THE hot list
ALL WEEKEND A busy one
We’ve come to one of those rare weekends when everything seems to be happening all at once. The Three Rivers Arts Festival and Pittsburgh Pride take over Downtown with outdoor concerts, art happenings, a parade and other pageantry. Meanwhile, in the concert halls, thousands of people will be checking out Luke Bryan, Twenty One Pilots, Death Cab for Cutie, George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic and more.
TRAF opens Friday with India. Arie at Point State Park, the Artist Market with more than 300 artists and a Juried Visual Art exhibition of Pittsburgh artists.
The main events for Pride Rocks PGH are Walk the Moon (Friday) and Toni Braxton (Saturday) at the Andy Warhol Bridge and Fort Duquesne Boulevard, followed by the parade on Sunday.
‘Prime’ closer
Pittsburgh Public Theater ends the current season with one small step into the future as Marya Sea Kaminski directs Pulitzer Prize finalist “Marjorie Prime.”
The play by Jordan Harrison (“Orange Is the New Black”) takes us to the cutting edge of humanity and technology and asks, “Can artificial intelligence and a few zillion pixels replace a loved one?” The Public has partnered with Choitek, Ascender and Thrival to help in its quest for AI accuracy.
“Marjorie Prime” runs through June 30 at the O’Reilly Theater, Downtown. Times and tickets ($30-$80; check for discounts): 412-316-1600 or ppt.org.
Something old, something new
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performs Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and a world premiere double concerto for clarinet and bassoon by composer Jonathan Leshnoff featuring the orchestra’s own Michael Rusinek and Nancy Goers.
It’s one of classical music’s most wellknown works juxtaposed with something fresh. Manfred Honeck conducts at Heinz Hall, Downtown, and the orchestra will record it for release at a later date.
Times are 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $20-$98; pittsburghsymphony.org. Jeep jam
Butler County, the birthplace of the Jeep, is the scene for the ninth annual
Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival that will sport more than 1,200 vehicles along with vendors for parts and accessories.
Activities include the Party on Butler’s Main Street, Bantam Festival of Lights, Bantam Poker Run, Babes of Bantam Trail Ride and the Rough Rider Trail Ride. Attractions include a History Exhibit and WWII Encampment.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $10; $3 kids 3-12; bantamjeepfestival.com.
THURSDAY Remembering D-Day
The Senator John Heinz History Center in the Strip District marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day when Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy during World War II.
At noon, re-enactors from The Furious Fourth WWII Living History Group will march through Downtown in honor of local service members killed on June 6, 1944. The procession will conclude at 3 p.m. at the Southwestern Pennsylvania WWII Memorial on the North Shore.
At 7 p.m. at the History Center, curator Leslie Przybylek will present a short presentation on Pittsburgh’s contributions during World War II, followed by a panel of local DDay veterans sharing firsthand accounts.
Admission to the D-Day programming is free. Pre-registration for the evening program is encouraged at www.heinzhistorycenter.org/events. FRIDAY
Luke’s party
KeyBank Pavilion in Burgettstown opens the season true to form with one of its main attractions in Luke Bryan on his Sunset Repeat Tour.
The country star from Georgia just wrapped up another season of “American Idol” by performing “Knockin’ Boots,” his first single since “What Makes You Country,” the title track of his 2017 album. Both of those should be on the set list along with such hits as “Crash My Party,” “That’s My Kind of Night” and “Kick the Dust Up.”
He’s joined by two other Georgia natives in Cole Swindell (“Ain’t Worth the Whiskey”) and Jon Langston (“When It Comes to Loving You”).
It begins at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $39; ticketmaster.com.
Pilots landing
Twenty One Pilots demonstrated on the last trip to town, in January 2017, that it knew how to make full use of an arena for its genre-defying blend of rock, hip-hop and EDM.
That tour supported the Columbus duo’s major breakout album “Blurryface,” spawning the Grammy-winning single “Stressed Out,” “Ride,” “Heathens,” etc.
Twenty One Pilots — singer/multi-instrumentalist Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun — returns to PPG Paints Arena, Uptown, with its first show here since releasing “Trench,” a fifth album, centered on the theme of mental health, that could get a full airing during the show.
It begins at 7 p.m. and is basically sold out; ticketmaster.com.
North Shore rock
Just a stone’s throw away from each other on the North Shore will be Death
Cab for Cutie and George Clinton.
At Stage AE, the Seattle-based Death Cab, one of indie-rock’s most esteemed bands, is touring with its ninth studio album. “Thank You for Today” received mixed reviews, with Rolling Stone saying the band “sounds rejuvenated” and Entertainment Weekly summing it up as “overwrought melodrama.” Doors at 6 p.m. With Lala. $38.50-$40; ticketmaster.com.
The funkiest show of the night by far will be at the new Rivers Casino Event Center, where Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic will continue a farewell tour that’s turning into a never-ending tour to the delight of his fans. First, Funkadelic disciples Fishbone will come out and kill it as always. 8 p.m. $50; riverscasino.com.
FRIDAY-SATURDAY Riverview days
The Riverview Park 5K Run and Fitness Walk starts at the Riverview Park Activities Building, Observatory Hill, at 7 p.m. Friday. Info at www.riverview5K.com.
On Saturday, the Riverview Park Heritage Day is an afternoon of family fun with mascot appearances, children’s activities, craft projects, tours of the Allegheny Observatory, refreshments and more.
It runs from noon to 4 p.m. in the urban oasis at the Allegheny Observatory. Admission is free; pittsburghpa.gov/ events.
SATURDAY Oceans Day
Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, Highland Park, celebrates World Oceans Day by demonstrating the importance of conservation, recycling and protecting the environment.
There will be animal enrichment activities in the PPG Aquarium and Water’s Edge, keeper talks focused on the care of the animals, and representatives from local conservation organizations.
It runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is included with regular admission; pittsburghzoo.org.
FREE MUSIC AND MOVIES
THURSDAY-SUNDAY: The Dollar Bank Cinema in the Park series screens
“Mary Poppins Returns” at Brookline Memorial Park (Thursday), Arsenal Park in Lawrenceville (Friday) and Grandview Park, Mount Washington (Saturday). “Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
will be shown at Riverview Park, Observatory Hill (Saturday), and the fantasy comedy “The House With a Clock in Its
Walls” is at Schenley Plaza (Sunday), Oakland. Dusk; pittsburghpa.gov/ events.
THURSDAY-FRIDAY: The South Side Works series begins with Paz and Ukelele
Eddie (Thursday) and Good Guys Acoustic (Friday). 6 p.m.
FRIDAY: The South Park Amphitheater series moves into week two with River
City Brass at 7:30 p.m. Food trucks and Hop Farm Brewing Company will be on site beginning at 6 p.m.; alleghenycounty.us/special-events/summer-concert-series.aspx.
FRIDAY: The Summersounds series begins at St. Clair Park’s Robertshaw Amphitheater, Greensburg, with Celtic rock band Seven Nations. 7 p.m.; summersounds.com.
SATURDAY: The Stars at Riverview Jazz Series opens at Riverview Park, Observatory Hill, with Rick Finkelstein at 7 p.m., prior to Cinema in the Park; pittsburghpa.gov/events.
SUNDAY: The concert series at Hartwood Acres, Hampton, continues with folk dance troupe The Tamburitzans at 7:30 p.m. Food trucks and Hop Farm Brewing Company will be on site at 6 p.m.; alleghenycounty.us/special-events/summerconcert-series.aspx.