From bringing the audience to their feet during a Footloose rendition to continuous childhood jokes and stories as only brothers could do, Michael and Kevin Bacon brought over 1,000 people to Baker Hall last week.
The Bacon Brothers band performed in Zoellner Art Center’s first sold-out show of the 2023-2024 season on Oct. 6.
The duo, consisting of brothers Michael and Kevin Bacon, performed 18 songs in their self-described “Forosoco” style: a blend of folk, rock, soul and country, according to their website.
Lehigh Valley resident Coleen Funk said she treated herself and her husband to Bacon Brothers tickets for their date night.
Funk said she and her husband have been fans of Kevin Bacon’s acting for years, so when she received a Zoellner newsletter marketing the Bacon Brothers’ performance, she thought it was the perfect opportunity to see him, but now in a different role.
“We knew that they existed, but we never really had the opportunity (to see them) before,” Funk said.
Throughout the two-hour-long performance, the brothers collectively transitioned between eight instruments: the electric and acoustic guitar, cello, autoharp, bongo drum, harmonica, ukulele and tambourine.
Cole Shaub, ‘25, had never listened to the Bacon Brothers’ music before the concert but said he was very impressed by the wide variety of instruments the duo played.
“I like the instruments they used,” Shaub said. “There was a wide variety of them…it was all a lot.”
Shuab attended the concert with his friend, Jordan Lickstein ‘25. Earlier in the semester while walking through Zoellner as a tour guide, the Kevin Bacon cutout on display piqued Lickstein’s interest, leading him to text Shaub about potentially attending.
Lickstein and Shaub both learned about the band over the summer and were motivated to attend because tickets were free for students.
“It’s a nice break from the craziness that is Lehigh, to be able to go to something different,” Lickstein said. “Why not?”
Lickstein said this was his first time visiting Zoellner for an outside performance, not for a group of Lehigh students, and he hopes to return for events in the future.
Mark Wilson, the executive director of Zoellner, said the venue planned for approximately 700 ticket sales, so a sold-out show was a welcomed surprise.
He said the event got a lot of traction after the Zoellner season brochure was sent out and a teaser video was released. Tickets quickly sold early on, and Wilson said the estimated 700 tickets had already been sold by Labor Day.
Wilson saw a few reasons for the event’s popularity.
“This is their home state, the fact that Kevin is a well-known actor, also they’re just down-to-earth folks,” Wilson said. “I think folks in the Lehigh Valley are just down to earth and there is that natural connection.”
While marketing choices differ based on the event or performance. Wilson said extra marketing was not necessary for the Bacon Brothers.
The brothers closed their full-house performance at Lehigh with a rendition of Footloose by Kenny Loggins, bringing opener Cindy Alexander back on stage to celebrate Kevin Bacon’s role as Ren McCormack in the 1984 movie, Footloose.
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