026 design holds added significance as the nation prepared to celebrate America 250, the Semiquincentennial of the United States.
2026 Performers Wind Creek Steel Stage At PNC Plaza July 30, 2026 – Grupo Niche July 31, 2026 – Russel Dickerson August 1, 2026 – John Mulaney August 2, 2026 – Third Eye Blind August 3, 2026 – Train August 4, 2026 – "Weird Al" Yankovic August 5, 2026 – T.I. with DaBaby August 6, 2026 – Bailey Zimmerman August 7, 2026 – Parker McCollum August 8, 2026 – Yellowcard and Taking Back Sunday August 9, 2026 – AJR
Musikfest 2025
Musikfest 42 took place from August 1 to August 10.
Musikfest 2025 Poster The 2025 poster was created by ArtsQuest Teaching Artist Mallory Zondag, a mixed-media artist and arts educator based in Upstate NY. Zondag first worked with ArtsQuest in 2017 and is a rostered artist through their partnership with the PA Council on the Arts. For the first time ever, the 2025 poster design featured fiber art techniques.
2025 Performers Wind Creek Steel Stage At PNC Plaza July 31, 2025 – Megan Moroney with JP Saxe August 1, 2025 – Riley Green with John Morgan August 2, 2025 – The Avett Brothers with Scythian August 3, 2025 – Darius Rucker with Austin Williams August 4, 2025 – The Black Crowes August 5, 2025 – Chicago August 6, 2025 – Nelly with Don Luis and Manifest! HB August 7, 2025 – Gilberto Santa Rosa August 8, 2025 – Third Eye Blind with Boys Like Girls August 9, 2025 – Jordan Davis with Lily Rose August 10, 2025 – The Black Keys with The Velveteers
Additional (Free) Performances Nine Days, MKTO, Augustana, Rainbow Girls, Shamarr Allen, Nikki Hill, Grace Kelly, The Vindys
Musikfest 2024 Musikfest 41 took place from August 1 to August 11.
Musikfest 2024 poster Illustrated by Banana Factory Artist-in-Residence and Teaching Artist, Lauren Beck, the artwork depicts a night sky with Musikfest sitting below. Taking inspiration from the transcendent connections people experience when listening to music, Beck wanted to illustrate the grounding presence of music and the energy one would feel at a festival like Musikfest.
2024 performers Wind Creek Steel Stage At PNC Plaza August 1, 2024 – Greta Van Fleet with the Beaches August 2, 2024 – Sugar Ray, Better Than Ezra, Tonic August 3, 2024 – Shinedown with special guest StopGap Solution August 4, 2024 - Jowell & Randy with Luis Figueroa August 5, 2024 – Slash with ZZ Ward, Robert Randolph and Grace Bowers & the Hodge Podge August 6, 2024 – Old Dominion with Kassi Ashton August 7, 2024 – Lynyrd Skynyrd: Celebrating 50 Years August 8, 2024 – Black Eyed Peas August 9, 2024 – Big Time Rush with Crash Adams and Sorelle August 10, 2024 - Ludacris August 11, 2024 - ZZ Top with special guest Foghat
Musikfest 2023 Musikfest 40 took place from August 3 to August 13.
Musikfest 2023 poster Representing the Spanish heritage of a carnival, the colorful 2023 Musikfest poster mural commemorates the festival’s 40th anniversary, featuring the Lehigh Valley’s diverse culture. Celebrating around the mural’s center image, called a Vejigante, are dancing figures against a backdrop that features the iconic SteelStacks which represent the City of Bethlehem.
2023 performers August 3, 2023 – AJR August 4, 2023 – Walk the Moon August 5, 2023 – G-Eazy August 6, 2023 - Dan + Shay August 7, 2023 – Walker Hayes August 8, 2023 – Keith Sweat & Monica August 9, 2023 – Goo Goo Dolls August 10, 2023 – Gabriel Iglesias & Faux Friends August 11, 2023 – El Gran Combo August 12, 2023 - Maren Morris August 13, 2023 - Train
Musikfest 2022 Musikfest 39 took place from August 4 to the 14th, celebrating music and the arts within the community of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Musikfest 2022 poster Fine artist Bart Cooper came up with a detailed poster, incorporating hidden imagery within his colorful vision. Capturing a joyful image of a father with his daughter hoisted onto his shoulders at Musikfest, Cooper wanted to bring warmth to his painting as the two share the same experience from different perspectives.
2022 performers August 4, 2022 – Boyz II Men August 5, 2022 – Kip Moore August 6, 2022 – Willie Nelson & Family August 7, 2022 - Poison August 8, 2022 – Counting Crows August 9, 2022 – Ziggy Marley August 10, 2022 – Disturbed August 11, 2022 – Kelsea Ballerini August 12, 2022 – Ja Rule & Ashanti August 13, 2022 - Alabama August 14, 2022 - Olga Tañón
Musikfest 2021 After going virtual for 2020, Musikfest returned from August 5 to August 15, 2021, with another community celebration to mark its 38th year.
Poppies of Remembrance, Lanterns of Hope Musikfest 2021 differentiated from previous years, honoring the lives lost to the COVID-19 pandemic through the symbol of the Poppy flower in all operations of the event. Poppies of Remembrance, Lanterns of Hope was created through partnership with New Bethany Ministries to give the community a way to honor those lost, affected and to highlight the first responders of the pandemic. Through the illumination of votive candles inside paper bags, attendees paid respect to the lives lost. Those performing and in attendance were asked to #pausethemusik to take a moment of silence, remembering those who passed.
