Hi, I'm John J. Moser.

I'm deputy director of news at Lehigh Valley News.com, and I'm here today with Patrick Brogan, the chief programing officer at Arts Quest.

And the reason he's here is because music first is upon us.

It starts Thursday.

And Patrick and I are going to be talking about the must see acts at the side stages at Music Fest, and what we're thinking is the best music at the festival.

Patrick, we've talked about this many times.

The fact that music Fest, especially on those stages, is really a, festival of discovery.

Absolutely.

And you offer some so, so broad, a range of genres and artists and settings that, you know, one of the delights that I have found in the years over Music Fest is just to go to those, stages and see stuff that I had no idea about and discover the acts.

And believe me, there have been acts that I have discovered over the years that I still really like.

and so, so we're going to talk about, Patrick's choices of, acts that people should see.

Music Fest this year, apart from the the headliners.

August 1st is the preview night for Music Fest.

And who do you think we should sing?

Usher and and John, you teed up there beautifully.

422 acts playing Music Fest this year.

And 27 of them are at the main stage, so there's almost 400 acts to discover across the festival.

So as we go through the festival here, we'll see this on that opening on that preview night.

Hannah Wicklund, is playing at, America Pots at the Levitt Pavilion.

For this year's festival.

And not intentionally designed this way, but it has become a rock festival.

and it opens with her blazing guitar and vocals on the Levitt stage.

And.

He's standing in the middle of.

You in some tiny from South Carolina.

female, front, front woman.

Great vocals.

Her partner is in one of the members.

The bass player of great of athlete.

and so, they're in town that night, for another stage.

And so we were, honored to get her to get to, play a free subscription for us that night.

My first reaction to her is, and a pop of it.

Only a little bit more subtle.

Yeah, yeah.

She is.

It's a great comparison.

I think she's a great, a little bluesy, really.

Just straight ahead.

Rock.

guitarist.

Yeah.

Okay.

Patrick, what are the best shows to see off the mainstage on August 2nd?

a number of great shows on on Friday, August 2nd.

Fleece is a group coming to us from Montreal.

All of us.

There are, eight different countries that, are, outside the US that are have, artists in the festival and, fleece from, Canada.

let me let me interrupt again.

So I looked at fleece online and I saw that on YouTube.

Somebody described them as a gorgeous music, and I just thought that was so appropriate, because if you listen to their music, there's it's just so I don't know what the word is uplifting or deep or something, but, it's gorgeous music.

When I in love.

But I wanna feel I can turn right.

It is.

It's beautiful.

It's.

You throw a little bit.

It's.

It's, It's romantic.

lush.

in ways, That's a good way to put it.

so we're looking forward to them on, on the Lovett Pavilion that night and closing that night is Robert John on the rack?

from California.

It's so night.

It's cold.

It's cold night.

And they are, another great blues, blues rocker.

so, so a pair of shows that love it that night to enjoy his co Como night.

Okay, Patrick, what are the best shows to see off the mainstage on August 3rd?

Short the Arcadian wild we have had before.

No matter what they say, man, you hear Dave breaks me.

Talk about another, beautiful music group.

you have some of their songs are over ten minutes long.

If you're a Sufjan Stevens fan, this is a is a band for you to check out The Arcadian while.

But never mind.

If they get your head down in the morning, they will join in with their heads bowed.

If they don't, the very stones will cry out, oh, what a lovely day!

I'll tell you who it reminded me of.

especially, I guess mainly when the, the female lead singer is Alison Krauss.

Oh, very.

Yep.

Very much so.

Yeah.

The voice was.

Yeah.

Just like that gorgeous voice, beautiful vocals set across a soundscape of, of, of my.

So how could they know?

They don't know who they, you know.

I, I sort of have on that list there.

Yours.

You want you want me to talk?

Yeah.

Go ahead.

So the one that stood out to me was, metal Archie.

Oh, no.

Lassie.

Metal Archie is.

It's is his own thing.

It's a, metal music played by a mariachi band that that heard tried to make, boys up and, brainwashed by what?

We had them on the Levit line up two summers ago, and I really sat there kind of transfixed for quite some time, watching what was in front of me.

The beauty of Music Fest is you see things that you never going to see again.

And we have Alice O.

Okay, Patrick, what are the best shows to see off the mainstage on August 4th?

