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Entertainment around the area

Blues-rock and country music at Penn’s Peak lead the entertainment offerings at local and regional venues over the next couple of weeks.

Hot Tuna, featuring Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, will perform an acoustic show at the Peak, also set to host a show by country singer-songwriter Randy Houser.

Meanwhile, Mauch Chunk Opera House will host tributes to Carlos Santana, yacht rock and Poison, among other shows.

Over in the Lehigh Valley, Frankie Valli will bring his catalog of Four Seasons and solo hits to Bethlehem’s Wind Creek Event Center.

Retro film fans have reason to rejoice, as The Mahoning Drive-In Theater opens for its new season.

The theater will open with its annual double feature of family classics “The Wizard of Oz” and ”Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.”

PENN’S PEAK

325 Maury Road, Jim Thorpe

866-605-7325, pennspeak.com

• Acoustic Hot Tuna, 8 p.m. April 28. In 1969, Hot Tuna started as a blues-rock side project to San Francisco-based Jefferson Airplane, of which boyhood pals Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady were members. Hot Tuna has released seven studio albums to date, with its most recent, “Steady As She Goes,” out in 2011. While the band’s lineup has changed through the years, founders Kaukonen and Casady have remained the act’s center.

• Randy Houser, 8 p.m. May 5. Born in Lake, Mississippi, Houser released his debut studio album, “Anything Goes,” in 2008. The set featured the hit “Boots On.” Houser’s third album, “How Country Feels,” spawned two No. 1 country-radio hits: the title track and “Runnin’ Outta Moonlight.” The singer, who scored a third country-radio No. 1 with 2015’s “We Went,” released his sixth studio set, “Note to Self,” in late 2022.

VIC’S JAZZ LOFT

AT THE STABIN MUSEUM

268 W. Broadway, Jim Thorpe

570-325-5588, vicsjazzloft.com

• Morrie Louden Group, 7 p.m. May 6. Louden, a bassist, has worked with musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie and Wynton Marsalis. Louden’s group also features pianist and composer Silvano Monasterios, saxophonist Bob Francischini and drummer Tony Cintron.

MAUCH CHUNK OPERA HOUSE

14 W. Broadway, Jim Thorpe

570-325-0249, mcohjt.com

• Jingo, 8 p.m. April 28. The Latin-rock band, a Carlos Santana tribute act formed in 2016, took its name from the same-titled track on Santana’s 1969 debut album. Nigerian percussionist Babatunde Olatunji recorded the original “Jingo”; in Yoruba, Olatunji’s native language, it means “Do not worry.”

• The Velvet Stardust Rock Show, 8 p.m. April 29. Stage Stars Productions presents the rock theatrical show, in which burlesque dancers battle with the Velvet Stardust band. The show features the music of acts such as AC/DC, Heart and David Bowie.

• Free Range Folk Spring Jam, 7:30 p.m. May 4. The 10-piece roots dirt-rock group grew out of friends’ summer campfire jams at 14 Acre Farm in Jim Thorpe. Free Range Folk has three albums to its credit: 2011’s “Soul Collector,” 2013’s “444” and 2016’s “Impending Doom.”

• Boat House Row, 8 p.m. April 5. The band performs soft-rock, or “yacht rock,” hits of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Members include Caniche Derstine, Riley Hamlin and Mick Hillside, among others. Notable “yacht rockers” include Hall & Oates, Michael McDonald, and Christopher Cross.

• Get Poison’d, 8 p.m. May 6. The act, performing the music of glam-metal band Poison, features Chas Spataro, Joey Bones, Nicky Spat and Deano Coolness. For its name, the group took a cue from Poison’s 2007 album “Poison’d!”

THE STITCH AT TAMAQUA

COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER

125 Pine St., Tamaqua

570-668-1192, tamaquaarts.org

• I Want My LGR, 7 p.m. May 6. The Looking Glass Revue, which began in 2012, will present 1980s-inspired burlesque.

• Gallery Opening with Sean Huegel, 6:30 p.m. May 4. Huegel, a lifelong resident of Tamaqua, started drawing at an early age. He works in media such as pottery, mosaics, acrylics, resins and photography.

THE MAHONING DRIVE-IN

635 Seneca Road, Lehighton

610-683-7243, mahoningdit.com

• Season Opener, April 28-29. Opening for its 74th season, the 35mm theater will screen 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz” and 1971’s “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” both nights. The event will feature a live DJ, themed décor and photo ops, costumed characters, themed food items and raffles. Each night, a winner will find a Golden Ticket in popcorn, redeemable for prizes. Gates open at 6 p.m. each night; show starts at dusk.

