Larry Campbell, left, and Teresa Williams
Gregg Roth
Since 1976, Godfrey Daniels of Bethlehem has been considered one of the premiere listening rooms in the country, where people go to appreciate live, diverse music and to celebrate a place where the audience can really connect with the artist.
Godfrey Daniels will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a Golden Jubilee, featuring a performance by Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams, on Saturday at Moravian University’s Foy Hall in Bethlehem.
The acclaimed Americana duo, who are longtime collaborators with Levon Helm and members of Bob Dylan’s band, have decades of shared musical history and a partnership that has been unfolding since 1986. Their songs reflect the life they’ve built together through music, shaped by years on the road and in legendary rooms like Woodstock’s Levon Helm Studio, home of the Midnight Rambles.
This milestone concert at Moravian will celebrate not only their remarkable collaboration but also the enduring spirit of Godfrey Daniels, which offers audiences a rare chance to experience artists whose connection and craft have been shaped over a lifetime.
Opening will be Danielia Cotton, who is known for her fiery voice and fearless blend of rock, soul, gospel, and jazz.
Doors will open at 6:15 p.m. with a Godfrey Daniels retrospective display in Foy gallery.
Cotton will perform at 7 p.m., and the headline concert will begin at 8 p.m.
Tickets cost $76.
Drones return to Mayfair
Mayfair Festival of the Arts, which will return to Cedar Crest College in Allentown over this Memorial Day weekend, will offer visitors a bigger and better drone show finale this year.
The free, family festival, which offers food, crafts and music on two stages, will run from 4 to 10 p.m. on Friday and from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Organizers said they are excited about the festival’s larger drone show, which will be presented at 9 p.m. on Sunday by Star Flight Drone Shows of Celebration Fireworks Inc., which is located in Slatington, Lehigh County.
This year, the company’s performance will feature 200 drones flying in formation and creating patterns in the sky that are synchronized to music. It’s twice as many as in last year’s show.
New this year is a day pass for the children’s amusements at Franki’s Fun Zone, which will be located in the Quad. Parents can buy $10 bracelets at the information table, and their children can enjoy unlimited time in the bounce house and on the slide, inflatable obstacle course, gaming trailer, and kiddie train ride. There also will be a Crayola craft table, and LV Rocks will offer a rock-climbing wall and bungee trampoline for additional charges.
The festival will continue as cashless this year, a change it implemented last year. In previous years, visitors needed to purchase tickets to exchange for food and beverages. This year, visitors can use cards or other cashless systems to buy food and drink directly from vendors. Vendors will not accept cash.
The layout of the festival will be the same as last year, with the main stage returning to the Quad, and the artist market stage, which features solo acts and duos, located in front of Blaney Hall.
The artist market will be back with more than 40 artist and vendors inside Tompkins College Center’s dining hall and outside, lining the Quad.
Fan-favorite bands, such as The Large Flowerheads, Go Go Gadjet, Philadelphia Funk Authority, and The Wonton Soups, will be back on the main stage. New this year on the main stage will be regional bands Steal The Sky and Class of ‘84.
Steal the Stage is a Philadelphia band that mixes pop, rock, and dance music in an eclectic but accessible blend. Class of ‘84 is a popular Philadelphia/South Jersey ‘80s tribute band that performs high-energy hits from the era.
Steal the Stage
A newcomer to the artist market stage will be 15-year-old singer/songwriter Adeline Csontos, an emerging local artist who won ABE Idol 2025.
This year’s artists in the artist market will offer a wide variety of handmade items, including jewelry, home décor, fine art, photography, fabric art, wood carving, and candles.
New artists include Muni Muni Bakery, specializing in small-batch Filipino-inspired macarons; Whistling Studios, a paper-making studio; Hoffman Bread, with artisan-crafted bread and pastries; and LK Artistry, which makes handcrafted skincare and body products.
Other highlights include paintings and drawing by students from the Allentown School District; knitted toys, sweaters, succulent pots, and keychains by Hello Fluff; spoons, cutting boards, and spatulas made from Pennsylvania black cherry wood by Chester P. Basil; artisan soap and body care products by Noraa Body Love; gourmet wine slushy mixes by Nectar of the Vine; and scented candles by LilyBean Cottage Scents.
The festival will feature 15 food stands, including returning favorites Heaven On A Bun, Take a Taco, Puerto Rican Culture Association, Greek Street, JR’s London Broil, and E-Z Concessions.
