Photos & Story by: Kimberly Kanuck

It was a typical humid August night for Musikfest-goers on August 9th in Bethlehem, PA. Shinedown entered the stage a little after 8:45pm with high energy that was met equally by their adorning fans! Lead singer Brent Smith sounded amazing with powerful vocals. They opened with a strong performance of “Cut the Cord.” Yet ironically it wasn’t enough for their fans to just be in the moment.  Many fans felt the need to document this memory with their phones, taking pictures and videos of the show. For many fans, this was their first live performance since COVID. Shinedown performed all of their best hits with explosive power such as “Diamond Eyes,” “Unity,” “ Enemies,” and “Monsters.” They performed “45” with an energy and passion that only Brent could deliver live and the fans were enthralled. The pyrotechnics added to the excitement of the show causing a few crowd-pleasing shockwaves for their fans during a number of songs.

Shinedown is a multi-platinum rock band consisting of Brent Smith (vocals), Zach Myers (guitar), Eric Bass (bass, production), and Barry Kerch (drums). They have sold more than 10 million albums and 10 million singles worldwide, earned 14 platinum and gold singles, 5 platinum and gold albums, 17 No. 1s on the Mediabase Active Rock Chart, and 16 No. 1s on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs Chart, breaking the record for the most No. 1s ever in the history of the Billboard chart. They are promoting their most recent album, “ATTENTION ATTENTION” which simultaneously hit #1 on Billboard’s Alternative, Top Rock and Hard Rock Albums Charts. They performed hits like “Devil” and “Get Up” from this album.

They wrapped up their show with “Second Chance,” “Simple Man,” and “Sound of Madness,” which were all well received by their fans.  I heard comments from the crowd that this show exceeded their expectations as it did my own. If you’re ready to venture back out to a live concert venue and are a fan of Shinedown, I’d highly recommend this show. For more stops on their tour, please visit: https://www.shinedown.com/shows. And for the rest of the lineup at Musikfest, please visit: https://www.musikfest.org/.