Who Shot Rock & Roll

The Allentown Art Museum has an exhibit running until May 3 titled Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present.

The exhibit provides over 175 images of the biggest names in the music industry over the past 50 years. This includes cover art, snapshots, portraits and images from performances.

The artists range from Elvis to the Beatles to Eminem, and the photographers range from Diane Arbus to Ernest Withers.

The exhibit is broken into six sections: Behind the Scenes, Live Performances, Crowds & Fans, Portraits, Young Artists and Conceptual Images and Album Covers.

Go check it out!

Bowling for Soup

As part of their U.S. 2012 tour, Bowling for Soup is scheduled to play at the Crocodile Rock Cafe tomorrow night.

 The pop punk band is known for singles such as "High School Never Ends" and Girl All the Bad Guys Want," which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2003.

Check out some of their music and go buy tickets for tomorrow night's show!

LU Music Box

Lehigh University's student musician club, the Music Box, will be featured in a special "jam" concert at Godfrey Daniel's on April 19.

The LU Music Box calls itself a "young but rapidly growing and ambitious organization that cooperates with Late Night Lehigh, University Productions, and WLVR (Lehigh's premier radio station) to bring to campus the best live music atmosphere possible."

Check out the Music Box's YouTube Channel and check them out at Godfrey Daniel's at 7 pm!

Allentown Band Concert

The Allentown Band is commemorating the city of Allentown's 250th anniversary and the Lehigh Valley's 200th anniversary on April 22 at the Zionist Reformed United Church of Christ.

The Allentown Band's website describes itself: "Drawn from within a fifty-mile radius of the Lehigh Valley, the band's musicians, as different as their backgrounds may be, share one common goal: to create and preserve concert band music at a level of excellence rarely heard from a community band."

The band plays around 40 concerts each year in venues that range from baseball parks, to universities, to Carnegie Hall in New York.

The April 22 concert will have a $10 attendance cost, and the proceeds will go to the Liberty Bell Museum Jubilee Fund.  See you there at 3 pm!

Lehigh Melismatics

Here's a Storify that I made about the Lehigh Melismatics, an amazing a cappella group at Lehigh University! (Yes, I happen to be a member of that group!)

Build Your Own Show

I recently came across a page on the Crocodile Rock's website called "Build Your Own Show," and it sparked my interest. 

The cafe offers an extensive list of benefits for bands and artists who book shows in their venues.  First of all, the Crock Rock has connections to several newspapers and radio stations in which they can place advertisements.  Among these are the Morning Call, WZZO, and 107.1 The Bone.

The Crock Rock also offers promotional assistance.  They promote all their shows on their concert page, as well as on their Facebook, Twitter and MySpace pages.  The cafe also prints promotional flyers.

House sound is also provided for a low fee of $50-$150.  As rental fees can be extremely expensive, bands and artists can save up to $1500 on sound equipment.

Finally, the Crock Rock offers a ton of help with ticket sales.  They provide links to Ticket Master on their website, and their box office is open 6 days a week.

Overall, the Crocodile Rock not only provides a great venue for artists, but it also provides great promotional and technological services.  So, if you're an artist looking for a venue, go request a booking!

DeGraw and Caillat - On the Same Night!

The Sands Bethlehem Event Center has recently announced that Gavin DeGraw and Colbie Caillat will be performing during their summer season on the same night.

 

 The two artists are co-headlining a North American tour this summer, and they are stopping in Bethlehem on June 5.  Both musicians are extremely successful.  Caillat has had hits such as "Bubbly" and "Brighter Than the Sun," while DeGraw became a hit with songs "Chariot" and "Not Over You."

Go by your tickets at Ticket Master!

Some Lehigh Valley Venues

The Lehigh Valley has a ton of great venues for viewing live performances.  They bring in a variety of performers, from big name celebrities to local aspiring artists.

Here are just a few of them in an easy-to-view map:


View Lehigh Valley Music Venues in a larger map


Click on any of the locations to read reviews, look at pictures, or get directions for an upcoming concert!

Barstool Blackout Tour

If you went to Dayglow in December (and weren't one of the 40 people that went to the hospital), you're probably going to want to go to the Barstool Blackout Tour on March 23rd at the Crocodile Rock Cafe.

The Barstool Blackout Tour, or "the world's largest blacklight party," is run by barstoolu.com, a website targeted towards college students.  The tour is traveling across the country, going to places like Miami and Colorado.

The concert features a ton of house music and is sure to be an incredible night.  Go buy tickets!

Sands Bringing in Big Laughs

The Sands Event Center in Bethlehem is announcing some big names in entertainment that will perform later this year.

Jay Leno, host of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, is just one of these celebrities. Leno is known for his comedy and wit that has lasted for years.  Leno is set to come to the Lehigh Valley in August.

Another famous comedian that will step into the Lehigh Valley made his name on the hit series Full House as Danny Tanner in the 90s.  Bob Saget will showcase his jokes in the Sands Event Center in June.

It should be a great summer for the Lehigh Valley!

Bethlehem Resident Auditions for 'The Voice'

The Lehigh Valley was represented on Monday night's airing of "The Voice."  Bethlehem native Erick Macek appeared on stage in front of Christina Aguilera, Cee-Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton.

