Get a last hurrah of summer 2018 with A-Trak and Jubilee at Crosstown Cookout
It’s not always bad when someone slides into your DMs. At least it wasn’t for Jubilee, a performer at the 2018 Crosstown Cookout. Derek Burnell, one of the faces behind the annual Crosstown Cookout (owner of El Burro, Umami Izakaya, and Round Corner Cantina), reached out to the artist about his event while in London…
Taylor Swift brings fire, glitter, and so, so many snakes to Heinz Field
The part of Taylor Swift that makes audiences feel special, that makes them sing and cry and violently emote, is not dead.
Fourteen ‘legacy’ honorees highlight 2018 Best Of Pittsburgh winners
This is your City Paper. The annual Best Of Pittsburgh issue is not possible without you. We write the stories, snap the photos, sell the ads, design the pages, and print the paper. But you pick the people and places, goods and services, food and drink, and culture and nightlife that are nominated for Best…
North Side residents concerned a train derailment could ruin their neighborhood
On Aug. 5, a Norfolk Southern double-stacked freight train derailed and crashed into the Station Square T station. Had a light-rail car been present at the station, dozens of people could have been killed or injured. Instead, no injuries were reported. The train was filled with boxes of Listerine mouthwash. “We dodged a bullet on…
Lynn Cullen Live – 8/7/18
Video Archive Lynn’s got a lot she wants to cover today. First she’s making sure everyone has seen a photo of Maria Butina with Rick Santorum. She is also talking about demographics. Lynn believes waiting for the next generation is stupid and irresponsible. A letter to the New York Times quoting from South Pacific has…
Are Pittsburgh city planners overestimating how many people drive to the Strip?
Many visitors pack the sidewalks of Penn Avenue every weekend in the Strip District, and most people assume they arrive there by car. Pittsburgh city planners are proposing a plan to redesign Smallman Street to accommodate that alleged demand. But some Pittsburghers are wondering whether a redesign of that magnitude should be crafted with only…
Lynn Cullen Live – 8/6/18
Video Archive We’ve got a great guest to kick off this week, author Jeanne Marie Laskas. She and Lynn are talking about her upcoming book “To Obama: With Love, Joy, Anger, and Hope.” Audio Only Archive Stream or download the last 5 shows on the MP3 downloads page.
Concert photos: Smashing Pumpkins at PPG Paints Arena
Photo highlights from the Smashing Pumpkins ‘Shiny and Oh So Bright’ tour
Lynn Cullen Live – 8/3/18
Video Archive Last show Lynn talked about the QAnon, and they keep showing up at Trump rallies like the one just held in Wilkes-Barre. Molly Roberts’ article in the Washington Post has left Lynn even more confused about what this group is all about. The FDA is issuing a warning about vaginal rejuvenation. They are…
Lynn Cullen Live – 8/1/18
Video Archive In attempts to keep stress down Lynn is stating August talking about a Reddit poll – What should the official animal of Pittsburgh be? She is also discussing the video of hostility towards CNN reporter Jim Acosta trying to do his job at a Trump rally and his response posted on the Huffington…
How should Pittsburgh celebrate Andy Warhol’s 90th birthday?
