Musikfest Comes to Town
I have to laugh when I think about my first Musikfest. My husband, John, and I had just bought our circa 1905 historic brick row house in downtown Bethlehem, PA. We were knee-deep in the dust and dirt of our demo and reconstruction when we were “warned” by our neighbors that Musikfest was opening that Friday night. Now I must admit that we had never heard of Musikfest before we moved to the Lehigh Valley. If you’ve never heard of it either you may be as surprised as we were to learn that Musikfest is the Largest FREE outdoor music festival in the US!
Our neighbors were a little overzealous in warning us about the crowds of people that would descend upon our historic Bethlehem neighborhood since Musikfest’s organizers had reconfigured the festival layout about 5 years previous. It was still funny to remember how we sat on our front porch waiting for the crowds to arrive en mass, only to discover that “festers” were being diverted to the large off-site parking lots with shuttle services.
Musikfest began in 1984 and each year it just gets bigger and better AND more diverse in its music offerings. This year features more than 500 shows on 17 stages. Over the 10-day long event more than 900,000 people make their way to Bethlehem, PA to take in the sights and sounds – but mainly the sounds!
So once the sun set on our first opening day, John and I put down the sledgehammer and paint brushes and walked the 3 blocks into town to check out Musikfest for the first time. It still fascinates me how the festival organizers figure out how to arrange the multiple smaller tented venues so that you can’t hear the other band’s music as you stroll down the historic Main street.
We joined the throngs of people enjoying music in a multitude of genres – everything from Indie Rock to Americana to Celtic tunes. Along with these Musikfest sanctioned acts you will see boot-leg one-man (or woman) acts pop-up in little alleyways or overpass tunnels – and just like the larger acts they are looking for new listeners to spread the word about their particular style of music. Further down into what’s called the historic industrial quarter there are even larger tented venues for the more well-known acts that accommodate at least a couple hundred fans. The awesome fact is that these venues are free, as well!
A few years back the festival grew substantially and partnered with ArtsQuest to expand across the Lehigh River down by the famous Bethlehem Steel Stacks. There they added a larger concert venue to support the big name acts that wanted to join in the incredible music scene. In the larger outdoor venue we’ve seen everyone from Santana and Steve Miller to Lady Antebelum and the GooGoo Dolls and Train (these larger events are ticketed). But the cool thing is that spectators who are just there to hear the music, and don’t care to actually “see” the performers, will set up chairs outside the venue and enjoy the free music just outside the fence!
Every year a new graphic image is designed to accompany the Musikfest logo. And each year this image becomes part of the branding for the festival AND part of the thermos style mugs that have become collectibles each year. Of course festival food is a mainstay and a way for many non-profit organizations to raise funds and awareness for their cause.
Festivals have become big business in many smaller cities and towns across the US. But Musikfest remains unique in its vision to remain a FREE festival for almost a million people each year who come to enjoy the incredible range of music. And it’s an amazing opportunity for up-and-coming musical talent to engage with new fans. For my husband John and I its 10 days of good times with family and friends that come to visit us and check out the shows – we wouldn’t miss it for the world!