Category: In the News
2025
Pittsburgh International Jazz Fest Celebrates Artistic Freedom
Janis Burley, the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival’s founder and artistic director, did not, as might be expected, spend the eve of her brainchild’s 15th edition fine-tuning details of the concerts…
Read moreJazz Festival takes over Liberty Avenue this Weekend
Jazz musician Dee Dee Bridgewater and actor Keith David talk about their love of and journeys in jazz ahead of the weekend’s performances. Grammy-winning saxophonist and NEA Jazz Master Branford…
Read moreDance in the Street at Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival
Pittsburgh residents love to talk about the city’s past: places that aren’t here anymore; natives who left the city to seek their fortune; and the way things were … some…
Read moreJAZZ NOTES: Festivals Galore, Jazz Power, Avery Sommers
A combustion of jazz and everything in between happens at The Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, a four-day celebration held Sept. 18-21 with live music events held at the August Wilson African…
Read moreAll aboard the Jazz Train with pianist Orrin Evans
WBGO’s Lezlie Harrison sits down with good friend Orrin Evans to talk about the Jazz Train to the Pittsburgh Jazz Festival. Lezlie will be on board this year, along with…
Read moreThe Jazz Festival in Pittsburgh that Keeps on Swinging
Pittsburgh is a jazz city. Its musicians have been credited with helping to develop the jazz style of “bebop” and venues such as The Crawford Grill were a hotspot attracting…
Read moreAugust Wilson Center retrospective recalls Black sculptor John Rhoden’s artistic journey
This is WESA Arts, a weekly newsletter by Bill O’Driscoll providing in-depth reporting about the Pittsburgh area art scene. Sign up here to get it every Wednesday afternoon. A touring…
Read moreYou’ve Heard of Harlem and NOLA’s Legendary Jazz Scenes—but Don’t Forget About Pittsburgh
When most people think about the history of jazz, images of a young Louis Armstrong blowing his cornet through the Storyville streets of New Orleans spring to mind, or maybe…
Read morePride and Joy at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center
On June 27, 2025, the August Wilson African American Cultural Center hosted its third annual Pride and Joy event—an evening of love, celebration, and empowerment dedicated to the Black LGBTQIA+…
Read moreAugust Wilson Center Honors Juneteenth During Monthly Intermission Event
The August Wilson African American Cultural Center’s most recent monthly Intermission event series fell on Juneteenth, a Federal holiday to commemorate the emancipation of slaves within the United States. The…
Read moreWhat to do this weekend: Millvale Music Festival, ‘Anna Bolena’ opera, Black sculptor exhibit
The first major retrospective of the work of important 20th-century Black sculptor John Rhoden has come to the August Wilson African American Cultural Center. The Alabama-born ‘s life spanned the…
Read moreEight Organizations Striking Major Chords in Contemporary Jazz Culture
Meet the organizations receiving $4 million of critical grants in order to continue their work of preserving and progressing of jazz culture In an essay for Time Magazine, Mellon Foundation…
Read more“Showing Up, Showing Support And Being Real”: Janis Burley Wilson, Pittsburgh Arts Leader
Janis Burley Wilson is a native of Penn Hills, a suburban community east of Pittsburgh. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in rhetoric…
Read moreWhat ‘August Taught Us’ — new exhibition looks at legacy of Pittsburgh’s August Wilson
“Ekphrasis” is the fun term for a vivid written description of a visual artwork. I guess the term for a visual interpretation of written material is just “art.” But ekphrasis…
Read moreDS Kinsel Presents New Work at August Wilson Cultural Center
Renowned visual artist and cultural agitator DS Kinsel unveiled new work created as part of the August Wilson Archive Community Artist-Scholar Award program sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Library…
Read more16 Music Festivals Coming to Pennsylvania in 2025
Start planning your festival weekends now for these Pennsylvania music festivals that will highlight rock, jazz, blues, hip-hop, pop, folk, and more in 2025.
Read moreBlack Art Investment: The Rise in the Global Market
Black art continues to flourish in galleries, auction houses, and private collections worldwide, becoming a focal point for Black art investment. Works by Black artists are highly sought after, reflecting…
Read more2024
Robert Glasper Group: Shines at 14th Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival
Robert Andre Glasper, 46, is a super-talented pianist, record producer, music arranger and composer. During his recent stint at the 14th annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, the Houston-born musician, with…
Read moreNine Lives, with Chris Coles and Sean Jones
WRTI’s Josh Jackson subs in for Greg, talking with Nate about their rich experience at the fest. And they sit down to converse with saxophonist Chris Coles and trumpeter Sean…
Read moreBest Pittsburgh concerts this week: Pitbull, Sum 41, Spoon, Jazz Fest, Megadeth and more
The free festival is stacked with talent, headlined by Robert Glasper and Marsha Ambrosius, while also featuring the farewell tour of the Average White Band, Shemekia Copeland, Maysa, Chris Coles,…
Read moreBlues singer Shemekia Copeland talks ahead of Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival appearance
With an album just released a few weeks ago, blues singer Shemekia Copeland can’t wait to play some of those songs live as part of the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival.
Read more‘Collections in Black’ at August Wilson chronicles work of Black comic book artists, heroes and collectors
Not everything was glittering in the so-called Golden Age of comics, nor did all become sterling with its Silver Age. That’s one part of the message…
Read moreBlack comic book creators and characters showcased in new art exhibition
When Kimberly Jacobs, a curator for the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, first started putting together an exhibit featuring the work of Black comic book creators, she didn’t know…
Read moreBomb Magazine Interview with Tim Okamura & Jessica Lanay
My first encounter with Tim Okamura’s work was in a small, dimly lit gallery in a brooklyn museum in 2012. The moderate relief from his art’s build-up of paint gave…
Read more2023
Best Pittsburgh concerts this week: The 1975, Grace Potter, Blues Fest, Joni tribute and more
The 6th annual festival, showcasing connections of the blues from Africa to the Americas, will feature a Friday night concert with Bobby Rush, the two-time Grammy winning Arkansas-bred bluesman.
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