Seamus Kennedy – performing at 3:30pm at Volksplatz
If you like Celtic music or (sometimes dirty) humor, and really who in Bethlehem doesn’t like at least one of those, Seamus is your mid-day act to see. Always hilarious, Kennedy has been a favorite of ours for years.
TriBeCaStan – performing at 5pm at Volksplatz
A crazy mish-mash of Middle Eastern, African, and many other styles, this huge group of musicians should prove to be an interesting watch. They’ve been written up in the New York Times and the Washington Post for their wordly mix of jazz and folk.
Modern Ancients – performing at 5pm at Lyrikplatz (inside the Artsquest Center theater)
This Lehigh Valley band infuses funk and reggae into indie rock for a Sublime-meets-the Arctic Monkeys vibe.
Cha Wa – performing at 7pm at Volksplatz
This zany looking band has roots in New Orleans with the “Mardi Gras Indians.” Their bio describes them with “funk with feathers,” and based on videos we’ve seen of them, they’re a band that needs to be seen as well as heard.
Ginger Coyle – performing at 7pm at Lyrikplatz
Ginger Coyle is a soulful singesr whose pop sound reminds us of the piano-backed indie rock stylings of Greta Salpeter from The Hush Sound.
Fright Barker and Sons – performing at 8pm at the Musikfest Cafe
Do you remember the Royal Noise Brigade? The awesome Bethlehem-based ska band who used to set their trumpets on fire and almost caused a riot on Main Street one year? If not, they were probably the greatest band to come out of this city. And while they’re not back in their old form, this is the closest reincarnation you’re going to get, featuring one of the leads of the band. Fright Barker aren’t as punk as RNB was, but they mainain a bit of that spirit mixed with big band and swing.