BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Friday night is the opening night of Musikfest 2026!
The country’s largest free music festival is back in Bethlehem for 10 days.
Opening ceremonies for Musikfest 2026 kick off on the Northside at 5:30 p.m., followed by lots of free performances on the North and Southsides.
“I’m just here to walk around, enjoy the music, and have a good time,” said Madison VanPelt of Emmaus.
Each year, thousands of music lovers visit the city of Bethlehem.
“It’s really cool and I’ve never seen something like this, especially because most of it’s free,” said Rachel Gillman of New Jersey. “It’s just like mind-blowing to me.”
Another big draw of the festival is the food. Vendors are all set as they’ve been preparing for this all week.
Finally, the main event Friday night on the Wind Creek Steel Stage: Country music star Russell Dickerson.
That show kicks off at 7:00 p.m..
Bethlehem native Lilly Moss is going to be opening for him.
We caught up with one couple who tells us they come to Musikfest from Maryland nearly every year.
“We spend a lot of our time on the Hotel Bethlehem side and we kind of bounce between those stages and just have a good time,” Amanda Ceci of Maryland said.
Tickets are still available for Friday night’s headliner. You can purchase them here.
Did we see you at Preview Night? Check out our gallery here to see if we spotted you.
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PHOTOS: Did we see you or your friends at Musikfest on Thursday, July 30th?
Visit 69 Newsplatz on Spring Street, located between Festplatz and Plaza Tropical at Musikfest 2026.
Try your hand at news anchoring with 69 News at Musikfest for a chance to win Kalahari passes