{"id":127480,"date":"2026-03-02T15:45:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T15:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/127480\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T15:45:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T15:45:07","slug":"t-i-with-special-guest-dababy-coming-to-musikfest-2026-in-bethlehem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/127480\/","title":{"rendered":"T.I. with special guest DaBaby coming to Musikfest 2026 in Bethlehem"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2014 Grammy-winning rapper T.I. will headline the Wind Creek Steel Stage at PNC Plaza on Aug. 5 with special guest DaBaby, ArtsQuest announced Monday.<\/p>\n<p>The show is the ninth headlining act revealed for the 43rd Musikfest, which runs July 31 through Aug. 9. The concert is being presented with media partner LOUD Radio.<\/p>\n<p>Ticket access begins Tuesday for ArtsQuest members and Friday for the general public at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.artsquest.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">ArtsQuest.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>T.I., born Clifford Harris Jr., is a three-time Grammy Award winner and one of the architects of the trap music subgenre that reshaped hip-hop in the 2000s.<\/p>\n<p>The Atlanta rapper has released 11 studio albums over his career, with seven reaching the top five of the Billboard 200.<\/p>\n<p>His sixth album, \u201cPaper Trail,\u201d produced the No. 1 hits \u201cWhatever You Like\u201d and \u201cLive Your Life\u201d featuring Rihanna.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond music, Harris has built a business portfolio spanning a record label, a clothing line, a production company and real estate holdings. He has also appeared in films including \u201cATL,\u201d \u201cAmerican Gangster\u201d and Marvel\u2019s \u201cAnt-Man.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Musikfest date comes as T.I. prepares to release \u201cKill the King,\u201d which he confirmed at the 2026 Grammy Awards will be his twelfth and final studio album.<\/p>\n<p>The project\u2019s lead single, \u201cLet Em Know,\u201d produced by Pharrell, dropped in January. T.I., widely credited as one of the pioneers of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/T.I.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">trap music<\/a>, told Entertainment Tonight that he plans to step away from recording to focus on family and other creative ventures, including a stand-up comedy special set for release in December 2025.<\/p>\n<p>DaBaby, whose real name is Jonathan Lyndale Kirk, rose to mainstream prominence in 2019 after signing with Interscope Records. The Charlotte, N.C., rapper\u2019s debut album \u201cBaby on Baby\u201d spent 55 weeks on the Billboard 200, while his follow-up \u201cKirk\u201d debuted at No. 1.<\/p>\n<p>His biggest hit, \u201cRockstar\u201d featuring Roddy Ricch, spent seven weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and earned multiple Grammy nominations. He has also appeared on chart-topping remixes alongside Dua Lipa and Jack Harlow. DaBaby released his fifth studio album, \u201cBe More Grateful,\u201d on Jan. 30, his first full-length project since 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The T.I. and DaBaby show joins a growing Musikfest 2026 lineup that already includes comedian John Mulaney on Aug. 1, Train on Aug. 3, \u201cWeird Al\u201d Yankovic on Aug. 4, Bailey Zimmerman on Aug. 6, Parker McCollum on Aug. 7, Yellowcard and Taking Back Sunday on Aug. 8 and AJR on Aug. 9.<\/p>\n<p>A record 1,449,000 people attended Musikfest in 2025. The 11-day festival features more than 500 free performances across 16 stages on Bethlehem\u2019s north and south sides.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xl md:text-2xl font-bold text-white mb-3 leading-tight\">\n                This is the part where we ask.\n            <\/p>\n<p class=\"text-base text-gray-300 mb-6\">\n                No billionaire owner. No paywall. Just you keeping local news free.\n            <\/p>\n<p>            <a href=\"https:\/\/givebutter.com\/lehighdaily\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"group inline-flex items-center justify-center gap-2 px-8 py-4 bg-amber-500 hover:bg-amber-400 text-gray-900 text-lg font-bold rounded-lg transition-all duration-200 hover:scale-[1.02] no-underline hover:no-underline shadow-lg shadow-amber-500\/20\"><\/p>\n<p>                $5 keeps us going<br \/>\n            <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xs text-gray-500 mt-4\">\n                100% funds local journalism.\n            <\/p>\n<p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/lehighdaily.com\/author\/jai-smith-2\/\" class=\"flex-shrink-0 group block leading-none\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>                <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1764282993_735_newheadshot2-e1723998834556-150x150.webp.webp\" width=\"96\" height=\"96\"  alt=\"Jai Smith\" class=\"avatar avatar-96 wp-user-avatar wp-user-avatar-96 alignnone photo block rounded-full w-20 h-20 md:w-14 md:h-14 object-cover ring-2 ring-white dark:ring-[#2a2a2a] shadow-lg group-hover:ring-brand transition-all duration-200\"\/>                <\/p>\n<p>        <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-sm text-text-secondary dark:text-gray-400 mt-1.5 leading-relaxed\">Jai Smith is a lifetime Lehigh Valley resident on a mission to empower local underserved communities and inform the public while providing journalists and storytellers a platform to develop the next generation of news media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2014 Grammy-winning rapper T.I. will headline the Wind Creek Steel Stage at PNC Plaza on Aug.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127481,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-127480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}