Announcing the Second Headliner for Musikfest 2025! ArtsQuest to Welcome Darius Rucker to the Wind Creek Steel Stage
Bethlehem, Lehigh Valley, PA., December 2, 2024– ArtsQuest is delighted to announce the second Musikfest 2025 headliner; acclaimed country music star, Darius Rucker, who will be coming to the Wind Creek Steel Stage on Sunday, August 3, 2025.
This show is sponsored by Capital Blue Cross and Yuengling Light Lager, with media partner Cat Country 96. Ticket access begins Tuesday, December 3 for ArtsQuest Members and Friday, December 6 for the general public at Musikfest.org. Ticket prices run from $49 to $119 ($249 for Steel Terrace which includes dinner, drinks and dessert at private tables under a covered tent). For more exclusive ticket access and advance purchase opportunities, become an ArtsQuest Circle Donor today. Gates open at 6 p.m., and the show kicks off at 7 p.m.
Rucker first achieved multi-Platinum status in the music industry as lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the GRAMMY Award-winning band Hootie & the Blowfish, who have sold more than 25 million albums worldwide including their Double Diamond-certified (21x Platinum) debut Cracked Rear View, which remains among the top 10 best-selling studio albums of all time.
Since releasing his first Country album in 2008, Rucker has earned a whole new legion of fans with four No. 1 albums on the Billboard Country chart, including RIAA Platinum-certified Learn to Live and True Believers, plus 10 No. 1 singles at Country radio and 11 Gold, Platinum or multi-Platinum certified hits. Rucker was inducted as a Grand Ole Opry member in 2012 and in 2014 he won his third career GRAMMY Award for Best Solo Country Performance with his Diamond-certified (11x Platinum) version of “Wagon Wheel,” one of the top five best-selling Country songs of all time.
The Country music performer topped the charts at Country radio once again with “Beers And Sunshine” in 2021 and his latest single, “Fires Don’t Start Themselves” off brand-new album Carolyn’s Boy is available everywhere now.
As a lifelong philanthropist, Rucker has been involved with numerous charitable causes supporting public education and junior golf programs. He also co-chaired the capital campaign that generated $150 million to help build the new MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital in his hometown of Charleston, S.C. and has raised over $3.6 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through his annual Darius & Friends benefit concert and golf tournament.
About Musikfest
A total of 1,029,417 people attended Musikfest in 2024. The 11-day festival featured over 500 free performances, across 16 stages located throughout both the north and south-sides of Bethlehem. The 42nd Musikfest is scheduled for August 1 – 10, 2025. This year’s Musikfest 2025 poster artist is Banana Factory Teaching Artist Mallory Zondag. To see the poster and learn more about Zondag’s vision for it, along with information about the festival, visit musikfest.org.
About ArtsQuest
ArtsQuest’s mission is to provide access to exceptional artistic, cultural and educational experiences using arts and culture as key elements of economic development for our urban communities. ArtsQuest™ supports this mission via the presentation of performing and visual arts, film, arts education classes and outreach, youth programming and cultural events. Through festivals such as its flagship event, Musikfest; the Banana Factory Arts Center; and the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks arts and cultural campus, ArtsQuest’s programming reaches more than 1.9 million people annually. The organization’s programs and events, of which nearly 50% are free to attend, have a combined economic impact of more than $136 million annually in the region.
