Musikfest

Musikfest is an annual music festival held in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The event is produced by ArtsQuest and typically runs for about ten days in August, drawing hundreds of thousands of attendees. The festival features multiple stages across downtown Bethlehem, combining free outdoor performances on street stages with indoor, ticketed shows at larger venues.

Programming spans a wide range of genres, including rock, pop, jazz, blues, folk, world music, and classical. Outdoor stages offer a rotating schedule of contemporary acts and local talent, while indoor venues host more specialized or high-profile performances. In addition to music, Musikfest presents a marketplace of food stalls, craft vendors, and family-friendly activities, with various interactive experiences throughout the festival area.

Many of the event’s performances take place on stages within the SteelStacks campus, a cultural and arts complex built on the site of the former Bethlehem Steel plant. The festival is recognized as a major cultural and economic event for the Lehigh Valley, attracting visitors from across the region and supporting local businesses and arts organizations.

History and development: Musikfest began in 1984 as a celebration of Bethlehem’s immigrant heritage and industrial past. Over the years it expanded in duration, scope, and attendance, with ArtsQuest assuming primary organizing responsibilities in the 1990s and broadening the festival’s reach and facilities. Today it remains one of the region’s flagship cultural events and a notable example of large-scale, multi-genre urban music festivals in the United States.