Andy Warhol would have turned 90 on August 6. And it says something about the boy born Andrew Warhola in 1928 that his impact on pop culture remains relevant more than 30 years after his death in 1987. There’s more than one right way to celebrate Warhol’s life, though nobody has ever done wrong by…
Savage Love
To our readers: Dan Savage has decided to withdraw his column from City Paper, ending a long relationship between one of America’s leading advocacy voices and an alternative newsweekly that has delivered arts, entertainment and cultural coverage to Pittsburgh since 1991. Though disappointing, Dan’s decision has afforded us an opportunity to bring a fresh weekly…
VegFest offers meatless treats, healthy activities, and live music
Attention, Pittsburgh: it’s time to call your mother. Remember those painful, exhausting years she spent coercing you into eating vegetables? Now, older and wiser, you know that vegetables are fun (not to mention delicious). That’s what the 2018 Pittsburgh VegFest is all about. Natalie Fristick and Leila Sleiman started VegFest in 2015 to spotlight Pittsburgh’s…
LGBTQ wedding expo coming to Pittsburgh for first time
Make no mistake, LGBTQ couples still have trouble finding bakers, florists, planners, and photographers for their weddings. Most vendors don’t proclaim if they are friendly or unfriendly to LGBTQ couples. Guesswork is involved and rejection for services is frequent. A traveling LGBTQ wedding expo exists to combat that. Started in 2003 by Rainbow Wedding Network,…
PGH Pages with Rege Behe: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures has a secret weapon
Just after Stephanie Flom was named executive director of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures, she opened a fortune cookie and found the following message: Your ability to pick a winner will bring you success. Two writers from her first season (2015-16) became literary sensations. Anthony Doerr won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel “All…
Q&A with Francesco Lecce-Chong, departing associate conductor for Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
After three years as associate conductor for Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Francesco Lecce-Chong is moving on. City Paper caught up with him ahead of his departure to discuss scoring Star Wars, the Mos Eisley cantina song, the state of classical music, and click tracks. When you started three years ago, what was your first impression of…
The Adam Crowley Column: Steelers defense has too many “maybes”
Ask any Steelers fan why the team’s defense will be better this season and the answer often sounds like a quote from Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns: “Hope and Change.” Yeah? Well, I ain’t buyin’ it. Steelers fans hope that changes made during the offseason will be enough to turn a defense that was carved up…
Gabby Normal: How do you pick between best friends?
I have two best friends. The first one is a human named Bethany, and I have known her my entire life. The other is named Phineas, and he’s an inflatable shark. The first hates the second. I guess it’s normal to have jealousy amongst friends, but I hoped since Phineas is technically a toy Beth…
Tradition remains at the heart of EQT Three Rivers Regatta more than 40 years after its first summer
Ours is a city built on tradition. Tradition is why our all sports teams wear black and gold, why our weddings have cookie tables, and why we eat Primanti’s sandwiches, chipped ham, and salads topped with french fries. Tradition is also at the heart of one of this city’s grand, annual summer festivals: the EQT…
Bloomfield lunch spot Bitter Ends offers fresh fare in a cozy atmosphere
The term “farm-to-table” to describe freshness of a restaurant has lost meaning as it’s become more popular. And technically, every restaurant gets its food from a farm and brings it to a table. At Bitter Ends Luncheonette, a pint-sized breakfast and lunch spot in Bloomfield, the practice is taken to heart. Much of the produce…
‘90s nostalgia galore as Sugar Ray comes to town
In the summer of 1997, Sugar Ray released “Fly,” the lead single from its second album, Floored. It’s a perfectly ‘90s radio-friendly hit that mixes rock and punk with reggae and ska. It’s also sung by a shirtless white guy with frosted tips. Critics were quick to dub Sugar Ray a one-hit wonder, and they…
Simplify summer drinking at Pie for Breakfast
Summertime cocktailing ought to be simple. I don’t want to fuss with infusions or mess with complicated garnishes. Give me something easy and breezy and let me get back to the action. Simple doesn’t have to mean lazy, however. At Pie for Breakfast, in Oakland, bar manager Amanda Schaffner has assembled a modest, thoughtful drinks…
Free Will Astrology
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “Sometimes, I feel the past and the future pressing so hard on either side that there’s no room for the present at all.” A character named Julia says that in Evelyn Waugh’s novel Brideshead Revisited. I bring it to your attention as an inspiring irritant, as a prod to get you…
Interview with a veteran paranormal investigator
Stan Gordon and I have the same last name, we both live in Southwestern Pennsylvania and neither of us has seen Bigfoot in person. I haven’t been looking. Gordon, on the other hand, has spent 59 years investigating reports of paranormal activity in the area: Bigfoot, UFOs, and cryptids (a creature whose existence is either…
