Pittsburgh Jazz Live Festival

I have to be completely honest and say I normally do not listen to jazz on a regular basis. With that being said, I was beyond impressed with the act I got to see at Jazz Fest last Friday night! After grabbing dinner and drinks with a group of friends, we came across the stages set up on 9^th Street. It was a beautiful night, and with nothing else planned for the evening, we decided to stick around and check out the bands. We got to see Aaron Abernathy and The Nat Turner Band– both of which I had never heard of before. I was preparing myself to suffer the rest of the night witnessing elevator music being preformed live, wishing I had a to-​go cocktail in hand. When Aaron Abernathy («AB») came on stage, I knew I was wrong, and could sense the vibe of the crowd shift. He’s young, an amazing singer, and his music does not resemble the uninspiring melodies of your average elevator music. It was a great performance, and it was clear this guy is an amazing musician.

Never a disappointment and always fun! Even withal the tai you must go and experience the live jazz and realize it’s more than elevator music! I love the jam sessions after and all the artists are truly remarkable!

What’s better than a weekend full of upcoming and legendary Jazz musicians??? A FREE weekend full of upcoming and legendary Jazz musicians!!! Every June (or early July) for the last four years, Pittsburgh Jazz Live Fest has descended upon the ‘Burgh. And, this year was the best so far!
I was only able to make the second day this year. And, it was an awesome experience! My day began with a tribute to Dorothy Ashby concert, «Afro Harping», by the talented jazz harpist Brandee Younger. Moving on to a performance by the Messenger Legacy. Followed by an AMAZING concert by Gregory Porter. And, the last performance that I was able to catch was The Joe Locke Group — which was my favorite show of the day.
Along with the awesome jazz performances came some pretty awesome food trucks and vendors! TGIFridays was there giving out free «samples» all day — like huge burger sliders and thirst quenching fruity drinks. Basically, if you hung around their truck, you could gorge yourself on free food all day. There were some really great area small businesses too, like Franktuary and BRGR, as well as the lesser known tea/​popsicle vendors Healcrest Farms. That, and all of the regular area bars and restaurants like Seviche and Nine on Nine, etc, were hoppin’!
I wish I would have been able to make Friday and Sunday, for events like the Jazz Bar Crawl (Friday) and a performance by multiple grammy award winner Dianne Reeves (Sunday)! Thankfully, there’s always next year!