Sure.

we've got a great group in from New York City.

Melt at night means don't like.

I can't help but wonder if you ever come in one night with this sour candy in your mouth.

How's everything?

they have a real pop, indie rock sound that we're excited to have, female fronted, have some great jams, jam band music in it.

so that's a group to look for on the fourth.

Oh, what I hate, I hate, I hate, I hate, hate the World Trade Center.

Oh, it's a la de la, as well as, also female front of the Dracula's ship.

I was in Amsterdam.

They tried to put it out like, let's go higher.

Was an accident.

Which is at a Jersey city, a surf garage rock sound from the 60s.

great bands playing engines and plots at night, and I don't let me react to them.

I and here's how I looked at them.

They, to me, they conjured the image of seminal punk rock, which, you know, had a, a basis in certain rock.

But if you if you think back to the, or if you're aware of the times when, when there was a the female rockers, when they were just coming on the scene.

That's what the Draculas remind me now.

And, and of course, I'm a huge fan of, original punk.

And so it does take you back to, to an earlier time in rock'n'roll history.

Yeah.

And and they've got a sound that, captures younger audiences but is certainly very accessible to, to, ones that remember the 60s and 70s fondly and the early era of female rockers.

So bring up the skin and bring, you know, oh, tell me what it means.

I, I know that you mentioned Blair Cummings and the criminals and the hookers.

The hookers.

I'm sorry.

It.

Oh, it's like.

Oh, it's like.

Wow.

Angela, it's a little bit ragtime, a little bit Dixieland jazz.

but it's also, folk and bluegrass and and kind of indie as well.

A little little rock in there.

a little rockabilly sweet, like a peach.

But you've got icing your bass.

Blair is a Seminole frontman.

charismatically, carrying himself through a set, with a backing horn section.

the versatility you mentioned of of their music.

Anyone can enjoy anyone.

And everyone enjoys both from its Marcus.

Oh, Angela.

All right, Patrick, tell me about the best shows to see off the mainstage on August 5th.

So another very unique music fest show is Sex Squash with squash five favorite and we had, a group that we like also premiered at Music Fest more than a decade ago at this point called Here Come the Mummies.

in the Music Fest cafe a year ago now, last fall.

And they had this gentleman come and open for them, who plays saxophone over tracks, over backing tracks.

but he's dressed, in a Sasquatch outfit.

And I. and so he goes by the name of sax Sasquatch and, well, kitschy.

I found myself saying, this is really cut.

And so it's not something you're going to listen to for a two hour block of time.

But we put him on the town square in these, like, half an hour, an hour turnovers of other stages around him on the Levitt stage.

and it's just the right amount of time to look at this and say, well, this is not something I see very often here.

Yeah, Bethlehem happened.

I, I had the exact same reaction to it when I looked at it online.

I thought, you know, my first reaction was to laugh, and then I listened and it was, it was, Toto's Africa of all songs.

And, and it was really good.

And and it was enjoyable because it was silly, you know, it is it's it's it's both silly, but I think you come because it's silly and you want to see it.

Right.

And in an era of, you know, Instagramming and Snapchatting and stuff, this is certainly something to to post on your story and then you find yourself staying because that's just like a lot to you.

Like, this is really good.

Yeah.

I want to hear more of this.

So it's a one man show and certainly not to be missed this year of music is, August 6th.

Sure.

Myron Elkins out of Michigan.

This, family band, is, harkens back to a great country sound friendly tone.

Create.

The with that band were it was one that as we're looking across the festival and this is a much more traditional older country sound that, we're excited to have at the festival.

The chivalrous crickets.

Is that chivalrous?

Crickets.

so the chivalrous Crickets are an Irish band playing on Irish pub night.

leader plots.

that evening.

They.

And headline.

What is a great day of of Irish sounds.

There are much more traditional Irish bands.

you're going to hear more Irish trad music than than some of the pop American.

Irish sounds like a like a bastard beard.

Irish men are Scythian kind of play throughout the festival.

this is much more Irish pub music.

silver rose crickets.

they headline on, Tuesday night their leader plots as I familiarize myself with your picks.

it just sort of seemed to me that you had chosen a lot of acts that had, fiddles or.

Oh, there you go.

