Superunknown, Roy Book Binder and Megadeth
The top 3 Lehigh Valley area concerts this week are a basic history lesson in rock and roll.
First, taking us all the way back to early Americana acoustic blues is an artist who spent 15 years living out of his tour bus after abandoning his Greenwich Village home in NYC in the ‘70s. Then, we time travel to the ‘80s with a thrash metal band that has sold over 38 million records, led by one of the original founders of Metallica, and continues to sell out arenas to date. And lastly, a tribute group to one of the ‘90s grunge era’s biggest stars, Chris Cornell.
Superunknown
When: 8 p.m. Friday Where: Sherman Theater, 524 Main St., Stroudsburg How much: $25
Tickets: shermantheater. com/ 570-420-2808 Musical style: Grunge, Hard Rock, Alternative Rock
Known for hits like:
Covers of Soundgarden’s “Spoonman,” and “Black Hole Sun,” Temple of the Dog’s “Hunger Strike,” and Audioslave’s “Cochise.”
Honors: They’ve performed at venues such as Gramercy Theatre in NYC, World Cafe Live in Philadelphia, and The Queen in Wilmington. They worked with Armed Forces Entertainment performing for members of the US military both in the US and abroad.
Check them out if you like: Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave, Chris Cornell, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana
Roy Book Binder
When: 8 p.m. Saturday Where: Godfrey Daniels, 7 E. 4th St., Bethlehem
How much: $22.50-$27.50 Tickets: godfreydaniels.org 610-867-2390
Musical style: Blues, Folk, Singer-Songwriter
Known for hits like: ”She Did You a Favor,” “New
Age Woman Blues,” “The Preacher Picked the Guitar,” and “Rag Mama.” Honors: He’s shared the stage with artists like Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Doc Watson, and Ray Charles. He was a regular on Ralph Emory’s “Nashville
Now” show. His album “The Good Book” took the number three spot on AirPlayDirect’s Americana charts. He was one of the top three artists of July on Folkdj.org.
Check him out if you like: Etta Baker, Leo Kottke, Chris Smither, Pink Anderson, Blind Boy Fuller, Roy Rogers.
Megadeth
When: 6 p.m. Sunday Where: PPL Center, 701 Hamilton St., Allentown How much: $39.50-$99.50 Tickets: pplcenter.com 610-224-4625
Musical style: Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal, Speed Metal Known for hits like: ”Symphony of Destruction,” “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due,” “A Tout Le Monde,” and “Tornado of Souls.”
Honors: One part of the “Big Four” of American thrash metal with Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax. Dave Mustaine was an original founder of Metallica before starting Megadeth in 1983. The band has multiple platinum-selling albums including “So Far, So Good... So What!,” “Rust in Peace,” and “Countdown to Extinction.”
They won a Grammy Award in 2017 for the song “Dystopia” in the Best Metal Performance category, and have been nominated for twelve Grammys total. They’ve sold over 38 million records.
Check them out if you like:
Anthrax, Metallica, Testament, Overkill, Slayer, Judas Priest, Pantera, Motorhead