John J. Moser
Verified
Director of News, LehighValleyNews.com /WLVR-FM/PBS 39. Ex-editor and music critic at The Morning Call in Allentown Pa. Pulitzer Prize runner-up.
Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by John J. Moser
ArtsQuest Creative Factory Bergstein Theater is Lehigh Valley’s new hub for comedy
In the more than 15 years since ArtsQuest debuted its campus at SteelStacks, comedy shows have struggled to find a home there. Comedy has been presented in Musikfest Cafe, the Blast Furnace Room, Frank Banko Cinemas, the Brew Stage and the Bethlehem Visitor Center. With the opening of ArtsQuest’s new $32-million, 80,000-square-foot Creative Factory, 25 W. Third St., Bethlehem, comedy is going to be at the forefront for the Lehigh Valley.
Lace and Lee continue their musical heritage
Children of music artists such as Julian Lennon and Jakob Dylan have had hit records and become famous by singing largely the same way their famous fathers did. The indie folk duo of Lace and Lee is Caroline McPherson and Olivia Ondrasik, the latter a daughter of Five for Fighting singer John Ondrasik, for whom the pair will be the opening, 8 p.m. Oct. 17, Sellersville Theatre 1894. If you listen to Lace and Lee’s debut EP, “Mirror Mirror,” set for release Nov.
Five for Fighting: A bridge not too far
Twenty-five years ago when Paul McCartney organized the famed “Concert for New York City” to benefit the victims of and emergency responders to the Sept. 11 attacks, he included singer John Ondrasik, whose song about heroes, “Superman (It’s Not Easy),” was atop the charts, and seemed appropriate for the show. Vladimir John Ondrasik III, born Jan. 7, 1965, is known professionally as Five for Fighting. “Of course, I was very nervous,” Ondrasik says.
Get your Irish on at “Celtic Classic”
The 39th year of “Celtic Classic Highland Games & Festival,” the Lehigh Valley celebration of all things Irish, Scottish and Welsh, continues through Sept. 27 on Main Street, under the Hill to Hill Bridge and in Sand Island’s Charles A. Brown Ice House, Bethlehem. The festival, presented by the Celtic Cultural Alliance, is free to attend and includes the familiar elements of food, drink, games, activities and entertainment that have drawn three-day attendance approaching 300,000 in recent years.
Celtic Classic: Win, judge and score for Emmaus bagpiper
During the 39th “Celtic Classic Highland Games & Festival,” through Sept. 27, Bethlehem, when the highlight bagpipe band competition is held, don’t even think about questioning the qualifications of one local judge. Andrew Walker of Emmaus knows what he’s talking about. Walker not only has spent his lifetime learning and playing the bagpipes, but last month, the pipe band in which he plays, The Ulster Scottish Pipe Band, won first place, World Pipe Band Championships, Grade 2, Glasgow, Scotland.
It’s a Plush life for rock band’s journey to “Mass Hysteria”
In the five years since rising young all-female rock band Plush debuted with a self-titled album that gave it two Top 40 Mainstream Rock chart hits, the group has grown and changed, singer Moriah Formica says. Some of the biggest changes are reflected in the band’s new album, “Mass Hysteria,” released Sept. 18, Formica says. The disc is “by far the heaviest album that we’ve ever put out, and the heaviest work that we’ve ever done so far,” she says.
Concert Review: For Devon Gilfillian, good music never gets old at Musikfest Cafe
They say good music never gets old. Devon Gilfillian proved that adage Sept. 20 at Musikfest Cafe, ArtsQuest Center, SteelStacks, Bethlehem, with a concert of classic soul that not only revived the 1960s and ‘70s sound successfully, but integrated it with rock, pop and more.
It’s “Time” for Devon Gilfillian at Musikfest Cafe
When country-soul singer Devon Gilfillian made his major label debut album, “Black Hole Rainbow,” in 2020, he says it was an experience of diving into the recording process wholeheartedly, learning and pushing the boundaries. “What a privilege to get to make that album,” Gilfillian says. He went into the iconic Electro-Vox Studio in Hollywood and recorded the songs not only on tape, but pressed them onto vinyl and sampled it onto Pro Tools to use on the finished product.
Test_yggxav | WLVR FM
CVE-2024-11080 PoC – arbitrary post creation by unauthenticated user Like this: Like Loading...
