Scott Tady: Beaver Station hosts a honkytonk hootenanny
Beaver Station Cultural & Event Center hosts a honky-tonking double bill this upcoming Thursday.
Bindley Hardware and Tony Barge's Honky Tonk Heroes will deliver a night of toe-tapping country-western and classic rock for folks seated ? but maybe not for long ? on lawn chairs outside the former Beaver train station.
One of Pittsburgh's premiere country bands, Bindley Hardware Co., returns by popular demand. Featured in a WQED-TV documentary, the twangy group's revved-up set of originals and covers convinced Beaver Station concertgoers to toss aside their chairs and dance at a 2022 indoor winter show.
"We are thrilled to bring the Hardware Co. back to Beaver County," frontman Jon Bindley said. "It's a beautiful venue that draws a really sharp crowd for roots and country music. You don't want to miss it when the train comes rolling down the tracks and the band gets fired up."
The station's more spacious outdoor setting next to the Belvedere architectural structure will be ideal for a summer show that begins at 5:30 p.m. at the trackside courtyard with Barge's Beaver Valley favorites the Honky Tonk Heroes, which have satisfied spectators at saloons and festivals throughout western Pennsylvania.
"Honky Tonk Heroes provide their audience with a large mixture of music ranging from Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson to ZZ Top and Rolling Stones," Barge said. "The band really enjoys great fellowship among its members and followers. We’ve always commented on the many friends we’ve made through the years through our music."
A BBQ food truck will be onsite at 5:30 p.m., with Penn State Creamery ice cream served for free from the Beaver Valley Chapter Alumni Association.
Bindley Hardware hits the stage at 7 p.m.
The cost is $35, which includes premium adult beverages, available at beaverstation.org
Unlike other outdoor Beaver concerts, you don’t need to bring a chair, as one will be provided, "but they won’t need it since they’ll be dancing," Beaver Station event manager Leanne Rogowski said.
Sharp sounds in Aliquippa
Bluegrass group Shelf Life String Band and Nashville soul-funk-rock artist Kenny Sharp will team up Aug. 19 for a free show at Uncommon Grounds Cafe at 830 Franklin Ave., Aliquippa.
As part of the eclectic Uncommon Concerts & Conversations concert series, hosted by the Genesis Collective, the two musical acts will stick around to engage in community-motivated dialogue with concertgoers.
Dinner is available from Annie Lee’s Food Truck starting at 5 p.m., with Shelf Life taking the stage at 5:30 p.m.
Cindystock
You're also invited to see a prominent "American Idol" runner-up and Pittsburgh's most popular oldies band both playing in a backyard in Franklin Park.
Crystal Bowersox, a fan favorite from the ninth season of "American Idol," and the nine-member Johhny Angel & The Halos, will entertain Aug. 19 on day two of the 20th annual Cindystock outdoor music festival at the Wexford-Bayne Road home of founders Cindy and Ted Yates. The concert begins at 4 p.m., with recording artist Alice Howe joined by Freebo, a rock, blues and folk bassist-singer who has performed with Bonnie Raitt and Neil Young.
Tickets are at cindystock.org. and cost $50, which includes a full buffet dinner, dessert and soft drinks. Guests are asked to bring chairs or blankets and adult beverages if desired.
Day one of Cindystock begins Aug. 18, with veteran singer-songwriter Dan Navarro followed by a slide show by famed photographer Henry Diltz, who took the photo on The Doors' "Morrison Hotel" album cover and did photo portraits for The Eagles, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Rolling Stones and more. Tickets for opening night also are $50, which includes food and soft drinks.
All proceeds benefit free cancer screening services at UPMC, Allegheny Health Network and Adagio Health and free support services at Cancer Bridges, Hair Peace Charities and 412Thrive. To date, Cindystock has raised $439,000 for local charities.
More: Concert review: Pink soars high in solid, electrifying Pittsburgh performance
Soccer Mommy for kicks
Mr. Smalls Theatre might have been a better fit, stylistically.
But then we fans would have been sardined shoulder-to-shoulder into a stuffy room, so I'm glad we got to spread out under the stars last Sunday at Hartwood Acres to see Soccer Mommy headline Hartwood Acres.
The stage name for Nashvillian Sophia Allison, Soccer Mommy and her band played their hypnotic, atmospheric brand of indie-rock, layered in guitar reverb and synth. Not exactly beachballs-and-blankets music to wrap up an early August weekend, but an audience I'd estimate at 2,800 ? many of whom probably had no idea what to expect ? sat and stood transfixed by the band's lushly intense sound.
Catchy dream-pop single "Shotgun" from last year's "Sometimes, Forever," one of 2022's most acclaimed indie-rock albums, was a standout.
In a set spanning three albums, you could discern a bit of a Sheryl Crow vocal influence, so, it made sense 45 minutes in, when Soccer Mommy played her freshly released cover of "Soak Up The Sun." It sounded cool with the California peppiness sanded down.
It would have been nice hearing Allison use stage banter or humor to add to the entertainment value, especially since Hartwood shows draw many people who aren't necessarily fans of whatever band is playing that night. Outside of her periodic thank-you's and band introductions, we didn't get much insight into Soccer Mommy's personality.
But the sound of Soccer Mommy was a treat for indie fans, with the night's opening act, Wisconsin band Disq, also impressing with its '90s-ish guitar pop sound.
Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Tady: Beaver Station hosts a honkytonk hootenanny
