Listen to great bands at the Northside Music Festival, check out the Larimer Alive Festival or see City of Asylum's Writer-in-Residence series — here's what to do in Pittsburgh this weekend.
Theater
The news, as we’re reminded daily, is drama. So from Thu., July 17, through Sun, July 20, Throughline Theatre brings stages its second annual festival of new 10-minute plays inspired by local headlines. Living News Festival ’25 finds playwrights like Tammy Ryan, Theo Allyn and Patrick Cannon tackling five stories, including the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel, attempts to defund public media (home of Fred Rogers), and three men trespassing at an abandoned school. Local directors guide an ensemble of a dozen actors in four performances at Carnegie’s Carnegie Stage.
Festival
The Larimer Alive Festival returns to the corner of Larimer Avenue and East Liberty Boulevard. The free annual Larimer Consensus Group event features vendors, food trucks, kids’ activities, health clinics and even a fashion show, plus live music by the Calvin Stemley Band. It runs 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sat., July 19.
Music
Summer’s seemingly inexhaustible supply of free music continues with the Northside Music Festival, Fri., July 18, through Sun., July 20. The event includes outdoor stages and indoor venues throughout Deutschtown, from I-279 to Allegheny Commons park, along with food trucks and kids’ activities. The more than 140 scheduled acts in a variety of styles include NASH.V.ILL, Gene the Werewolf, the GoToBeds, Zinnia’s Garden, Jack Swing and Guitar Zack. July 20 brings a full day of Gospel Sunday programming.
Music
CitiParks’ venerable Bach, Beethoven, and Brunch series — a free weekly classical-music concert starting at Sundays in Mellon Park — continues with Chamber Music Pittsburgh. The nine-piece troupe, on flute, oboes, clarinets, bassoons and French horns, will play works by Mozart and Samuel Barber, including Mozart’s Serenade for Winds in E-flat major. The truly brunch-friendly concert — picnic baskets and all — runs 10:30 a.m. to noon Sun., July 20.
Music
Popular music lost a giant last month in Sly Stone. By coincidence, the nationally touring band Sly authorized to carry on his legacy was already booked to play Hartwood Acres as part of Allegheny County’s free Summer Concert Series. The Family Stone is led by saxophonist and founding member Jerry Martini, and the lead singer is Phunne Stone, the daughter of Sly Stone and the late Cynthia Robinson. Expect greatest hits — and there are plenty of them. The show is Sun., July 20.
Words
City of Asylum, founded to shelter and support writers persecuted in their home countries, has a new series spotlighting just those writers. This week’s edition of the Writer-in-Residence series features Bo Mima, the newest writer in the program. Mima, originally from Egypt, will read three of his short stories, all of which he translated into English from the original Arabic. The Tue., July 22, program is free.