Concert Review: “Local Legends Live” brings Grandstand camaraderie to Allentown Fair
When The Great Allentown Fair announced its first “Local Legends Live” show this year, it noted how “local music and its passionate fan base have long been a cornerstone of the Lehigh Valley community … bringing people together through shared experiences.” The eight-hour, mini-music festival on the Fair’s Service Electric Grandstand Stage Sept.
Concert Review: Pop-punk alive and well with All Time Low at Allentown Fair
Popular music fans never got a chance to hear how punk rock music of the 1970s and ‘80s would have sounded had it gotten a chance to grow up. The Sex Pistols and The Clash imploded after just a few years and The Ramones never changed.
Concert Review: Four Tops, Allentown Symphony, reach out at Allentown Fair
When the music of classical composers Beethoven, Bach and Mozart was gaining popularity 250 years ago, it’s likely that listeners had no reason to believe it would have the impact it did or that it would still be revered these so many years later.
The Great Allentown Fair: Scott Marshall rocking out with “Local Legends” on Grandstand
Popular Lehigh Valley country rock band leader Scott Marshall says he remembers years ago, as a young, budding singer-songwriter, watching big-name music acts perform on the iconic Allentown Fair grandstand stage. “We watched our favorite bands play this stage, dreaming that one day, maybe we would be so fortunate,” Marshall says in an interview. That dream will come true Sept.
Test_nlrp8a | WLVR FM
CVE-2024-11080 PoC – arbitrary post creation by unauthenticated user Like this: Like Loading...
Concert Review: Gin Blossoms shine at Levitt SteelStacks
The 1990s now are 30 years in the past, the distance at which musical eras historically have been looked at as “oldies.” Think of how 1980s New Wave often is presented these days. The concert Aug. 25 at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks, Bethlehem, featuring 1990s’ chart-toppers Blues Traveler, Gin Blossoms and Spin Doctors, didn’t seem like oldies – neither the performances nor the songs. The three acts took differing approaches at keeping them fresh.
Gin Blossoms, Spin Doctors, Blues Traveler on triple bill at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks
Back in the early 1990s, the Gin Blossoms hits’ “Hey Jealousy” and “Found Out About You” were topping the charts and reaching gold sales, as listeners connected with the songs’ ominous, claustrophobic portrayals of relationships gone wrong.
Taking Back Sunday’s Shaun Cooper looked to Musikfest energy
When Long Island, N.Y., emo band Taking Back Sunday released its debut album, “Tell All Your Friends,” in 2002, bassist Shaun Cooper says he didn’t expect the success it received. “I thought we got lucky enough to sign a record deal,” Cooper says. “That record came out in March.
Concert Review: Yellowcard, Taking Back Sunday revive pop-punk at Musikfest
There’s no question that the pop-punk and emo music of the early 2000s is making a comeback: Twenty years after its initial success, pop-punkers Yellowcard last year had its first-ever No. 1 Alternative chart hit, and this year had its second. A twin bill of Yellowcard and Taking Back Sunday on Aug. 8 became the second sellout headline concert on the Wind Creek Steel Stage at Musikfest 2026 in Bethlehem. The first was “Weird Al” Yankovic, Aug. 4.
Gillian Smith: from Mechanicsburg to Nashville to Musikfest
Seven years ago, Gillian Smith was a 16-year-old singer in Central Pennsylvania who had fallen in love with country music and was ready to perform it. Bars around her native Mechanicsburg, near Harrisburg, refused to let her play until she was at least 18, Smith says in an exclusive interview at Musikfest. She and her parents followed the path of another Pennsylvania native, Taylor Swift, and took their search for audiences to Nashville.
Concert Review: Bailey Zimmerman lights up his country hits at Musikfest
Country music singer Bailey Zimmerman’s rise has been swift. Just four years after the release of his debut single, “Fall in Love,” which went six-times-platinum and topped the Country chart, Zimmerman has had 16 gold and platinum hits that collectively sold more than 35 million copies. He’s already on his first headline tour of arena-sized venues. Zimmerman’s nearly sold-out show Aug.
Concert Review: Parker McCollum brings the real country to Musikfest
The third and final country music show at Musikfest 2026 finally gave fans a taste of real country. After concerts by bro-country singer Russell Dickerson, July 31, and pop-country performer Bailey Zimmerman, Aug.6, Parker McCollum, whose music, with its traditional influences of blues and Americana has given him eight gold and platinum hits in the past decade, took the Bethlehem festival’s main Wind Creek Steel Stage, Aug. 7.
