Musikfest 2024 Breaks Records Despite Hurricane Debbie’s Attempt to Dampen the Festival
The largest non-gated music festival sets records in headliner tickets and sold-out shows!
Bethlehem, Lehigh Valley, PA, August 13, 2024 – Musikfest 2024, started with record-breaking high temps, endured liquid sunshine and the remnants of Hurricane Debbie in the middle and ended strong with the best weather of the summer – resulting in the largest non-gated music festival in the country setting and breaking records!
The festival, covering more than 50 acres within the Historic Moravian District and the SouthSide Arts District, celebrated its 41st year, welcoming 1,020,000 attendees from over 48 states (including Washington DC, Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico) and ten countries (including the U.S., Canada, Italy, Mexico, England, South Africa, Columbia, Taiwan, Spain and Australia). It all kicked off on Thursday, Aug. 1 with preview night and ran through Sunday, Aug. 11, ending with an annual fireworks celebration.
ArtsQuest set a new record, selling 54,786 tickets to its 11 headliner shows that performed on the Wind Creek Steel Stage, an almost 8% increase from the previous 2011 record. Headliner concerts included: Greta Van Fleet; Sugar Ray, Better Than Ezra and Tonic; Shinedown; Jowell & Randy; SLASH – S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival; Old Dominion; Lynyrd Skynyrd; Black Eyed Peas; Big Time Rush; Ludacris; and ZZ Top. A second record was set with four shows being sold out: Greta Van Fleet, Shinedown, Old Dominion and Ludacris. The prior record-holding year for number of sold-out shows was in 2017 with Santana, Chicago and Toby Keith.
In addition to the Wind Creek Steel Stage, there were 15 free stages at Musikfest that covered a wide variety of genres, everything from traditional polka to classic rock, Indie, pop, Latin, country, rap, blues, classical, soul, children’s/family and more – something for everyone to enjoy. This year, 422 musicians performed on these stages, representing 48 states and 10 countries. Locally, there were over 165 musicians that represented the greater Lehigh Valley. Musikfest also featured 86 street performances by seven different performers throughout the festival. There was live free music playing at every turn, something that festivalgoers look forward to, year after year and generation to generation.
“Musikfest 2024 was unlike the last few years, weatherwise,” commented Kassie Hilgert, President and CEO. “When the weather is great, it’s easy to put on a successful festival. This year brought challenges, and every single member of our Musikfest team of staff and volunteers, along with our law enforcement community and city officials, came together to support one another in every way possible. It’s that teamwork that helped to make this year’s festival a big success, especially with the records that we set. This festival brings people from across the country and worldwide to Bethlehem, now a UNESCO World Heritage site. We’re excited for them to visit our city and attend not only Musikfest, but also visit the local businesses that thrive here.”
“Musikfest once again proved our community comes together like nowhere else,” commented Mayor J. William Reynolds. “Another wonderful ten days of music, fun, food and friends. A special thanks to the volunteers, staff, small businesses and public safety officials who made it go. We can’t wait till next year.”
“Being a part of ArtsQuest’s volunteer leadership has been a wonderful experience,” commented Orville Trout, Executive Vice President Human Resources, Corporate Affairs & Administration at Crayola and ArtsQuest Board of Trustees member. “Musikfest is a great example of the beauty that takes place when a community comes together. I am proud to play a part in helping ArtsQuest achieve its mission to provide access to the arts for all through Musikfest and countless other events/experiences throughout the year.”
“As Co-Chairs of the Capital Campaign, we want to commend the ArtsQuest staff and volunteers for their tireless work to make this year’s Musikfest a success. Forty-one years of supporting the economic and cultural life of the community is what ArtsQuest is all about,” commented Gregg and Cindy Feinberg.
Volunteers
Musikfest would NOT be possible without the volunteers that spend countless hours making the magic happen. From pouring beer to assisting backstage, showing people to their seats, answering questions from festivalgoers, selling cold beverages, making the platzes look brand new every morning and everything in between. This year, there were 1,044 volunteers, ranging in age from 16 to 85 and representing 37 businesses. There were 352 new volunteers this year. Five of our returning volunteers trained to be Site Supervisors – the most since 2018. Whether they’ve volunteered for many years, or this was their first time at the festival, Musikfest expresses its gratitude to every single volunteer who gave their time to help make the 41st festival happen. Without these individuals Musikfest would not exist and it is because of their generosity that it continues year after year.
