{"id":149080,"date":"2026-04-30T22:44:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T02:44:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=149080"},"modified":"2026-04-30T22:44:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T02:44:40","slug":"rising-pop-artist-and-philadelphia-native-anthony-winters-takes-center-stage-in-student-curated-musikfest-lineup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=149080","title":{"rendered":"Rising Pop Artist and Philadelphia Native, Anthony Winters, Takes Center Stage in Student-Curated Musikfest Lineup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bethlehem, Lehigh Valley, PA \u2014 Thursday, April 30, 2026<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 Students at\u00a0Freedom High School<\/strong>, in a unique partnership with the\u00a0Bethlehem Area School District<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0ArtsQuest<\/strong>, have officially finalized their lineup of performers for this year\u2019s\u00a0Musikfest<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

As the largest open-gated music festival in the country, Musikfest serves as a global stage for artistic diversity. From the vibrant Latin rhythms of Plaza Tropical to the intimate acoustic sets at the Martin Guitar Handwerkplatz, the festival balances hundreds of free performances with headlining acts like T.I. with special guest DaBaby and Third Eye Blind. This year, Freedom High School students have taken the reins to curate a selection of emerging artists that reflect the diverse spirit of Bethlehem.<\/p>\n

Anthony Winters<\/strong>: A rising talent who transitioned from high school hallways in suburban Philadelphia to the public stage, Winters specializes in a modern Pop sound. Noted for his versatility, he frequently explores Rock and Pop-Rock influences. During student interviews, Winters cited\u00a0Justin Bieber\u00a0<\/strong>as a primary inspiration for his performance style and vocal arrangements.<\/p>\n

No James<\/strong>: The champion of the\u00a06th Annual F.A.M.E. Contest.<\/strong>\u00a0This competition allows the Freedom High School student body to vote for their favorite peer-musicians. The winner represents the pinnacle of student talent and the “voice” of the current generation. The band consists of the members Ella Viegas, Leland Naylor, and Lucas Colina. No James specializes in the punk\/emo rock genres drawing inspiration from\u00a0blink-182, Green Day<\/strong>, and\u00a0Linkin Park<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Ray Pearson:<\/strong>\u00a0Hailing from Bronx, New York, Pearson is a lyrical rapper who masterfully weaves his Hispanic heritage and urban roots into his tracks. Deeply influenced by the technical precision of\u00a0Eminem<\/strong>, Pearson brings a storytelling approach to the stage that resonates with fans of classic, wordplay-heavy hip-hop.<\/p>\n

The class worked very hard to carefully construct this year’s Musikfest line up to align with the goals and values of ArtsQuest and to be a positive representation of our school and the community of Bethlehem as a whole.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

2026 Freedom HS Marketing Musikfest Band Lineup<\/strong><\/div>\n
Saturday, August 1 — Plaza Tropical<\/div>\n
12:00 p.m. — No James (Rock\/Punk\/Emo)<\/div>\n
1:00 p.m. — Anthony Winters (Pop\/Rock)<\/div>\n
2:00 p.m. — Ray Pearson (Rap\/Hip Hop)<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Marketing Musikfest is a unique hands-on educational experience that allows students to apply the programming, budgeting and marketing skills they learn in class to a real-life setting at Musikfest.<\/p>\n

For additional information on the Marketing Musikfest program at Freedom High School, please follow us on Instagram:\u00a0@FHS_AtTheFest<\/strong><\/p>\n

About ArtsQuest<\/strong><\/p>\n

ArtsQuest’s<\/a>\u00a0<\/u>mission is to provide access to exceptional artistic,\u00a0cultural<\/a>\u00a0and educational experiences, using arts and culture as drivers of economic development in our urban communities. ArtsQuest supports this mission through performing and visual arts, film, arts education and outreach, youth programming and a wide range of cultural events, anchored by signature venues and initiatives including its flagship event,\u00a0Musikfest<\/a>;\u00a0the\u00a0ArtsQuest Creative Factory powered by PPL<\/a>,\u00a0a centerpiece for the Valley’s artistic communities; the ArtsQuest Center at\u00a0SteelStacks<\/a>;<\/u>\u00a0and the\u00a0LVHN, part of Jefferson Health Turn & Grind Shop<\/a>,<\/u>\u00a0an adaptive reuse project expanding space for programming, festivals, private events and nationally touring exhibits. ArtsQuest welcomes more than 2 million people annually, with\u00a0nearly 40 percent<\/a>\u00a0of its programs free to attend, and generated a regional economic impact of close to $193 million in 2025. ArtsQuest’s\u00a0Re-Imagine That! Capital Campaign<\/a>\u00a0<\/u>supports the continued growth of its mission to make the arts accessible for all.<\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nBryn Keeney<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bethlehem, Lehigh Valley, PA \u2014 Thursday, April 30, 2026\u00a0\u2014 Students at\u00a0Freedom High School, in a unique partnership with the\u00a0Bethlehem Area School District\u00a0and\u00a0ArtsQuest, have officially finalized their lineup of performers for … Continue reading Rising Pop Artist and Philadelphia Native, Anthony Winters, Takes Center Stage in Student-Curated Musikfest Lineup<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":149081,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-149080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/arts-beth.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149080"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=149080"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":149082,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149080\/revisions\/149082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/149081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=149080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=149080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=149080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}