Post-Gazette art critic Mary Thomas offered a substantial preview of the festival in Sunday’s paper. She summarized this way: “The 52nd Three Rivers Arts Festival sweeps into Downtown Friday, bringing with it 280 crafters, a new jazz component, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, food booths, a variety of stage performances and, of course, art in unexpected places.”

Read the full story here.

“I am proud to be leading the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on its return to the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival after more than 30 years,” PSO Music Director Manfred Honeck said. “This is one of the most celebrated summer events in the region and has a rich history of showcasing great performances. It will be a tremendous experience performing outdoors in this great city.”

“This is a great day for our cultural community and Pittsburgh,” noted Robert P. Oeler, President and CEO of Dollar Bank. “The long-awaited return of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra to the festival and Point State Park is cause for celebration. The PSO is one of the country’s top orchestras, and this opportunity to experience the extraordinary talents of these musicians ‘under the stars’ will be a very special experience.”

Morgan K. O’Brien, President and CEO of Peoples Natural Gas, said, “Peoples Natural Gas is proud to support The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Pittsburgh Symphony, two organizations that continually infuse creative energy into the quality of life of our region. We’re thrilled to help facilitate the return of the PSO to Point State Park and celebrate the talents of our Cultural District with the community.” Peoples Natural Gas is the Concert Sponsor of the PSO’s engagement on June 5th.

J. Kevin McMahon, President and CEO of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, attributed the collaborative spirit of the Cultural District as an integral factor in this special addition to the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, “The Cultural Trust and PSO have partnered on many projects, including the PNC Broadway Across America – Pittsburgh series and First Night Pittsburgh. However, the return of the orchestra to the festival and Point State Park is a major milestone among our collaborations.”

PSO President and CEO Larry Tamburri said, “The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is excited about returning to the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, center stage at Point State Park. Our hope is that this is the beginning of a new era which will see annual performances by the PSO at this most important of Pittsburgh festivals.”

The concert is also being sponsored in part by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians.

“We are pleased to be a partner in sponsoring this concert and are happy to be returning to the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival,” said Joe Rounds, orchestra committee chairman.

Honeck will conduct the concert which will open with Leonard Bernstein’s Overture to Candide and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, followed by works by Johann Strauss Jr., Hummel, Khachaturian, Shostakovich and Dvořák. The concert will conclude with Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. The featured soloist will be PSO principal trumpeter George Vosburgh. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra first performed during the festival in 1965.

It has been a long winter here in Pittsburgh and I know we are all looking forward to warmer days ahead. Summer will be here before we know it, and with it will come the season of festivals. Festival season is my personal favorite time of the year. There is art and music in abundance, and creative energy in the air.

I am Emily O’Donnell and I will be your blogger for the next few months. I am a student at the University of Pittsburgh. My focus is on creative writing and nonfiction as well as a combination of film studies, digital media and studio art.

Last year I came to the Three Rivers Arts Festival for the first time and photographed the event on my own. This year, I will be taking pictures for wonderful readers like you!  I am here to keep you informed and excited about the International Children’s Festival coming up in May and the Three Rivers Arts Festival in June. Keep your eyes open for my blog posts and photographs. I’ll be providing behind vital information on what you need to know to have the best festival season yet.



“Dollar Bank is proud to support outstanding community partners,” said Robert P. Oeler, President and CEO of Dollar Bank. “Like Dollar Bank, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has an exceptional track record with community events such as the Trust’s First Night Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh International Children’s Festival and now Three Rivers Arts Festival. Three Rivers Arts Festival is a time-honored tradition that provides Pittsburghers with a free summer destination and breaks down traditional barriers to experiencing art.”

Key to Three Rivers Arts Festival’s ongoing success is the strategic collaboration among the many community partners who work closely with the Festival on performing arts, producing exhibitions and curating Festival experiences, among other initiatives. According to Pittsburgh Cultural Trust President and CEO J. Kevin McMahon, Dollar Bank’s substantive stake in the Festival will greatly contribute to collaborative efforts.

“Three Rivers Arts Festival is our city’s largest public stage. Community collaboration is increasingly vital to the long-term survival of the Festival, which is the largest free festival of its kind in country.” said McMahon. “We are grateful to Dollar Bank for its generous support, which will help us to build upon strategic community alliances for the ultimate benefit of Festival patrons for years to come.”

