Well, Ke$ha is playing tonight so you might want to just get black out drunk and go to that. In the event that you don’t want to do that, here’s some picks for your afternoon and evening at Musikfest:
SouthSide
Quiet Company – performing from 5pm to 6:30pm at Americaplatz
Some of this Austin, Texas band’s songs verge on piano rock and others sound more like horn-driven alt rock. Some of their songs have been making the rounds on TV shows and ad campaigns so you might be hearing more of these guys in the near future.
Kewsi Kankam – performing from 8pm to 8:40pm at Lyrikplatz
This Bethlehem native is bringing his solo performance back to the valley with bluesy, soul-driven songs. Definitely check this show out, he’s massively talented.
North Side
Steel Wheels – performing from 3:30pm to 4:30pm at Liederplatz
In a sea of Americana bands, these guys shy away from the Mumford & Sons style that’s become so damn popular and stick to relying their voices, which provide quite a range.
The Hunts – performing from 3pm to 4:30pm at Volksplatz
This band is a family of 7 who somehow manage to tour around and play together without killing each other. That alone is impressive, let alone their late 2012 release of original songs and covers that range from Jeff Buckley to Bon Iver.
Fright Barker and Sons – performing from 6:30pm to 7:30pm at Plaza Tropical
If you’ve been around the Lehigh Valley music scene long enough, you probably remember the Royal Noise Brigade. If you don’t, they were a noisy, raucous ska punk band that played the best damned shows around (and at Musikfest). Well they’re back. Kinda. This band is more 20’s swing than ska punk, but is the new project of a Royal Noise Brigade member, so check them out and show some support for Musikfest (and valley music) veterans.
Shivering Timbers – performing from 7pm to 8pm and 8:39pm to 10:30pm at Main Street
From playing to the birthday party of the man who started the Black Keys to the streets of Musikfest. These two rock, and rock hard. Although Main Street might be a bit of a hard venue for them to capture the crowd attention, they’re still definitely worth seeing.