According to his website, Macek learned to play the accordion as a result of his Slovak background at age 3 in his Bethlehem home.  Throughout his life, he went through phases of playing the trumpet to competing in sports such as soccer and ice hockey.

Macek soon suffered an injury, and by the time he got to college, his life was centered around music.  "Music had made an ironic full circle back into my life and by my 2nd year of college, my dad bought me my first Washburn acoustic electric guitar and the rest is history," he said.

Macek has won tons of awards, toured throughout the U.S., Japan and Europe, and played with some big names such as Jason Mraz and G-Love.  So, it was a surprise to all his fans when he didn't make it through the live auditions on Monday night.

However, I have a feeling Macek's career is going to blossom because of this exposure.

Check out Erick's song "Home":

Allentown Arena: Bringing in Big Stars

Big music names will be on their way to the Lehigh Valley when the Allentown Arena is built next year.

According to the Lehigh Valley Music Blog, the arena will seat 8,500 people for the Phantoms ice hockey games and over 10,000 for concerts.  This should definitely attract big stars and raise the Lehigh Valley's reputation amongst the music world.

The arena will include an events center with shops and a convention center as pictured above, according to the Morning Call.  The project could cost $175 million!  That's certainly a ton of money, but I think the benefits of the arena will more than cover this cost.

The arena should be complete by mid-2013.  The Lehigh Valley will definitely be a great place to be when this happens!

Adele Stole the Night

Last night's Grammy Awards showed off the year's best artists: Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Paul McCartney, and many more.

However, it was clear that Adele was the ultimate winner of the night.  To me, this is a real success for the world of music.

Adele won six awards, including Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Album of the year.  She also gave a performance that was beautiful and strong, validating the talent that brought her those awards.

In my opinion, Adele's success indicates that the music fans of the world have been very smart this year.  Instead of being blinded by gimmicks, the world has paid attention to Adele's true talent.  Her voice, even after going through surgery, has remained unshakable and continued to capture the attention of all who were listening.

Here's the song that had everyone watching last night:

Blast From the Past

Tomorrow night at the Crocodile Rock, you have a chance to go back to the good old days when boy bands were popular...and you don't have to be embarrassed about it!

Nick Carter is playing at the concert venue tomorrow at 7 pm.  You probably remember Nick from his Backstreet Boys era.  I always enjoyed a little "I Want It That Way"....

Nick has gone solo since his boy band days, and he has recently released a new album "I'm Taking Off".  Enjoy his new single!

Go buy your tickets!

Open Mic Night

Want to show off your musical skills? Go to the Hard Bean Cafe this Thursday at 8 pm!

The Hard Bean Cafe has two floors - both have lounge areas and great coffee.  Every Thursday they have open mic nights, so if you are looking for a spot to play or listen to some music, this is a great place to go!

The cafe has 8 locations in addition to its location at 129 E. Third St in  Bethlehem.

This place seems pretty cool...and they even have a blog.  Go check it out!

Take a Jazz Break

I'm not a huge jazz fan, but I would definitely be willing to give it a shot for David Sanborn.

David is an American saxophone player from St. Louis who has released 24 albums and won six Grammy awards.

David contracted Polio at the age of three and used the saxophone as a type of therapy, and his success spiraled upwards from there.  He has played  with Elton John, The Grateful Dead, Stevie Wonder, and several other top names in the music industry.  Check out David's website to get the full scoop on his musical life.

The Musikfest Cafe, located on the third and fourth floors of the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, is lucky enough to the David Sanborn Trio on February 7.  The show starts at 7:30 pm and tickets range from $39-$49.

Go get your tickets now!  Here's a preview of what you might see:

Talent For a Cause

Great talent for a great cause is just a week away.

The Lehigh University Women's Center is sponsoring a talent show that will benefit two great causes:
1) The women and children of Haiti who have suffered increased rates of sexual violence since the devastation earthquake that took place in January 2010
2) Lehigh Valley's Turning Point who aid over 5,000 victims of domestic violence every year

The talent show will feature a diverse group of acts, including Lehigh's awesome acappella group the Melismatics (which I happen to be in...)

Take a look at the Melismatics to get a little preview of what you may see at the show!

The show will be on February 2 from 7-10 pm in Lamberton Hall.  Come!

Crocodile Rock: Matt Nathanson

Good news: no need for another boring Friday night this weekend.  You just found some plans!

If you don't know about the Crocodile Rock Cafe in Allentown, get to know it.  Crocodile Rock Cafe calls itself the largest rock & roll multiplex in the Lehigh Valley.  It's a nightclub, a bar, and a band venue all in one.

The cafe has four performance venues, allowing multiple bands to perform at once.  It also features great food from Mama Croc's Pizza.

This Friday, Matt Nathanson is stopping at the Crocodile Rock Cafe as part of his All Night Noise Tour.  You probably know Matt Nathanson for his timeless songs such as this:

This concert should be awesome, so there's no need for a boring Friday night this week!  Go buy your ticket or get one at the door!

Welcome!

Welcome to Lehigh Listening!

Lehigh Listening is a place to go to find the latest Lehigh Valley concerts, music events or bands.

Whether you're looking for a good venue to go to on the weekend, or you just want to listen to some good Lehigh Valley tunes, Lehigh Listening can guide you in the right direction.

To start things off, in honor of the great Etta James who passed away today at the age of 73, enjoy one of the greatest songs by one of the greatest artists there ever was.