Stepping In: My First #LVUFirstFriday
December’s edition of the Lehigh Valley Underground First Friday Concert Series featured some memorable firsts and some returning favorites.
Category Archives: live music
The Delta Rae Revival: A Unique and Immense Live Music Experience
I originally heard about Delta Rae while living up in Bethlehem, PA. The lively country six-piece has come up to Christmas City a handful of times in the past, and even won our hearts with a high-powered song about the rise and fall of Bethlehem Steel on 2015’s “After It All.” Even so, I had never gotten the chance to take in the full, live Delta Rae experience…
…until Wednesday night.
Sierra Hull Announces ‘Christmas Time is Here’ Tour
Nashville-based bluegrass artist Sierra Hull announced her ‘Christmas Time Is Here’ tour on Friday, designed to give back to several communities across the midwest and south this holiday season.
Each of the four tour stops will be partnered with Toys for Tots and/or a local food bank, seeking to ease the stress of the holidays for the less fortunate. Each attending fan who donates an unwrapped toy, canned foods, or makes a monetary donation to the local food bank on-site will receive a free, signed poster for Hull’s Grammy-nominated latest release, Weighted Mind, while supplies last.
Together, with her band (Justin Moses, Kai Welch, Eddie Barbash, Ethan Jodziewicz, and Jamie Dick), Hull aims to bring Christmas joy to those attending the shows and those in need this December. Details on each tour stop are below:
Dec. 7 — Sheldon Concert Hall — St. Louis, MO
(Toys for Tots, canned food, and monetary donations accepted for St. Louis Area Foodbank)
Dec. 8 — Franklin Theatre — Franklin, TN
(Toys for Tots, canned food, and monetary donations accepted for Second Harvest Food Bank)
Dec. 20 — Tangled String Studios — Huntsville, AL
(Monetary donations accepted for Food Bank of North Alabama)
Dec. 21 — Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts — Franklin, NC
(Toys for Tots, monetary donations accepted for Macon County Care Net)
For tickets and more information, please visit sierrahull.com/. For toy donation specifics, please visit the Toys for Tots website.
Back Home for the Holidays: Doug Kaetz Set for South Bethlehem Afterparty
For those of you back home looking for weekend plans… this Saturday’s Naughty or Nice Cocktail Crawl in South Bethlehem is officially sold out.
Your December 2018 #LVUFirstFriday Lineup, Curated by Ralph Pagano
Now under the Underground Music Collective banner, the Lehigh Valley Underground First Friday Concert Series continues in December with a mix of new faces and familiar First Friday veterans.
Hey Monea’s Nothing In The Tank Tour 2019
In September, I gave you an insider’s look at Canton, Ohio’s Hey Monea. Now I’m giving you a chance to get your own look as they hit the road for their first tour of 2019. If you’re here in the east, there is ample opportunity to catch them live from New York to Florida. I wouldn’t wait too long to get your tickets, though. Great music has a way of drawing people in.
Ralph’s Reviews: Tales — and New Music — from the Road
I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel to different places to hear and discover new music. I feel that even moreso in recent months, having been able to travel and have people from other areas discover me.
Hot Takes: Leaving a Live Music ‘Tip’
The above photo has been circulating on social media since September 2015 and, somehow, it finally came across our desk just recently. The idea of a “live music tip” being built into a venue patron’s bill is not necessarily a new concept.
With that said, it is certainly one worth considering, and it could be beneficial across the board.
PHOTOS: Billy Bauer Band and Cubbage at Musikfest Cafe (Dave Matthews Band Tribute)
We came back to Pennsylvania for the Thanksgiving holiday, and just in time — because a night of stellar musicianship was in-store for us upon our return to Bethlehem.
PHOTOS: Stephen Babcock and Luca Di Fabio at The Local (Nashville, TN)
While we were in Nashville this past week, we got to #GoUnderground there for the first time — and our first glimpse of Music City’s original scene lived up to expectations.