The Festival’s creativity is fueled by a growing consortium of more than 40 community partners including Sustainable Pittsburgh, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Carnegie Mellon University, Gateway to the Arts, Pennsylvania Resources Council, and Pittsburgh Filmmakers.

Among the more than 100 individual events and performances featuring more than 500 visual artists and musicians, highlights of the 2010 Festival include:

• 10 days and nights of live music featuring more than 50 individual acts and nightly headliners on the Dollar Bank Stage at Point State Park.
• The traditional Artists Market, featuring 300 artists selling original artworks and handmade fine crafts. The 2010 Artists Market features 150 different artists each weekend, two-thirds of whom are new to the Festival this year.
• The return of juried visual art and temporary public art.
• Visual arts exhibitions in galleries throughout the Cultural District, including the New Juried Visual Art Exhibition, the Art of Technology, and many more.
• The Creativity Zone at Point State Park, featuring hands-on activities for all ages and kid-friendly performances in the WQED Tent.

Demonstrating the convergence of art and sustainability, Three Rivers Arts Festival is a national leader in environmentally-conscious event production. With support from Colcom Foundation, over the past two years the Festival has diverted 83% of its garbage – more than 50 tons annually – from landfills through a comprehensive open-stream compost and recycling program. In 2010, as Pittsburgh has been selected as the North American Host City for the annual United Nations World Environment Day, Three Rivers Arts Festival will be the cornerstone of related activity including interactive and educational programming that complements the celebration’s theme of “Water Matters” and related biodiversity issues.

In addition to Dollar Bank, Three Rivers Arts Festival is generously supported by the Pittsburgh community. The Trust is thankful for the generous contributions of Colcom Foundation; the Bessie F. Anathan Charitable Trust of The Pittsburgh Foundation; The Buhl Foundation; The Grable Foundation; Henry L. Hillman Foundation; Mary Hillman Jennings Foundation; and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, in addition to corporate support from Giant Eagle and the Port Authority of Allegheny County. Media partners include City Paper, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, WQED Multimedia, and  91.3 WYEP-FM.

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh
Cultural Trust, 91.3 WYEP and Three Rivers Arts Festival are pleased to announce
CD Live! presents The Tragically Hip at 8 pm, Friday, October 16, 2009, at the
Byham Theater in downtown Pittsburgh. Tickets go on sale Friday, August 14, at 9
a.m.

Critically acclaimed for over two decades, The Tragically Hip has
been at the heart of the Canadian music scene, evoking a strong emotional
connection between their music and their fans that remains unrivaled in this
country. A five-piece group of friends including Robby Baker (guitar), Gordon
Downie (vocals, guitar), Johnny Fay (drums), Paul Langlois (guitar) and Gord
Sinclair (bass), who grew up in Kingston, Ontario, The Hip has achieved the
enviable status of a band that enjoys both mass popularity with over 8 million
albums sold worldwide.

The band’s 12th studio album, We Are the
Same, was released in April 2009 by Rounder Records. The album was recorded
and mixed by Bob Rock at the band’s Bath House studio in Kingston, Vancouver and
Maui. Among the 12 brand new tracks are the singles “Love Is A
First” and “Morning Moon.”

Tickets ($39.50, $34.50, $29.50) go on sale Friday, August 14,
2009, at 9 a.m. at the Box Office at Theater Square, by phone at 412.456.6666,
and online at pgharts.org.

Calendar
Listing
CD Live! presents The Tragically Hip. 8 pm, Friday, October
16, 2009, at the Byham Theater. Doors open at 7 pm. Tickets: $29 – $39. On sale
Friday, August 14, at 9 a.m.: online at pgharts.org, by phone 412.456.6666 or
the Box Office at Theater Square. CD Live! is a project of Three Rivers Arts
Festival, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and 91.3 WYEP.

About CD
Live!
CD Live! widens the creative expression of the Pittsburgh
music scene while advancing the artistry of musicians from around the world.
This collaborative project of Three Rivers Arts Festival, The Pittsburgh
Cultural Trust, and WYEP-FM was formed to build new music audiences and to
welcome these listeners to the Cultural District.

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, 91.3 WYEP and Three Rivers
Arts Festival are pleased to announce CD Live! presents Cowboy Junkies
at 8 pm, Tuesday, October 6, 2009, at the Byham Theater in downtown
Pittsburgh. Tickets go on sale Friday, August 7.