So in my year of rock, I guess I also balanced it with, with some, some, string instruments too, but.

Well, you know, Patrick Michael Brogan couldn't do, Music Fest without a couple Irish picks in there.

And so sure as, as my, my group this year to look for August 7th is going to be one of my, small stage choices.

and I'll, I'll, I might as well just go ahead and say I was watching all of, you guys.

You fell in love.

Yeah.

There it is.

Bang, bang, baby.

Shot me in the heart.

In the dark.

With the dark of the spark on the head.

When we met at the spot, it was hot at the song I saw the thong.

It was on I was eight in the morning.

I'm who you know.

In the late 2000, had a couple of hits.

Corona and Lime and buzzin.

Buzzin.

Yep.

Yeah.

Which were, you know, that that, it certainly has the hip hop element, strong hip hop element, but also had the pop.

Yep.

And you know, if it's something around the same time, that the, the boy band LFO did the same type of thing.

Pop.

and, you know, I'm really looking forward to.

He had no idea he was still around.

And this is one of those where, as we work with so many agents and agencies across the country, across the world, to put Music Fest together, things come out of the blue where somebody says, hey, you know, I've got this available, available night for sure.

Are you interested?

And similarly, were we I haven't heard his name in in a couple of years.

And so I said, are we interested?

Yeah.

If we think we can make it work and, and, here he is.

Whatever it was, I was some do it again.

She was buzzing all over me.

Hey, she wasn't all over me.

Yeah, she was buzzing all over me.

Like she fell in love.

Like she fell in love.

Hey.

Yeah, I miss.

She fell in love.

Yeah.

Anybody else wanted some?

I think if you're.

We always have a great brass band at Music Fest.

And this year it's Empire Strikes Brass.

out of, Asheville, North Carolina.

Audiences of all ages really enjoy the way that a brass band captures music that they know, and some that they may not, and delivers it in a fun party atmosphere that really makes a festival happen.

I can say I, I found it.

Like, Hallelujah, bye bye bye bye it.

August 8th I'm going to do it.

I'm going to do it again and, tell you my choice.

preservation Hall Jazz Band 100%.

Yeah.

The pick of the festival right there.

Yes.

And.

What?

Certainly one of my picks of the festival.

They offer, everything you would want in a traditional New Orleans jazz band.

You know, it's the music, it's the feel.

It's the vibe.

It's one of those special free stage shows of the festival.

they've played the mainstage multiple times now in as a support act, and they came to us and said, hey, we want to we want to come back up for the festival this now.

And it's always great when you get the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, right, asking to to come and play Music Fest.

And obviously we didn't have a right fit for them on the main stage and said, no, we don't want to play the main stage.

What are we going to play?

Well on the side stages.

And and we said, okay, well, we can make that happen.

But so a little bit of a stretch on the budget, but certainly to have artists of that caliber up there and that whole night they're playing, they're headlining at America plots at the Levitt Pavilion that night.

But that whole night at Levitt really has some unique things in it.

the first act of the night is, a DJ, out of New York City, DJ spooky, who's playing with a string, group of professors from Lehigh University.

He's got a video presentation as well on this hour long piece called Arctic Rhythms.

And so that's the opening the night.

And then you've got ticketek.

oh.

Now, please tell me more.

You have a copy tonight.

But get to talk about music fest shows.

There's this psychedelic Japanese rock band, seven pieces also that out of Canada, out of Montreal.

They're like nothing else you're going to see at Music Fest this year or ever.

they are Japanese rock music, and with, with varied instrumentation.

And then you go into the Preservation Hall jazz band and.

And what, you know, what a what a diverse night on, on on, the Levitt Pavilion that night that, really represents Music Fest.

Well, okay, let's go to the ninth.

And who, who are you?

pointing at sort Kuhf knots and Christine Elise are such, a pairing in your eyes, a straight song.

They chop with the blessing.

You're a breath of fresh.

It's so gentle.

And the warmth was felt throughout the build.

The physical is so intense.

The, you have this classical harpist with, with, more traditional vocals, and you have a hip hop, rap, spoken word vocalist and knots and man.

And they marry well together, on stage.

You ain't told how they talk.

Together we shine bright like the moon I see you beaming from across the room.

Makes my heart go.

Yo, anyone can like this.

