The 2021-2022 Season is here!

Thursday Nov 11, 2021, 7:30pm, The Alex Hamburger band (https://alexhamburger.com/): Extraordinary young New York Jazz singer and musician, playing original music and covers ranging from Joni Mitchell to Maya Angelou to Alex’s own grandmother, poet and activist Ana Maria R. Codas.

Saturday Nov 27, 2021, 7:30pm: Kate Snow (https://soundcloud.com/kate-snow) is reprising her Summer 2020 autobiographical one-woman show, and playing some new music for us as well!

Saturday Jan 22, 2022, 7:30pm, Phat Man Dee (https://phatmandeemusic.com/): Pittsburgh’s most creative and caring chanteuse, well-known for her Social Justice Disco project with Liz Berlin, Miguel Sague and many many others.

Spring 2022 (Date TBA): The Early Mays (https://theearlymays.com/) return! We had to cancel their April 2020 show due to the pandemic, and we’re so happy to be able to welcome them back to the ‘burgh in Spring 2022!

All shows indoors in First Unitarian’s Sanctuary. Masks, vaccinations and contact tracing information required.

Well, it was a rainy Sunday and we thought we could sneak in our show with Lonesome No More in between the raindrops! We started 1/2 hr early at 230pm, just because of the weather forecast, and good thing we did, because at 3:05pm the rains came down!

Before they did, though we caught some great video, thanks to Cyndy Carroll! Here are 3 songs from a short but sweet Lonesome No More concert at Baum Grove, June 11, 2021:

We’re excited to bring you a pair of outdoor shows this summer, to celebrate what we hope is the beginning of the end of the pandemic!

Both shows will be outdoors at Baum Grove Parklet, 400 Roup Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15232, just a mile away from our usual home at First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh. Baum Grove is privately owned by the Friendship Development Association, and maintained as a public park and greenspace in the heart of the Friendship neighborhood. The front of the park is an urban garden with benches for sitting and relaxing. The back of the park features a flat stone-and-brick stage at the center of a natural grassy amphitheater.

Bring your own chair or blanket to sit on, bring snacks and beverages if you like, and don’t forget to tip the performers! Since the park is open to the public, our events will not be ticketed, but of course tips and donations are critical to these musicians’ ability to continue to tour and perform.

On Sunday July 11 at 3:00pm we are most pleased to welcome the Lonesome No More Trio, consisting of singer-songwriter Dennis McCurdy, bass player Jared Negley, and harmonica player extraordinaire Clint Hoover. Together they are masters of Americana and the Blues, and you are sure to have a great early Sunday evening with them!

On Thursday August 26 at 6:30pm we are thrilled to welcome Alice Howe and Freebo. Hailing from Boston and now based in Los Angeles, Alice is a rising voice in modern folk, offering love letters to 60s and 70s folk and timeless blues. Freebo is a genuine folk, rock and blues icon who, after more than 40 years of recording and touring with many of the great artists of our time (Bonnie Raitt 10 years, CSN, Maria Muldaur, John Mayall, Ringo Starr, Dr. John, Neil Young, & many more).

“When these two get together, prepare yourself for an extraordinary evening of song and smiles, and maybe a tear or two.” —  Ron Olesko, Folk Music Notebook, WFDU-FM

Come help SongSpace celebrate summer at Baum Grove with these two great shows!

Thanks to Joe Crookston’s desire to connect with Pittsburgh for his recent SongSpace show, we have been able to donate a total of $300 to local Pittsburgh Charities:

Casa San Jose (https://casasanjose.org/)

Afro-American Music Institute (https://www.afroamericanmusic.org/)

You can see a video of Joe’s SongSpace Concert here!

Getting ready for Joe Crookston Fri Apr 2, 7:30pm, but you missed the great interview he had with Mando Richard on Whiskey Before Breakfast last week, or just want to hear it again?

Listen to it again on Mixtape!

And don’t forget to listen to the show Friday night! Streaming live at  facebook.com/SongSpace/live,  youtube.com/FirstUnitarianPittsburgh,  and Joe’s Youtube Page.

As always, tips to Joe are strongly encouraged… To keep it local, Joe will donate some of the proceeds from the show to  Casa San Jose and the Afro-American Musical Institute here in Pittsburgh!

Here are all the places you can listen to the livestream on Friday night

•  facebook.com/SongSpace/live, 
• youtube.com/FirstUnitarianPittsburgh, 
• Joe’s Youtube Page

and, as usual, a recording of the show will be available for later listening!

As always, tips to Joe are strongly encouraged… To keep it local, Joe will donate some of the proceeds from the show to  

• Casa San Jose and the 
• Afro-American Musical Institute 

here in Pittsburgh!

Before Joe Crookston’s show on Friday Apr 2 at 7:30pm, you can listen to him on the radio here in Pittsburgh!

• Wednesday Mar 24: Whiskey Before Breakfast with Mando Richard – Conversation and Music – around 11am on WRCT 88.3FM or listen to WRCT’s online stream
• Saturday Mar 27: Saturday Light Brigade with Larry Berger – Conversation and Live Music – around 11am on WRCT 88.3FM or listen to SLB radio’s online stream
• Every Sunday: An American Sampler with Ken Batista – Listen for Joe’s Music! – 5pm to 8pm on WYEP 91.3FM or listen to WYEP’s online stream

SongSpace Streams with Joe Crookston!
Friday Friday Friday, April 2, 7:30pm
Last-minute details at uusongspace.com.

Stream will open shortly before 7:30pm
Show at 7:30pm

Free admission, tips to the performers strongly encouraged.

We had a wonderful time with Joe Jencks and Zoe Mulford, celebrating Llouise and Jim Altes and the Friendship House Concert Series.

You can see the recorded livestream here.

And here is a listing of all of the “official” concerts in the Friendship house Concert series. There were many more than this, since Llouise and Jim welcomed into their home many artists just passing through town, and these also often turned into house concerts!