Cowboy Junkies formed in 1985 when Michael Timmins (guitar), Peter
Timmins (drums) and bassist Alan Anton, one of Michael’s oldest
friends, began jamming in a garage. Joined shortly thereafter by
Michael and Pete’s sister, Margo Timmins, the band released its debut, Whites Off Earth Now!!,
in 1986 on their own Latent Recordings label. The band toured the
Southern and Southwestern US in support of the record, soaking up the
music of Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers along the
way, which, in turn, inspired their second album, The Trinity Session, self-released in 1988.

Recorded with a single microphone in Toronto’s Church of the Holy Trinity in one 14-hour session – at a cost of $250 – The Trinity Session
featured spare, lilting originals alongside Jennings, Williams and
Patsy Cline covers, as well as a haunting version of the Velvet
Underground classic “Sweet Jane.” With “Sweet Jane” getting
considerable airplay on college and commercial radio and reviewers
lauding the band’s fresh sound, word soon began to spread and before
long, the Junkies had signed to RCA Records, which reissued The Trinity
Session to a wider audience and platinum sales. The band’s subsequent
albums chronicle the band’s evolution, a process Michael describes as
gradual and organic.

Cowboy Junkies returned to
Toronto’s Church of the Holy Trinity for a day in November 2006, joined
by Ryan Adams, Natalie Merchant and Vic Chesnutt to revisit the
repertoire of The Trinity Session
in celebration of the original recording’s 20th anniversary. Captured
by filmmakers, Pierre and Francois Lamoureux, the resulting
documentary, Trinity Session Revisited, was released as a DVD/CD in January 2008.

Cowboy Junkies are joined by special guest Lee Harvey Osmond. Tickets
($35) go on sale Friday, August 7, 2009, at 9 a.m. at the Box Office at
Theater Square, by phone at 412.456.6666, and online at pgharts.org.

Calendar Listing
CD Live! presents Cowboy Junkies with special guest Lee Harvey Osmond.
8 pm, Tuesday, October 6, 2009, at the Byham Theater. Doors open at 7
pm. Tickets: $35; online at pgharts.org, by phone 412.456.6666 or the
Box Office at Theater Square. CD Live! is a project of Three Rivers
Arts Festival, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and 91.3 WYEP.

About CD Live!
CD Live! widens the creative expression of the Pittsburgh music scene
while advancing the artistry of musicians from around the world. This
collaborative project of Three Rivers Arts Festival, The Pittsburgh
Cultural Trust, and WYEP-FM was formed to build new music audiences and
to welcome these listeners to the Cultural District.

Click on the image at left to download a full-size, print-quality version of this promotional photo.

WHAT: Television camera crews and still photographers are invited to photograph The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Three Rivers Arts Festival set-up and festivities.

WHEN:
SET-UP: Thursday, June 4 – Call for photo opportunities
EVENTS: Friday, June 5

Noon: Artists Market opens to the public
7:30pm: Zany Umbrella Circus performs at the 7th and Penn Avenue lot
8:00pm: The Black Keys perform on the Dollar Bank Main Stage at Point State Park

Interviews are available throughout the afternoon of Thursday and Friday

WHERE: Point State Park, Gateway Center and the Cultural District

DETAILS: For parking and access near the Festival footprint, please call Lauren Bracey at 412.471.3591 (office) or 412.759.2926 (mobile) or Veronica Corpuz at 412.512.8816 to make special arrangements.

QUICK FACTS
WHAT: Celebrating its 50th Anniversary, Three Rivers Arts Festival, a division of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, is a 10-day celebration of art, music, performance and community, with more than 100 events and activities feature more than 500 artists in over 20 venues. Most events are free and open to the public.

WHEN: June 5-14, 2009
Artists Market: 12 – 8pm daily
Food Court: 12 – 9pm (or later) daily
Children’s Area: 12 – 5pm Saturdays & Sundays
Galleries: 4 – 8pm Monday – Friday, 12 – 6pm Saturday & Sunday. Many galleries have extended hours.

WHERE: Point State Park, Gateway Center Plaza, and Cultural District

INFO: Visit artsfestival.net or call 412.456.6666.

PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION: Plenty of parking is available and public transportation options are available at portauthority.org or by calling 412.442.2000.

PROGRAM: Artists Market, Food Court, Live Music, Performance, Visual Art and More!

• Dollar Bank Main Stage concerts at Point State Park in The Black Keys; Medeski Martin & Wood; Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue; Booker T.; Shemekia Copeland; The Wailers and more.
• Over 250 artists and fine craftsmen in the Artists Market.
• The popular food court
• Zany Umbrella Circus and the weekend Children’s Area
• Performances, films and live art demonstrations
• The Zero Waste Initiative, supported by Colcom Foundation, a world-class composting and recycling program.