So this is a very accessible I think some people think, oh, I'm not interested in harp music or I'm not interested in rap music.

And, this is not like anything you hear otherwise there.

They blend their sounds really, really well together.

And, so and they have very thoughtful lyrics and messaging behind their music.

for me to be really your watching.

yeah.

I, wanna be with them as well.

And, and then my recollection is have they played for us because before they have they do play music fast.

This is their this is their third music fest playing.

And the, the female harp player when she sings and I'm hearing Amy Winehouse.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Yep.

the she has such a unique voice.

that just adds to the uniqueness at the heart of this, harp, rap duo on the 10th.

I'm going to let you start, and then I'll come in.

Sure.

the 10th Dust Bowl revival is an absolute favorite.

Mine.

You know, I don't have to worry about telling me no lines.

I mean, look at that.

Nobody else is blinded in both eyes.

Like, so where is palpable?

See me that shiny I you with the many kisses me back.

I'm sure you want to talk about them.

Well, we not their first appearance here either.

They've played indoors and outdoors at Steel Stacks before.

this might only be their second Music Fest performance ever, though.

But their folk funk, sound with the backing horns.

more pop, than ever in their newer music.

the way they put together a show leaves you feeling cool.

Wait, at the end of it, when you walk away and got a bird on your shoulder, which is pretty blue, you got a bird on your shoulder, which is pretty blue.

You got a bird on your shoulder.

It's pretty cool.

I have it.

When you got somebody, you wrestle.

Never let me hold that.

There won't be nobody to play.

With right behind your money.

All you got to do is call my brother.

You're there for one song or the whole set.

You will feel inspired as you walk away from the show.

I my experience with them was that, if 2019, in the blast furnace room and and I had the same reaction is that, if they start playing one, genre of music and then they sort of morph into something a little bit different and, you know, by the end of the night they've covered enough and it's like, I've enjoyed every bit of it.

So yeah, I remember that show was special.

They ended, I believe in like the middle of the room with the audience surrounding that.

That's correct.

Yeah.

And I remember that moment and just, you know, it's one of those moments and this happens every day at music fans across the state, you know, 15 stages, somewhere is is an audience that's a, that's experiencing a moment with an artist.

Yeah.

That can't be replicated and can't be transferred if you're not there.

no matter how much we talk about great shows we've seen over time, that Dustbowl Revival has all the makings of being able to create those moments with an audience.

Okay, so now both of us have been fawning over Dustbowl Revival.

Is is there anybody else in the tent?

Sorry.

I think we talk about, different, different genres of the festival.

Larry and Joe, are, a duo out of, North Carolina.

I mean, last year I ended up coming up on this.

Others have been impressed with that of this, and I've been standing in every on there, literally two gentlemen on stage that will capture you and keep you with them for 90 minutes.

just a great music reality, to their show.

And then final night, the closing night.

who are you looking at?

There's a lot on the 11th.

Exact person.

is is a rocker closing the Levitt stage.

So my my maintenance man who over.

Please, just let me do hard hitting rock and roll.

guitarist and vocals.

I could talk a lot about the 11th.

I think it's a pretty loaded night up at Leader Plots.

with our partnership with Godfrey Daniels.

Sloane Wainwright of the Wainwright family.

100 sweltering summer degrees, as predicted by the weather woman.

And she's idling in a mile a beast.

They're bumper to bumper, and they close with Danielle Cotton, who's a, a singer songwriter, out of New York, who's fantastic as well.

I way the only way every time you call out the me.

and then, stop plots at Pirro Plaza has, a good one two punch at the end of the night of the Reverend Sean Amos and Peter.

I hate in the background, at a Dallas who's got this, blues, gospel soul sound.

And then it closes with this sensational Barnes Brothers.

price.

And let's go.

Who again?

No stranger to steel Stax, playing their first music fest show that have this high energy blues rock, pop, gospel sound.

price.

I'm trying just to go here a great way and a great place to see the fireworks that night, though it's not fun.

So a lot that on the 11th I put a lot in there for you, John.

Look forward to it all.

thanks for coming in today.

Patrick, and we're looking forward to 11 nights of music.

Yes.

That's right.

See out there.

Okay.

And thank you for joining us and watching and continue to follow us on Lehigh Valley News.com, where we'll have coverage of the entire festival.

Thank you again.

Good night.