• “Freaked,” April 30. The theater will host a 30th anniversary screening of Tom Stern and Alex Winter’s 1993 black comedy “Freaked.” A “Halfway To Halloween” market, presented in association with the Lehigh Valley Horror Community, will begin at 3 p.m.; film starts at sundown.

• “Tenacious D in The Pick Of Destiny,” May 7. The theater’s 2023 Mahoning Music Series begins with the 2006 film starring comedy-rock duo Jack Black and Kyle Gass. The twosome search for a magical musical pick and battle legendary forces in their quest to be the best. The event will also feature a live performance by Tenacious D tribute band Cape & Scepter. Gates open at 6 p.m.; show time at sundown.

WIND CREEK EVENT CENTER

77 Wind Creek Blvd., Bethlehem

610-297-7414, windcreekeventcenter.com

• Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, 8 p.m. April 29. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Valli - as frontman of The Four Seasons - scored 1960s/1970s hits such as “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man” and “December 1963 (Oh What a Night).” As a solo act, his biggest hits include “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “My Eyes Adored You” and “Grease.” Valli released his most recent solo set, “A Touch of Jazz,” in 2021.

STATE THEATRE

453 Northampton St., Easton

610-258-7766, statetheatre.org

• Doo Wop Saturday Night, 7 p.m. April 29. The show will feature performances from, among others, Kenny Vance & The Planotones (“Looking For an Echo”), Cleveland Still & The Dubs (“Could This Be Magic”) and Jimmy Clanton (“Venus in Blue Jeans”).

• Mutts Gone Nuts, 1 and 3:30 p.m. April 30. Aside from a high-jumping dog, the show will feature two Guinness World Record Champions, a 6-pound Pomeranian Pikachu mix, and dancing, prancing, flipping and skipping dogs.

SHERMAN THEATER

524 Main St., Stroudsburg

570-420-2808, shermantheater.com

• Trivium and Beartooth, 6:30 pm. May 1. Trivium, a metal band formed in 1999 in Orlando, Florida, released its 10th studio album, “In the Court of the Dragon,” in 2020. The group features, among others, Matt Heavy and Corey Beaulieu. Beartooth, a hardcore-punk band, formed in Columbus, Ohio in 2012, released its fourth studio album, “Below,” in 2021. The act features, among others, Caleb Shomo and Oshie Bichar.

• The Spill Canvas, 7:30 p.m. May 5. The alternative rock band, formed in 2001 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, started as a side project for Nick Thomas, a then-member of metalcore act Nodes of Ranvier. The Spill Canvas, whose albums includes 2007’s “No Really, I’m Fine” and 2021’s “The Conduit,” also features Landon Heil, Bryce Job and Evan Pharmakis.

• Pink Talking Fish, 8 p.m. May 6. The band, a hybrid tribute act, features Eric Gould, Richard James, Zack Burwick and Cal Kehoe. The show will feature Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” in its entirety, plus musical fusions of Pink Floyd, Talking Heads and Phish.

• Doyle, 7 p.m. May 7. The horror-punk/heavy metal band, formed in 2012 in Lodi, New Jersey, features founders Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein and Alex “Wolfman” Story, among others. Doyle has released two studio albums: 2013’s “Abominator” and 2017’s “Doyle II: As We Die.” Story and von Frankenstein have played in bands such as Cancerslug, Gorgeous Frankenstein and The Misfits.

• Cooper Alan, 8 p.m. May 10. Originally from Winston Salem, North Carolina, Alan moved to Nashville, Tennessee, after graduating high school. He has written songs with songwriter/producer Victoria Shaw, who signed him to a publishing deal, and Desmond Child, among others. Recent singles include “Stand Down” and ‘Shoes Under My Bed.” In 2021, Alan started his own label, Cooped Up Records.

SHAWNEE PLAYHOUSE

552 River Road, Shawnee-on-Delaware

570-421-5093, shawneeplayhouse.org

• “A Night With Mr. Wonderful: A Sammy Davis Jr. Spectacular,” 2 p.m. April 28-30 and 8 p.m. April 29. Rebel Stages will present this variety show, which stars Solomon Kee as Mr. Wonderful. The show will feature songs Davis Jr. made famous, including “Mr. Bojangles” and “Candyman.”

Hot Tuna will perform an acoustic show at Penn's Peak this weekend. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
Randy Houser will perform at Penn's Peak on May 5.