MEDIA CONTACT: Lauren Bracey, 412.471.3591; Veronica Corpuz, 412.471.6082

Supporting materials for download
Program summary and fact sheet (.doc)
Daily schedules (.doc)
Detailed programming information (.doc)
2009 Images (.zip, 106MB)
Festival Map (.pdf)

PITTSBURGH – Summer begins in downtown Pittsburgh with the 50th annual Three Rivers Arts Festival, a celebration of art, music, performance and community. The 2009 Festival runs from June 5-14 at Point State Park, Hertz Gateway Center, and numerous Cultural District locations in downtown Pittsburgh. Most Festival programs are free and open to the public. Three Rivers Arts Festival is a division of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

“The work presented at Three Rivers Arts Festival represents both the artistic diversity of the Pittsburgh community and the Festival’s historic legacy,” said J. Kevin McMahon, president and CEO of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. “In 2009, while Three Rivers Arts Festival celebrates a 50-year history of breaking down traditional barriers to art and culture, we will also be listening to our many audiences about their goals and aspirations for this event as we prepare for 2010 and beyond,” McMahon continued.

Three Rivers Arts Festival remains among the longest free arts events of its kind in the United States. “In these economic times, Three Rivers Arts Festival is more important than ever,” said Deborah L. Acklin, Three Rivers Arts Festival advisory board chair. “The Festival’s new home at The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust allows the Festival to continue presenting a robust schedule of free, high-quality, family-friendly art activities and performances.”

As a new division of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Three Rivers Arts Festival is a major driver of economic activity in downtown Pittsburgh, further advancing the mission of enhancing the quality of life in the region. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend the Festival’s 10 days of performance, visual art and music. Overall, VisitPittsburgh estimates that the Festival generates $23 million for downtown businesses.

The Festival’s impact is similarly far-reaching for the arts community. Over the past 50 years, the Festival has presented more than 10,000 artists. The Artists Market generates over $2 million in direct sales annually for participating artists, 40% of whom are from Pennsylvania. More than half of the musical groups presented hail from Pittsburgh. In addition, the 2009 Festival features collaborations with numerous cultural and social service organizations, including the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Pennsylvania Resources Council, and many others.

Among more than 100 individual events and performances featuring more than 500 artists, highlights of the 2009 Festival include:

• 10 days and nights of live music featuring more than 50 individual acts. Main stage music in Point State Park is sponsored by Dollar Bank.
• An expanded Children’s Area featuring performances in the WQED-TV Family Entertainment Tent and hands-on activities.
• The traditional Artists Market, where artists gather to sell original art works and handmade fine crafts.
• Visual arts exhibitions in numerous Cultural District gallery spaces
  o The return of the Festival’s Zero-Waste Initiative, generously supported by Colcom Foundation.

Complete programming details are available online at artsfestival.net and by calling 412.456.6666.

The Three Rivers Arts Festival depends on support from the community and investment from area businesses. The Festival is thankful for the generous support of Colcom Foundation; the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and Governor Ed Rendell; Dollar Bank; Giant Eagle, Inc.; The Heinz Endowments; Pennsylvania Council on the Arts; and Representative Dan Frankel. Media partners include Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 91.3 WYEP-FM, Pittsburgh City Paper and WQED-TV.

Calendar Listing
50th annual Three Rivers Arts Festival. June 5-14, 2009. Point State Park, Hertz Gateway Center and Cultural District, Downtown Pittsburgh. Hours: Artists Market: 12 – 8pm daily. Performances and food courts: 12 – 9:30pm daily. Children’s Area: 12 – 5pm, Saturdays and Sundays. Visual arts exhibitions: 4-8 pm Monday-Friday, 12 – 6pm Saturdays and Sundays. Some visual art exhibitions have extended hours.

About the Three Rivers Arts Festival
A division of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, the mission of the Three Rivers Arts Festival is to connect the community to the arts. The 60th annual Three Rivers Arts Festival runs from June 5-14, 2009. For more information, visit artsfestival.net.

About The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit organization whose mission is the cultural and economic development of Pittsburgh’s 14-block Cultural District through public and private support. The Trust presents and encourages diverse performing and visual arts programs within the District, and is an impetus for additional development in downtown Pittsburgh.

