Although COVID-19 is trying its best to ruin our fun, the folks at IceHouse Tonight are striking back. They have booked some of the brightest stars of Bethlehem to stream virtual performances in a new concert series to be presented beginning August 18. For scheduling details, please visit their Facebook page.
IceHouse Tonight plans to continue its normal live local concerts in some form, but wanted to get a head start on the regular season to give exposure to Valley talent and to have a chance to perfect streaming technology in case COVID-19 is still working its black ops.
Owned by the City of Bethlehem, the IceHouse cancelled all of its spring and summer 2020 performances including about 60 scheduled by IceHouse Tonight. The venue was then closed to the public in mid-March because of the pandemic. If the coronavirus is still a threat to public safety in September, the opening of city-owned properties like the IceHouse likely will be postponed again.
That’s what IceHouse Tonight is preparing for by developing the technical model for producing virtual “live” performances on its soon to be launched YouTube channel. As an added advantage, once the live shows are streamed they’ll also be available on demand.
For August, IceHouse Tonight has tapped six musicians and poets to perform in audience-free locations for streaming on their brand new YouTube channel.
Doug Roysden, artistic director of Mock Turtle Marionette Theatre, is the leader of the small band of volunteers who help determine programming for IceHouse Tonight. Other members are Kiere Wilhelm; Silagh White and Ara Barlieb. 
Barlieb, a playwright and public awareness filmmaker, is setting up the YouTube channel and streaming capabilities for the August concerts but he says the technology will come in handy throughout the year in lieu of – or in addition to -- live performances. “The artists want to perform with an audience in the same place and time,” he said. “But, the virus is holding us hostage, and those same artists are being more or less forced to settle for less than desirable technical options using their webcams and on-board microphones. We’re trying to provide better alternatives, higher quality streaming as a service to the regional artistic community.”
Building a sustainable arts community has long been Roysden’s goal for IceHouse Tonight. “This is a professional stage for local people. It’s intended to be a mission and a service. This is about growing the local culture and making it about us,” he said.
IceHouse Tonight plans on scheduling more than 100 shows in the coming year in addition to those booked by other members of the IceHouse Performing Arts Center including Pennsylvania Youth Theatre, Celtic Classic, WDIY, and other programs. 
Below is the August line-up. To find details, click on the name of each act to reach their information page. There you’ll find the web address needed to see the streamed content. Some acts will require a fee or donation before you can download the performance.
7:00 p.m. Aug. 18: The Witherbees a Philadelphia folk-jazz band led by singer-songwriter Jacqui Armbruster and guitarist Mike Lorenz, who perform an intimate dialog between voice and instrument. Also performing are Justin Sekelewski, bass, and Kyle Andrews, drums.
7:00 p.m. Aug. 25: Cleveland Wall, poet and founding member of the poetry improv troupe “No River Twice.” She is co-host of Tuesday Muse, a monthly IceHouse open mic. She also performs with poetry-guitar duo The Starry Eyes.
7:00 p.m. Sept, 1: Joey Mutis III of The Electric Farm will perform solo with guitar; he describes his show as “taking soft pop into a folky space rock situation.” Sometimes compared vocally to Neil Young, more recently, Electric Farm songs have been showcased in movies and television, including "Unspoken Love" on the CBS show Numb3rs.
7:00 p.m. Aug. 21: George Hrab is a Bethlehem-based singer-songwriter who performs in several genres, primarily rock and funk. He says his is six solo CDs were influenced, by the likes of David Byrne and Frank Zappa. He performs on drums and guitar for Philadelphia Funk Authority, Eric Mintel Quartet, and others, and in a live streaming web series. He is known for witty musings on science and skepticism.
7:00 p.m. Sept 8: Matt Wolf performs as a host and reader at numerous poetry events throughout the Lehigh Valley. He has organized dozens of local poetry readings and taught poetry workshops in Lehigh Valley Schools. He recently published “A Journey” of his poems and photography.
7:00 p.m. Sept 15: Cleveland Wall returns for another evening of poetry.