Concert Review: Train tracks past, chugs into future, at Musikfest
A decade since radio rock band Train’s last Top 10 hit, nine years since its last charting album, with singer Pat Monahan its only original member, it seemed fair that the band would offer a show focused on its past when it headlined Musikfest’s main Wind Creek Steel Stage Aug. 3. With its hits now dating back more than 28 years and 20 Top 20 songs, 15 of them gold and platinum, with sales totaling nearly 50 million copies, Train certainly has the material to make that a successful show.
Concert Review: Russell Dickerson “Bro-country” opens Musikfest on Wind Creek Steel Stage
Three years ago, Russell Dickerson was perhaps the hottest thing in country music. His 2017 debut album, “Yours,” had produced three No. 1 multi-platinum hits. His 2020 sophomore disc, “Southern Symphony,” continued the stretch with two gold and platinum hits. A third, self-titled, album gave him another triple-platinum single.
Member of rock vocal supergroup, famed country singer, more set for new Zoellner Arts Center season
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A third of one of rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest vocal supergroups will play Lehigh University's Zoellner Arts Center, it has been announced. So will a singer who was one of the youngest country music stars ever and later developed a pop career. And a pop singer-songwriter whose funky, bouncy song 15 years ago hit the Top 5, then had five more gold and platinum hits. A prominent comedian, humor writer and best-selling author also is coming.
In a world of live music, James McMurtry's new album still winning praise. He's set to play Musikfest Cafe
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — More than 35 years after his song "Painting by Numbers" captured the frustration of America's heartland and became an MTV video hit, singer James McMurtry still is a troubadour in the truest sense. McMurtry said he spends most of his time on the road these days, playing shows such as the one he'll do at 7 p.m. next Sunday, June 21, in Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center.
REVIEW: 'Any Way You Want It,' Journey's Final Frontier at PPL Center pleases fans
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Nearly 20 years ago, Journey's song "Don't Stop Believin'" became best known as the song that marked the end of TV's "The Sopranos." But through a career of more than 50 years, the power ballad-rockers have soldiered on — even through the loss of iconic lead singer Steve Perry after more than 20 years. Now the group is on what is assumed to be its final tour — The Final Frontier, which stopped Thursday to perform for a near-sellout crowd at Allentown's PPL Center.
Final grandstand show announcement sets Allentown Fair on crash course
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The lineup of grandstand offerings at Allentown Fair this summer is on a collision course. J&J Demolition Derby, a Labor Day mainstay at Allentown Fairgrounds, will return for its closing-night grandstand entertainment offering at 5 p.m. Sept. 7. The demolition derby completes the grandstand lineup for the fair, which is set for Sept. 2-7.
Lehigh Valley’s 'largest drone and fireworks show ever,' program, activities, more set at Coca-Cola Park for America250
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A Fourth of July celebration that will offer entertainment, amusements, a century car show and what is being called "the region’s largest drone and fireworks show ever" is set for Coca-Cola Park. Television personality Carson Kressly, a Lehigh Valley native, will be master of ceremonies for Liberty Ignited: A Lehigh Valley Salute to America at 250 on July 3, a release said. The event will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the establishment of the United States.
Iconic Motown group, backed by Allentown Symphony, announced as Allentown Fair headliner
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The legacy version of an iconic R&B/soul group will play a headline grandstand show with Allentown Symphony Orchestra on Allentown Fair's opening night, it was announced Monday. The Four Tops, who in the 1960s helped define the Motown sound with hits such chart-topping hits as "Reach Out I'll Be There," will perform at 7 p.m. Sept. 2.
The last Journey?: Classic rock balladeers' Final Frontier tour to stop at PPL Center. Is it truly the end?
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — When rock band Journey in November announced its current tour, which stops Thursday, June11, at Allentown's PPL Center, it said it would be the band's last. That announcement had the extensive Final Frontier Tour starting Feb. 28 in Hershey and scheduled to wrap up July 2 in Laredo, Texas. The Allentown's show was to be near the end of the tour, with just 12 shows afterward. This month, Journey announced another leg of the tour, adding 42 more concerts through Nov.