In addition to the PNC Broadway Across America – Pittsburgh series, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presents the Pittsburgh Dance Council, Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents, CD Live, JazzLive, First Night Pittsburgh, Gallery Crawl, Three Rivers Arts Festival, the Pittsburgh International Children’s Theater and Children’s Festival, among other Cultural District and arts events.

The Trust owns Theater Square and the Cabaret at Theater Square; the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts; Byham, O’Reilly, and Harris Theaters; Wood Street Galleries; SPACE, a visual arts gallery at 812 Liberty Avenue; and 937 Liberty, a multipurpose performance and exhibit space, among other downtown arts facilities.

Contact: Lauren Bracey, 412.471.3591, bracey@pgharts.org

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, 91.3 WYEP and Three Rivers Arts Festival are pleased to announce CD Live! presents the Decemberists at 8 pm, Friday, August 14, 2009, at the Byham Theater in downtown Pittsburgh. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 15 at 9 am.

Bridging the gap between British folk revival and contemporary indie pop, the Decemberists have steadily built a following with their idiosyncratic aesthetic, a style that is highly literary, at times theatrical, and yet still accessible. Since their debut 2002 release, Castaways & Cutouts, the Decemberists have established themselves as one of the most innovative and important creative forces in music today.

The Hazards of Love, the Decemberists’ most recent LP, captures the band at their most ambitious. The album is a 17-track song-cycle telling one long, twisting narrative of intrigue, romance and action that moves effortlessly from lilting ballads to Zeppelin-esque rock eruptions. “This album is the apotheosis of my obsession with British folk songs,” says Colin Meloy, lead singer, guitarist and chief songwriter.

Tickets ($42.50) go on sale Friday, May 15, 2009, at 9 am at the Theater Square Box Office and online at pgharts.org. For more information, call 412.456.6666.

Calendar Listing
CD Live! presents the Decemberists. 8 pm, Friday, August 14, 2009, at the Byham Theater. Doors open at 7 pm. Tickets: $42.50; online at pgharts.org, by phone 412.456.6666 or the Theater Square Box Office. CD Live! is a project of Three Rivers Arts Festival, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and 91.3 WYEP.

About CD Live!
CD Live! widens the creative expression of the Pittsburgh music scene while advancing the artistry of musicians from around the world. This collaborative project of Three Rivers Arts Festival, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, and WYEP-FM was formed to build new music audiences and to welcome these listeners to the Cultural District.

Click the image at left to download a full-size, print-ready version of this promotional photo.

PITTSBURGH — Three Rivers Arts Festival, a division of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, proudly announces the headline music schedule for the 2009 Festival, June 5-14. All headline concerts are presented on the Dollar Bank Stage at Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh. The free live music series, a Pittsburgh tradition, is sponsored by Dollar Bank.

“Going to a free, outdoor concert at Three Rivers Arts Festival marks the beginning of summer for many Pittsburghers,” said J. Kevin McMahon, president and CEO of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. “This year the Festival celebrates its 50th anniversary and its return to its traditional home in the beautifully renovated Point State Park. The music series lets Pittsburghers experience – for free – nationally-recognized artists who are are featured major ticketed music festivals around the country like Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, All Points West and New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.”

“Dollar Bank has a long history with quality concerts in Point State Park, so we are very pleased to present the main music stage at the 2009 Three Rivers Arts Festival,” said Joseph B. Smith, Senior Vice President Marketing, Dollar Bank. “The Festival’s free programming on the Dollar Bank Stage contributes to Pittsburgh’s reputation as a major destination for arts and entertainment, and underlines both the Cultural Trust and Dollar Bank’s commitment to serving the Pittsburgh community in its full diversity.”

All concerts at Three Rivers Arts Festival are free and open to the public. Additional details will be released in May, including information on the Artists Market, visual arts, family programming, performing arts and local music programming. For information, call 412-456-6666 or visit artsfestival.net.

Friday, June 5: The Black Keys (7:30 pm)
The Black Keys have sold out concert halls from New York to Los Angeles and played at some of the world’s largest festivals. Blending sounds from Delta blues and British classic rock into a hard-hitting, contemporary hybrid, The Black Keys’ minimalist sound is driven by Dan Auerbach’s searing vocals and guitar work and Patrick Carney’s solid drumming. The Black Keys have been able to make something ferociously noisy, deceptively melodic, and surprisingly sincere out of the simplest tools and riffs.

