Bethlehem, Lehigh Valley, PA., March 17, 2025 – ArtsQuest is thrilled to announce the tenth Musikfest 2025 headliner, The Black Keys will be coming to the Wind Creek Steel Stage at PNC Plaza on Sunday, August 10, 2025.
This show is sponsored by Provident Bank and Shift4 and presented with media partner 95.1 WZZO. Ticket access begins Wednesday, March 19 for ArtsQuest Members and Friday, March 21 for the general public at Musikfest.org. Ticket prices run from $50 to $169 ($279 for Steel Terrace which includes dinner, drinks and dessert at private tables under a tent). For more exclusive ticket access and advance purchase opportunities, become an ArtsQuest Circle Donor today. Gates open at 6 p.m. and the show kicks off at 7 p.m.
Ohio Players, The Black Keys’ twelfth album, blends blues, soul and new influences. It all started in 2003, when Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, on tour for their debut album, 2007’s The Big Come Up, met Beck at a Saturday Night Live party. Beck became a key supporter, even inviting them to open his Sea Change tour.
Beck is now all over Ohio Players, collaborating with The Black Keys as a writer, singer and instrumentalist on seven of the album’s fourteen tracks. Also contributing across this all-star affair are ex-Oasis guitarist and songwriter Noel Gallagher (three songs); the pioneering hip-hop producer Dan The Automator (two tracks); Memphis-rap cult legends Juicy J and Lil Noid; Leon Michels, who plays with Auerbach in the Arcs; and superstar producer Greg Kurstin (Adele, Foo Fighters), who first met The Black Keys when he was in Beck’s band on that 2003 tour. Many of the backing musicians on Ohio Players are veterans of Black Keys sessions and Auerbach’s productions at Easy Eye Sound in Nashville.
After four albums in five years, Ohio Players was the product of constant recording and collaboration, with about 50 songs developed before settling on the final tracks. The title pays homage, of course, to the 1970s funk band, originally from Dayton. And it reflects The Black Keys’ unbroken roots in the state’s blues and rock history: the James Gang; original rock & roll DJ Alan Freed; the Ohio connections in Devo and the Pretenders. The title also captures the album’s troupe-like feel of camaraderie and adventure. No matter where they come from, Beck, Gallagher, and the Memphis rappers are now Ohio Players. Auerbach and Carney are excited to bring the album to life on tour, reflecting both their roots and new musical directions.
About Musikfest
A total of 1,029,417 people attended Musikfest in 2024. The 11-day festival featured over 500 free performances, across 16 stages located throughout both the north and south-sides of Bethlehem. The 42nd Musikfest is scheduled for August 1 – 10, 2025, with a special preview night on July 31. This year’s Musikfest 2025 poster artist is ArtsQuest Teaching Artist Mallory Zondag. To see the poster and learn more about Zondag’s vision for it, along with information about the festival, visit musikfest.org.
About ArtsQuest
ArtsQuest’s mission is to provide access to exceptional artistic, cultural and educational experiences using arts and culture as key elements of economic development for our urban communities. ArtsQuest™ supports this mission via the presentation of performing and visual arts, film, arts education classes and outreach, youth programming and cultural events. Through festivals such as its flagship event, Musikfest; the ArtsQuest Creative Factory powered by PPL; and the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks arts and cultural campus, ArtsQuest’s programming reaches more than 1.9 million people annually. The organization’s programs and events, of which nearly 50 percent are free to attend, have a combined economic impact of more than $136 million annually in the region.
Information provided to TVL by:
Bryn Keeney