Musikfest 2021 poster The event poster was painted by fine artist Mandy Martin, drawing inspiration from the revival of Bethlehem through the years. Poppies serve as the focal point of the poster, to represent the growth of the city of Bethlehem and the fest. As the painting began Spring of 2020, Mandy's symbolism took on different meanings as the pandemic progressed.
Musikfest Preview Night In preparation for the festivities, equipment and the fest grounds were examined before welcoming Darius Rucker on August 5 to mark the start of the festivities.
2021 performers August 5, 2021 – Darius Rucker August 6, 2021 – Phillip Phillips August 7, 2021 – Preservation Hall Jazz Band August 8, 2021 – Sam Hunt August 9, 2021 – Shinedown August 10, 2021 – Jimmie Allen August 11, 2021 – Colin Hay Band August 12, 2021 – KT Tunstall August 13, 2021 – Zedd August 14, 2021 – The Wood Brothers
Musikfest 2020
Impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Musikfest 2020 was substantially scaled back from its traditional schedule of several hundred shows over the 10-day festival to only five live shows (along with live streaming of these shows). The festival took place July 31 to August 9."Musikfest 2020 kicks off with live concert and keen awareness about crowd control", Lehigh Valley Live, July 31, 2020
2020 performers July 31, 2020 – The Uptown Band August 1, 2020 – The BRUCE Show, a Bruce Springsteen cover band August 7, 2020 – Craig Thatcher Band August 8, 2020 – Hector Rosado Orchestra August 9, 2020 – Danielle Ponder and fireworks
Musikfest 2019
2019 marks the 36th year of the annual music festival, which ran from August 2 to 11.
Wind Creek Bethlehem Steel Stage at PNC Plaza August 1, 2019 – Earth, Wind & Fire August 2, 2019 – The Chainsmokers August 3, 2019 – Steve Miller Band with Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives August 4, 2019 – Lady A August 5, 2019 – Weezer August 6, 2019 – Train and Goo Goo Dolls August 7, 2019 – Incubus August 8, 2019 – The Revivalists August 9, 2019 – Godsmack August 10, 2019 – Phillip Phillips August 11, 2019 – Brad Paisley
Musikfest 2018 2018 marks the 35th Anniversary of the annual festival, which ran from August 3 to 12.
A special "35th Anniversary" poster was created by Dan Mugrauer, tattoo artist and owner of Blood Moon Tattoo Syndicate in Ambler, PA. The artwork will also be used for the official festival mug and souvenirs, while being incorporated into other official festival merchandise and apparel throughout the year.
Musikfest Preview Night To celebrate its 35th anniversary, a special preview night will be held the day before the festival officially begins.
Sands Steel Stage at PNC Plaza August 2, 2018 – Voodoo Threauxdown featuring Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Galactic, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, New Breed Brass Band, Cyril Neville, and Walter "Wolfman" Washington
2018 performers Sands Casino Steel Stage at PNC Plaza August 3, 2018 – Styx and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts August 4, 2018 – Daughtry August 5, 2018 – Jim Gaffigan August 6, 2018 – Dierks Bentley with special guest LANCO August 7, 2018 – Kesha August 8, 2018 – Gary Clark Jr. August 9, 2018 – Grouplove August 10, 2018 – Brantley Gilbert August 11, 2018 – All Time Low and Dashboard Confessional August 12, 2018 – Jason Mraz with opening act Brett Dennen
Air Products Americaplatz Harlan Tucker Band, Funky Dawgz Brass Band, The LA Hustle, Erin Kelly Band, Nash East, Adam Doleac, Walker McGuire, The Family Crest, Craig Thatcher Band
BB&T Jazz Cabaret Stage Chelsea Reed, Bob Wagner Quartet, Gretchen And The Pickpockets, Hot Club of Philadelphia, Red Hot Ramblers, Wack Cheddar, The Jost Project, The Barrel House Brothers, Eric Mintel Quartet
Hotel Bethlehem Platz Sweetbriar Rose, Ruth Wyand & The Tribe of One, Josh Ronen, Andrea Nardello, Zaire Acoustic Trio
PNC Series at Musikfest Cafe The Bryan Tuk Complex, Cunningham & Associates, Philadelphia Funk Authority, PMEA District Band, Steelstacks HS All-Star Band, The Moondogs, The SuperNaturals, The Dull Blue Lights, Magnum, Tommy Zito, Craig Kastelnik and Friends with Bernard Purdie
Musikfest 2017 The 34th iteration of the annual music festival took place from August 4 to 13.
On Saturday, August 5, a special 5k run dubbed the 'Musikfest 5K' was held in downtown Bethlehem during the festival
Sands Steel Stage at PNC Plaza August 4, 2017 – Santana August 5, 2017 – Chicago with opening act Devon Gilfillian August 6, 2017 – Father John Misty with special guest San Fermin August 7, 2017 – Live August 8, 2017 – Aloe Blacc August 9, 2017 – Godsmack August 10, 2017 – Toby Keith August 11, 2017 – The Band Perry August 12, 2017 – Lee Brice and Justin Moore