With special guest Jessica Lea Mayfield (6:30 pm)

Saturday, June 6: Medeski, Martin & Wood (7:30 pm)
Keyboardist John Medeski, bassist Chris Wood and percussionist Billy Martin met as students at the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music. Since then, they’ve built an empire on their signature improvisational format. Each Medeski Martin & Wood performance is a journey whose destination is unknown even to the artists, with the trio’s signature sound defined by their audibly eclectic influences and inimitable chemistry.

With special guests Zee Avi (5 pm) and The Wood Brothers (6:30 pm)

Sunday, June 7: Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (6 pm)
Hailing from Tremé, noted as the most musical neighborhood in New Orleans, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews has made the leap from child prodigy to professional master musician. Andrews has played as a featured brass player with world-famous rock groups from Lenny Kravitz to U2, debuted at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and headlined the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Monday, June 8: Formula412 (8:15 pm)
By adding live guitar, bass and drums to the traditional set-up of a DJ and an emcee, Formula412 pushes the limits of the genre. Their 2008 album “The Difference” garnered Pittsburgh Hip Hop Awards for 2009 Band of the Year and CD of the Year, keeping them at the top of the Pittsburgh hip hop scene.

With special guests The Boogie Hustlers (7 pm)

Tuesday, June 9: Donora (8:15 pm)
Donora has been on the fast track since making a splash on the local scene less than three years ago. Brother and sister Casey and Jake Hanner and bassist Jake Churton write addictive melodies and complex, layered arrangements that feature Casey’s unique vocals and the occasional made-up word.

With special guests Meeting of Important People (6 pm) and Apostle of Hustle (7 pm)

Wednesday, June 10: Toubab Krewe (7:30 pm)
Blending American and West African influences into a sound all their own, Toubab Krewe has set a new standard for fusions of rock and West African music. The instrumental quintet blends its Southern roots with a love of West African sounds, resulting in inventive, organic arrangements that highlight the musicians’ technical fluency on African instruments and their unpretentious incorporation of Western influences.

Thursday, June 11: Booker T. (8 pm)
Booker T. Jones is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Musicians Hall of Fame inductee, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and arguably the most famous Hammond B3 player in history. Since the 1962 gold hit “Green Onions” as leader of the legendary Booker T & The MG’s, this pillar of soul music has collaborated with everyone from Otis Redding to Neil Young to the Drive By Truckers.

With special guest Hayes Carll (7 pm)

Friday, June 12: Robert Randolph and the Family Band (7:30 pm)
Steeped in the “Sacred Steel” tradition of the Pentecostal church, Robert Randolph has redefined the possibilities of the pedal steel guitar at his foot-stomping live performances. Since emerging from the Church of God in Orange, New Jersey, Randolph and his group have made their mark on the jam-band circuit, opening for Dave Matthews Band, Eric Clapton.

Saturday, June 13: Shemekia Copeland (7:30 pm)
While still in her 20s, Shemekia Copeland has opened for the Rolling Stones, headlined at the Chicago Blues Festival, received a Grammy nomination and scored critics choice awards on both sides of the Atlantic. Copeland’s passion for singing, matched with her huge, blast-furnace voice, gives her music a timeless power and a heart-pounding urgency.

Sunday, June 14: The Wailers (6 pm)
One of the last, great reggae institutions, the Wailers have sold in excess of 250 million albums worldwide since forming in 1969 with Bob Marley. Outside their groundbreaking work with Marley, they’ve played such notable artists as Sting, the Fugees, Stevie Wonder and Carlos Santana. The present Wailers revolve around the last original band member, Aston “Family Man” Barrett (bass), and lead singer Elan Atias, who together represent both the Wailers’ historic legacy and fresh excitement.

About The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit organization whose mission is the cultural and economic development of Pittsburgh’s 14-block Cultural District through public and private support. The Trust presents and encourages diverse performing and visual arts programs within the District, and is an impetus for additional development in downtown Pittsburgh.

In addition to the PNC Broadway Across America – Pittsburgh series, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presents the Pittsburgh Dance Council, Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents, CD Live, JazzLive, First Night Pittsburgh, Gallery Crawl, Three Rivers Arts Festival, the Pittsburgh International Children’s Theater and Children’s Festival, among other Cultural District and arts events.

The Trust owns Theater Square and the Cabaret at Theater Square; the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts; Byham, O’Reilly, and Harris Theaters; Wood Street Galleries; SPACE, a visual arts gallery at 812 Liberty Avenue; and 937 Liberty, a multipurpose performance and exhibit space, among other downtown arts facilities.