After 38 years of headlining, what are the favorite genres of Musikfest?
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Gender is a fun thing, especially when it comes to music. The basic idea is just a bureaucratic, binary way of categorizing music and artists so it’s easier to talk about, really. Common sense dictates that so many performers, most even, touch a multitude of genres with their work.
There are so many genres of music, some so hyper specific that it seems like they were created for a single artist. Some just sound like crazy: “Acid house”, “doomcore” and “zydeco” are real ways to bring together similar music.
But we don’t need to go into genre specifics, like the differences between âpsychobillyâ and âoutlaw countryâ. The artists who came to Musikfest to play the headliner – all of which are conveniently listed on the festival’s Wikipedia page – have gathered under a tidy umbrella of a few distinct genres. For the past 38 years, the festival has apparently operated under the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ modus operandi – although specific artists differ, there have certainly been a few dominant types of music and a or two more adventurous deals over the years. And with this formula, Musikfest has managed to remain a highlight of every summer in the Lehigh Valley.
In 1984 there was only one major headliner, singer-songwriter Don McLean, whose mellow folk-rock set the tone for the following years. Performers like Pete Seeger (1985), Judy Collins (1986), Arlo Guthrie (1986), Joan Baez (1987) and The Mamas & The Papas (1988) are legendary names in the history of music, especially folk music, and all graced the stage in Bethlehem before the festival was 5 years old.
Over the next 10 to 15 years, Musikfest attracted a handful of names in the rock universe who, both then and now in 2021, likely fall under the category of âclassic rockâ, but the âClassicâ isn’t as much of a rock music type as it’s a label: âOh, those guys? These guys are classic. The best of those years was in 1992 with America, REO Speedwagon and Tommy James were all on the headliners list.
Musikfest started drinking from this well in 1990 with Three Dog Night, and there was no reason to stop going back – these bands are classic for a reason. But despite this, between 1990 and 2000, the festival boasted of few names that fell under this umbrella: Little River Band (1991), Gordon Lightfoot (1993), Eddie Money (1995), Little Richard (1997) Daryl Hall & John Oates (1997), Starship (1998) and Foreigner (1999) were the highlights.
In fact, it was in the 2000s that these groups began to appear more and more alongside more contemporary names on the festival program. Bands like Chicago, Kansas, Blue Oyster Cult, Huey Lewis & The News, Steve Winwood, The Beach Boys and Jethro Tull were all in Bethlehem between 2001 and 2003. The lists continued throughout the 2000s, and it is impossible to list classic rock highlights because there are just too many of them.
But a mix of R&B and jazz was perfectly in tune with these rock icons in the first half of Musikfest history. While they are both much more versatile genres than the relatively straightforward folk and folk-rock categories, that versatility includes a plethora of impressive names: the second Musikfest in 1985 hosted the jazz-rock band Blood Sweat & Tears ( which returned in 1991) while 1987 hosted luminaries Ray Charles, Dizzy Gillespie and The Spinners. In the years that followed, R&B, jazz and soul became among the most popular genres of the festival, which regularly brought names like Chuck Mangione (1988), Tito Puente (1988), Nancy Wilson (1989). , Diana Schuur (1990), The Temptations (1990), Mary Wilson (1992), Lou Rawls (1992), Peabo Bryson (1994), Ben E. King (1994), Roberta Flack (1995), The Commodores (1996) , All-4- One (1996) Patti LaBelle (1997) and Boys II Men (2000).
These groups are fewer and more distant today, but Musikfest has filled that void over the past two decades with country, which has become one of the most popular genres for the festival. The very first popular Musikfest country artist was Marie Osmond in 1990. For most of that decade, there were usually one or two country artists playing – Restless Heart in 1994 and 1995, The Everly Brothers in 1995, and the two Trace Adkins and The Dixie Chicks (who performed at Americaplatz) in 1998 are the most notable names.
It’s mostly over the past 10 years, maybe less than that, in which the country has become a big part of Musikfest’s annual offerings. And maybe not in quantity, as there are rarely more than two or three a year, but it looks like the numbers just got … bigger. Darius Rucker (2013, 2015, 2021), Keith Urban (2005, 2014), Reba McEntire (2015), Dierks Bentley (2016, 2018), Lady A (2016, 2019), Toby Keith (2017), The Band Perry ( 2017), Lee Brice (2017), Brantley Gilbert (2018), Brad Paisley (2019) and Sam Hunt (2021) are all huge draws for a genre that has evolved into a stage-rock-country hybrid and shows no sign of it. slowdown.
Similar to country, alternative rock (or alternative rock or indie rock, whichever works best for you) has gained momentum over the past two decades. It’s hard to define what alternative rock is in words, but you know it when you hear it. That’s why 2002 was a special year for the festival, because while Lifehouse and Dishwalla are rock bands in general, there is something, say, alternative to their music. They were the first alternative rock groups to make it to Musikfest, but it stayed that way until 2008, when Stone Temple Pilots was booked. Then things happened, with Third Eye Blind (2009), Counting Crowes and Augustana (2010), The Flaming Lips (2015), Father John Misty (2017) and other alternative rock bands began to appear more frequently. .
For fans of the genre, as well as of rock in general, there has perhaps been no better year than 2012. It was a heavenly summer for rock fans, given the headlining lineup. of the Musikfest of alternative rock groups Young The Giant, Portugal. The Man, Sublime with Rome, MGMT, the Goo Goo Dolls, Jane’s Addiction and Daughtry, plus classic rock legends like Huey Lewis & The News, Boston and the three-in-one party with yacht rock icons Donald Fagen , Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs.
However, arguably the best headlining artist that year was 1990s pop-rock queen Sheryl Crow.
Although an incredible rock year, 2012 is certainly an exception when it comes to variety. Musikfest is constantly mixing it up and changing its shape. In fact, two of the most popular music genres today – rap and electric – only appeared relatively recently at the festival. Electronic Dance Music (EDM) didn’t have its first appearance at Musikfest until global sensation The Chainsmokers appeared in 2019, and the second is this year’s Zedd performance.
Rap was in its teens when Musikfest debuted in 1984, the same year Def Jam Records was founded. It wasn’t until 2004 that hip-hop finally arrived at the festival, with Chingy and Twista. Since then, there have been few hip-hop headliners, but the ones who made the program have been huge: LL Cool J (who brought in R&B singer Ne-Yo) came in 2006, and Ludacris and Lil Mama followed in 2007. After a gap of nearly a decade, Snoop Dogg arrived in Bethlehem in 2015, and the festival introduced Run-DMC the following year in 2016.
This is certainly one of the festival’s few blind spots, given its dominance in popular culture. And speaking of pop culture, pop itself hasn’t had a huge festival presence outside of a few pop stars like Ke $ ha (2013 and 2018), Carly Rae Jepsen (2013), Avril Lavigne (2008). and Maroon 5 (2011).
But like I said if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. And when you can get a million people into a small group in a mid-sized city, it sure doesn’t feel broken to me.
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Connor Lagore can be reached at [email protected].
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