Farewell tour shows at PPL Center: Journey is just the latest; Arena says it reflects success.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — When top-selling power balladeers Journey brings its Final Frontier tour to Allentown's PPL Center on Thursday, July 11, it won't be the first act to play a farewell tour in the arena. Perhaps the biggest final tour that graced the downtown arena was that of Elton John, who on Sept. 8, 2018, kicked off his Goodbye Yellow Brick Road farewell tour at the arena.
With bigger SoccerFest, ArtsQuest looks to include everyone. Games, activities start next week
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — When, in 2014, ArtsQuest started its SoccerFest festival to coincide with the FIFA World Cup, it quickly captured the interest of the sport's burgeoning society of fans. Since then, interest in the sport has only grown, and with attention expected to be especially high when Philadelphia hosts the 2026 FIFA World Cup starting next week, ArtsQuest now wants to include everyone in SoccerFest. "There are few events around the world that bring people together like the World Cup.
English rock supergroup legacy, rising country music star coming to Musikfest Cafe
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The legacy version of an English rock supergroup that had more than a dozen Top 20 hits will play Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, it was announced. So will a country music singer who had a 2021platinum hit and now has been cast on the spinoff of a popular western TV series.
'Evolution of the SteelStacks story': Work starts to turn former Bethlehem Steel Turn and Grind shop into event center
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — ArtsQuest at a gala news conference in November announced a renewed push to renovate Bethlehem Steel’s massive Turn and Grind Shop into a programming, exhibit and festival venue. Six months later, on Thursday, that idea moved a step closer to reality, as ArtsQuest and public officials gathered for a ceremonial "brick-breaking" to mark the start of construction.
Favorite a cappella group with local ties, top Broadway musical announced for State Theatre's 100th season
EASTON, Pa. — A top-selling a cappella group that includes two Lehigh Valley natives will return to Easton’s State Theatre in December for two holiday shows, it was announced. Also coming to the theater is a 10th anniversary tour of a beloved Broadway musical that was adapted from an earlier movie, then was made into another musical film version of the play. Straight No Chaser will perform at the theater at 3 and 7 p.m. Dec. 5. And the stage play "Waitress" will be presented at 7 p.m. Dec. 15 and 16.
BASD announces choice for new superintendent
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — An assistant superintendent in Philadelphia schools has been chosen to head Bethlehem Area School District. Renato M. Lajara, as assistant superintendent for Network 8 in Philadelphia School District oversees 15 schools and more than 8,000 students, will take over for Superintendent Jack P. Silva, who will retire June 30. Lajara's appointment will need approval of Bethlehem Area School Board, which next meets to adopt the district budget at 6 p.m. June 1.
Procrastinator’s Guide to 2026 primary: Everything you need to know for Election Day
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Now's your chance. If you've been thinking that things have been going well politically — or that they haven't, and a change is needed — today is the day you can weigh in on the road from here. Tuesday is Primary Election Day in Pennsylvania. Lehigh Valley Democratic voters will cast ballots in the 7th Congressional District, 16th District state Senate, the 22nd District state House of Representatives and 187th District state House.
A sound decision: On season opening night, Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks' new audio system speaks volumes
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Pop singer Enslow strode confidently across the Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks stage Friday, her red hair bouncing and the tassels on her white bodysuit swinging. And soon after she started her show with her song "Dangerous," followed by a cover of Madonna's "Material Girl," the audience — even those across the lawn on the campus' Town Square — seemed involved.
ArtsQuest's new Creative Center taking shape as 'a new chapter in the arts' in South Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — When ground was broken for ArtsQuest's new Creativity Center, last June, the organization said it would be "a new chapter for the arts in Bethlehem." Nearly a year into work on the building, which will replace ArtsQuest's Banana Factory arts and education center, officials said Thursday that's not only still true, but holds even more promise.
Allentown man convicted in 2022 slaying on city street
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An Allentown man charged in the 2022 shooting death of a man on a city street has been convicted of first-degree murder. Steven M. Rosa, 31, was convicted by a jury of first-degree homicide and carrying a firearm without a license in the July 28, 2022, killing of Tywon Deleva Abner, 33, of Allentown. Abner was shot in the 500 block of West Allen Street. A first-degree murder conviction in Pennsylvania carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Freddy Awards nominations: A record number of area high schools get nods. Which got the most?
