The Wailers, Kathleen Edwards, et al. Set for 2012 Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust proudly announces headline music concerts for the 2012 Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, June 1 – 10. All concerts are free to the public and take place on the Dollar Bank Stage in Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh. The line-up of musicians represents just one facet of the multi-disciplinary Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, which celebrates its 53rd year in downtown Pittsburgh this summer. Additional daily music acts will be announced in the coming weeks, along with other Festival attractions.

This year's lineup also features the premier of Bluegrass Day, set for Saturday, June 9th, during which three distinguished bands will celebrate the uniquely-American tradition and ever-evolving genre on the Dollar Bank Stage. Regional and local bluegrass musicians will join the effort on a secondary stage with other activities being planned.

All headline concerts on the Dollar Bank Stage begin at 7:30 p.m. in Point State Park with the exception of the Sunday performances, which begin at 6:00 p.m. Exact schedule times will be announced in May along with information on the Artists Market, visual arts, family programming, other performing arts, and more music programming. Visit 3riversartsfest.org or call 412-456-6666 for more information.

The headline concerts will be augmented by additional live music on opening weekend, June 1 – 3, as musicians perform on three stages positioned on the streets of the Cultural District at the 2nd annual Pittsburgh International JazzLive Festival, a 3-day event produced in cooperation with the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. More information is available at PittsburghJazzLive.com.

Friday, June 1st – The Wailers
Together with Bob Marley, the Wailers have sold in excess of 250 million albums worldwide. Outside of their groundbreaking work with Marley, the Wailers have also played or performed with international acts like Sting, the Fugees, Stevie Wonder, Carlos Santana, and Alpha Blondy, as well as reggae legends such as Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, and Burning Spear. As the greatest living exponents of Jamaica's reggae tradition, the Wailers have played to an estimated 24 million people across the globe.

Saturday, June 2nd – Kathleen Edwards
On tour supporting her album, Voyageur, Kathleen Edwards continues to receive critical praise for her music. The New York Times said her work "…embodies an evolving idea about what roots music can be," while Entertainment Weekly said her recent efforts channel "…gorgeously weathered heartbreak, straight from the gravelliest Ontario roads."

Sunday, June 3rd – Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra provides musical experiences at the highest level of expression to enrich the community and to satisfy the needs and preferences of its audiences. Last year, the PSO performed to a crowd of 15,000 at Point State Park. It was the orchestra's first performance at the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival since 1977.

Tuesday, June 5th – Dawes
A self-described "American rock 'n' roll band," Dawes represents everything pure and true about that fundamental delineation – four talented friends making music together, fueled by a shared belief in the power of their songs. The Los Angeles-based band offers a blend of singer/songwriter reflection with folk, country, ringing guitars, soaring harmonies, and heartfelt melodies. Constant touring and collaboration with some of rock 'n' roll's greatest artists has translated to staggering growth and evolution while still manifesting a distinctive, unforgettable voice.

Friday, June 8th – Carolina Chocolate Drops
The GRAMMY Award winning trio has proven that the old-time, fiddle and banjo-based music they have so scrupulously researched and passionately perform can be a living, breathing, ever-evolving sound. Starting with material culled from the Piedmont region of the Carolinas, they pursue fresh interpretation, not merely recreation, of the work, highlighting the central role African-Americans played in shaping our nation's popular music from its beginnings more than a century ago. The virtuosic trio's approach is provocative and revelatory.

Saturday, June 9th – "Bluegrass Day" featuring:

Del McCoury Band
For fifty years, Del McCoury's music has defined authenticity for bluegrass fans and a growing number of fans only vaguely familiar with the genre. McCoury is a living link to the days when bluegrass was made only in hillbilly honkytonks, schoolhouse shows, and on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. Yet he and his band, including sons Ronnie and Robbie, remain a commandingly vital presence today. Americana music icon Richard Thompson, who saw his 1952 Vincent Black Lightning turn into a bluegrass standard when McCoury brought it into the fold, has said, "I think that's the best bluegrass band, period. That's it."

Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band
A GRAMMY Award winner and six-time nominee, Peter Rowan is a bluegrass singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades. From his early years playing under the tutelage of bluegrass patriarch Bill Monroe to his stint in Old & In the Way with Jerry Garcia and his subsequent breakout as both a solo performer and bandleader, Rowan has built a devoted, international fan base through his continuous stream of original recordings, collaborative projects, and constant touring.

Greensky Bluegrass
Defining bluegrass for a new generation, this hard-working Michigan quintet has been performing upwards of 175 shows per year for 11 years all across America. The band is unquestionably a team of friends traversing the country making music they enjoy. Jambase.com has said, "Greensky Bluegrasss timeless targets with deadly accuracy while simultaneously veering off the tried and true highway."

Sunday, June 10th – Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers
Twenty five years after winning a Best New Artist GRAMMY Award and launching one of contemporary music's most diverse and collaborative careers, Bruce Hornsby is still, blissfully, making joyful noise-and finding clever, expansive ways to chronicle the dynamic musical snapshots along the journey. Superstar collaborations and more than 100 records speak volumes about Hornsby's unique fusion of mainstream appeal and wild musical diversity. "In the spirit of musical evolution, I'm always trying to keep my band on their toes," Hornsby says. "I think the guys in the Noisemakers like the gig because there's never a dull moment and we attempt to keep the spontaneity factor high."

To post a comment, you must register and login.