A new food vendor this year will be Mon and Mel’s Sweet Scoops ice cream truck. Started by a pair of Lehigh Valley cousins who retrofitted a school bus, the truck serves 11 flavors of hand-dipped ice cream, milkshakes, sundaes, floats, banana splits, parfaits, smoothies, Italian ice, and cookie sandwiches.
Other sweet treats will be available from Bananarama and Portia’s Donuts & Bobas.
There will be a selection of beer as well as wine from Franklin Hill Vineyards for purchase by those over 21.
Proceeds from the festival go to provide student scholarships at Cedar Crest. Free parking will be available on the college’s campus.
PSF begins
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival will begin its 2026 Summer Theatre Series on the campus of DeSales University in Lehigh County, with August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “The Piano Lesson,” which will be directed by Pulitzter Prize-winning playwright James Ijames.
The play will run from May 27 to June 14 in the Schubert Theatre, which is located at 2755 Station Ave. in Upper Saucon Township.
A Romare Bearden painting, “The Piano Lesson” inspired Wilson to write a play featuring a strong female character to confront African-American history, paralleling the character Troy in his earlier play, “Fences.” PSF presented “Fences” during its 2022 season.
“The Piano Lesson” is set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression. The play follows the lives of Doaker Charles (Kash Goins) and his niece, Berneice (Jessica Johnson), and nephew, Boy Willie (Akeen Davis), as they argue over what to do with the family piano, an heirloom that is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor. Boy Willie is a sharecropper who wants to sell the piano to buy the land where his ancestors toiled as slaves and claim his future. Berniece guards the instrument as a sacred altar to their history, because it shows the carved faces of their great-grandfather’s wife and son during the days of their enslavement. As their clash intensifies, the ghosts of the past begin to stir, forcing a reckoning with a legacy they can neither sell nor escape.
The cast features Terrence Clowe, Leonice Diaz, Johnnie Hobbs III, Jessica Money, and Christopher James Murray.
Written in 1987, “The Piano Lesson” is the fourth play in Wilson’s The Pittsburgh Cycle. The play received the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for drama and earned five Tony Award nominations, including for best play that year.
Directing is Ijames, who won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for his play “Fat Ham,” a modern adaption of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”
“The Piano Lesson” is recommended for ages 13 and up, as the production contains references to slavery, racial violence, and family trauma as well as supernatural elements and period-appropriate language, including racial slurs.
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. May 27, 28, and 29, and June 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, and 12; at 2 p.m. May 30 and 31 and June 14; at 6:30 p.m. June 2 and 9; and at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. June 3 and 13.
The actors will take part in an informal discussion after the June 4 and 11 shows.
An audio-described performance for the blind and visually-impaired will take place on May 30.
“Epilogues,” a free discussion and a behind-the-scenes look at the show, is set for 10 a.m. on June 13. It will allow audience members to gain deeper insight and ask questions.
‘Let Freedom Sing’
The Lehigh Valley IronPigs and The Bach Choir of Bethlehem have collaborated to present “Let Freedom Sing,” a first-of-its-kind choral extravaganza celebrating America’s 250th birthday at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown at 7 p.m. on May 27.
Led by Christopher Jackson, The Bach Choir if Bethlehem’s artistic director and conductor, the concert will unite more than 5,000 voices from across the region, bringing together adult, community, youth, and school choirs for an unforgettable evening of patriotic music.
In the spirit of America250, this celebration will emphasize connection, pride, and shared heritage. The history and roots of each song will be presented prior to its performance, helping to guide the audience through the historical nature of the evening.
The grand finale will bring all participants together in a powerful community sing-along, culminating with a fireworks display. Festivities will also include the IronPigs’ signature on-field entertainment.
Tickets cost $13. A $20 ‘performance package’ includes a ticket plus sheet music for the entire show. All guests will receive a commemorative ‘Let Freedom Sing’ cap.
Quartet returns to Reading
The Friends of Chamber Music of Reading will welcome back the Brentano String Quartet at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Trinity Lutheran Church, which is located at 527 Washington St. in downtown Reading.
This concert will wrap up the season on a high note, with a program that mixes classics and something a little newer. The quartet will perform works by Haydn and Beethoven along with a piece by composer Timo Andres that’s been called “joyful” and “inventive” by San Francisco Classical Voice.
Known for its unique sensibility, probing interpretive style, and original programming, the Brentano Quartet always presents something special on the stage.
The quartet is made up of Misha Amory on viola, Serena Canin on violin, Nina Lee on cello, and Mark Steinberg on violin.
The concert is free and open to everyone. A reception will follow the concert.