Sponsors
Musikfest is grateful to the 152 businesses and organizations that sponsored the festival throughout these eleven days, making it all possible, including 26 new partners. This year, Service Electric Network became the new partner of Festplatz; Martin Guitar returned to Handwerkplatz and sponsored a new busking stage on the North Side of the festival; and Mishka Vodka as the Official vodka of Musikfest. And, a big thank you to Lehigh Valley Health Network for keeping everyone cool and providing first aid inside several Healthplatz tents that were located throughout the festival
Vendors/Artisans/Crafters
What goes hand in hand with listening to great music? Amazing food! This year, over 40 food vendors, including nine new vendors, served food for every tastebud and food preference, representing a diverse array of menu options. Martha Mihalopoulos of Theo’s Gyros had this to say, “Over the years, my family has developed a great customer base and we’re grateful to see the same faces year after year. We have customers from all over the country visit us at Musikfest, including friends who come every year from California to stay at Hotel Bethlehem for the entire week. For us Musikfest is a lot of work, but we enjoy watching people have a great time with their family and friends. It’s a great time with music, food and drinks. There’s a tremendous amount of planning that goes behind such a huge event and all of the staff and volunteers are amazing. Everyone is friendly and grateful to be there, and we are honored to be a part of an amazing organization. As the years go by, we hope to continue to be part of the Musikfest family.”
Additionally, there were 43 crafters and artisans selling amazing homemade crafts and works of art, from beautiful handmade pottery and unique works of art to bath bombs and festive fairy hair.
NEW! to Musikfest
- This year, Musikfest welcomed eVenti Verticali SPHERE presented by Lehigh Valley Public Media. The 30-minute Italian outdoor performance delivered by five aerialists suspended from a crane 60 feet high made its US debut at Musikfest this year. The aerialists take the audience on a journey reflecting on our miraculous lives here, on our planet earth. Performances took place on Saturday, Aug.10 and Sunday, Aug. 11 and were a great way to round out a great ‘fest.
- Musikfest also welcomed the Monster Energy BMX Stunt Team Experience, presented by Monster Energy. This experience included a series of high-energy BMX freestyle performances.
- The beloved Aw Shucks corn is such a big hit that a NEW! Aw Shucks Corn Eating Competition was added this year. On Wednesday, Aug. 8 patrons came out to Yuengling Lagerplatz to see the fastest fester win $100! The winner, Austin Shaffer of Bethlehem, finished his five ears of corn in 4 minutes 38 seconds.
- ArtsQuest has been the host of the Pennsylvania State Steinholding Championship for the past five years and will be again at this year’s Oktoberfest presented by Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE). In our NEW! Steinholding competition, participants who kept their stein help up the longest while following the rules automatically qualify to be a part of the state championships on Saturday, October 12 at Oktoberfest, where the grand prize is $500 and the right to call themselves a state champ! The winner of the men’s competition, Brien Ruyak, finished at 4 minutes 55 seconds. The winner of the women’s competition, Rachel Ewaniuk, finished at 2 minutes 8 seconds.
- Additional NEW! to the ‘fest this year: a two-day music industry and education conference took place the first two days of the festival; new transportation options included LANTA’s Enhanced Bus Service system adding the Gold Line and longtime festival partner Trans-Bridge and Penn State Lehigh Valley teamed up to offer a new SouthSide remote lot; ComedyPlatz hosted new live podcast recordings; and a new Box Office Trailer presented by Burkholder’s Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc. began operation.
- Lastly, while the Musikfest App powered by PNC is not new to the festival, we set a NEW! Record with 29,500 downloads! The App is a great tool to easily find your favorites at the festival and stay up-to-date on Musikfest-related information.
Musikfest Kids
Kids had a blast at Familienplatz with inflatable rides, bounce houses and two Inclusion Zones – in partnership with Accessible Festivals and presented by Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network, (located on both the North and SouthSides). There were 2,250 kids’ crafts created and back for year two was the Martin Guitar Community Art Project where kids decorated upcycled guitar fronts and sound holes which were then displayed at the Crayola Creativity Tent and on the footbridge crossing from Martin Guitar Handwerkplatz to Service Electric Festplatz. Lastly, the Familienplatz Stage returned for a second year, featuring children’s musicians and other performances.
Public Art and Exhibitions
Paired with the NEW! Jeff Parks Society poster art installation on the exterior of the ArtsQuest Center, poster artist Lauren Beck painted an incredible mural on the 1st Street bus shelter. The Bus Shelter Mural was funded by the PA Council of the Arts.
6-month Artist-In-Residency at the Banana Factory included First Friday events, summer art camps and studio tours. NEW! Musikfest mural in the artist’s studio that included artistic contributions from visitors, students and campers.
Glassblowing at ‘Fest
Glassblowing offered daily hands-on experiences working one on one with a hot glass instructor. ‘Festers ages 6 and up created their own piece of art from molten glass. There were also nightly competitions between glassblowing artists during a 90-minute time slot to complete an original work of art in the theme of the ‘Musikfest Mug’. The artist with the most votes wins a $1,000 prize pack. Voting ends on August 18, so go vote for your favorite glass mug now!
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 over 50% are free to attend, have a combined economic impact of more than $136 million annually in the region.