EASTON, Pa. — A record 31 high schools this year got nominations in State Theatre's annual Freddy Awards honoring high school musicals and their student performers, it was announced Thursday. Bethlehem's Freedom led all schools with 17 nominations for its production of "Something Rotten," including outstanding actor, actress, ensemble and Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical.
Top country star, iconic rock group's vocalist among four new shows set Easton's State Theatre
EASTON, Pa. — A country music artist with nine gold and platinum albums who once set a ticket-price record while selling out Bethlehem’s Musikfest festival will play Easton's State Theatre. So will the lead singer and guitarist from a multiplatinum group that had hits from the 1960s into the 1980s and is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Police: Woman wanted in fatal Turnpike crash arrested in Philadelphia
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A woman facing multiple felony charges in a fatal wrong-way crash last year on the Pennsylvania Turnpike was taken into custody Wednesday in Philadelphia, officials said. Onanyeli Rosario-Mesa, 25, of Allentown, was charged last month in a March 30, 2025, crash on Interstate 476 northbound in Washington Township, Lehigh County, but had remained at large. Rosario-Mesa was sent to Lehigh County Jail under $500,000 bail and remained there Wednesday.
Platinum-selling pop-punk band to headline Allentown Fair grandstand
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A band that topped the pop-punk wave in the 2000s will play a headline show at Allentown Fair grandstand, it was announced Wednesday. All Time Low, which had the hits “Dear Maria, Count Me In” in 2008 and “Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don’t)” and “Weightless” in 2009, will perform at 7 p.m. Sept. 5. Opening the show will be Taylor Acorn, a fast-rising pop-punk singer.
1990s band with hits, Grammy Awards; 2000s hit pop singer; polka great among 300 free-stage scts announced for Musikfest
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A music group that in the 1990s had two uplifting hits and was nominated for two Grammy Awards will play a free show at Musikfest in August, it was announced Wednesday. So will a pop singer who in the early 2000s had two gold hits, a platinum album and frequently appeared on an MTV reality TV show. And an artist who is among the Top 10 list of most Grammy Awards won also will play.
WATCH: 'A Community Conversation: Understanding Childhood Vaccine Changes'
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — PBS39 will examinethe U.S. Health and Human Services Department's decision this year to reduce the list of recommended vaccines for children from 17 shots to 11. “A Community Conversation: Understanding Childhood Vaccine Changes" is a live show that will explore how the move has parents divided on how to proceed to keep their children safe from disease. PBS39 Executive Producer Brittany Sweeney will be host for the hourlong program.
Pinsley, Merkl-Gump to go head-to-head in 16th state Senate District's Democratic primary debate
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Lehigh Valley Public Media will host a debate Tuesday, April 28 between the two Democratic candidates running for Pennsylvania's 16th state Senate District. Democratic voters in Bucks and Lehigh counties will chose between Mark Pinsley and Bradley Merkl-Gump when they head to the polls for the May 19 primary. The winner is expected to face off against state Sen. Jarrett Coleman in the November election. Coleman, a first-term Republican, is running unopposed in the GOP primary.
"Music is power": Top punk/rockabilly band, favorite masked surf-rockers, festivals, tributes and more set for Levitt Pavilion lineup
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A band that in the 1990s had two charting albums of surf/punk/rockabilly music will be among concerts headlining the Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks’ 2026 free summer season. So will a masked group of instrumental rock surf-rockers who have been the backing band for top talent while releasing more than 25 albums of their own and winning a Grammy Award. Also, a California-based roots collective that has played paid-ticket shows at ArtsQuest's Musikfest Cafe.
High-charting alt-metal band returning to the Lehigh Valley
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A platinum-selling alternative metal band will return to the Lehigh Valley — this time with the lead guitarist from another top alt-rock band. The Used, which in the 2000s had five gold- and platinum-selling albums and put eight songs in the Top 30 on the Alternative Singles chart, will perform at 8 p.m. July 22 at Wind Creek Event Center. Also on the bill will be guitarist Fred Mascherino, formerly of the bands Taking Back Sunday & Say Anything.
SteelStacks announces classics, recent hits in 10-movie free Levitt lawn series
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Significant film anniversaries, beloved classics and recent hits again will fill this year's Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks' free summer Family Movies series. The series of 10 Wednesday night movies has been listed on the SteelStacks website.They will start May 13 — a week earlier than last year. This year's series of 10 films will start May 13 at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks.
Show More
loading
Actions
Get in touch with John J.
Contact John J., search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack