June 21 was a beautiful day at The Frick Pittsburgh in Point Breeze, and a great day to play music on the lawn beside the cafe there. I was joined by Susan Spangler and Deborah Brooks, 2/3 of the singers in the harmony group named (literally, for now!) Subject To Change.
Thanks especially for Caito Amoroso, curator of performance events at The Frick, for hosting us and taking these pictures!
May was a busy month (and wait’ll you see what’s happening in June and July!)…
Saw lots of familiar faces performing at the Friendship Flower and Folk Festival!
Every year it’s a great neighborhood event. Then came the Millvale Music Festival where the whole town turns into a multiple venue music extravaganza!
So many friends performing and hanging out there. And of course the Celebration of Bob Dylan at The Breezeway Home in Point Breeze.
Crazy night, but lots of fun!
There’s some cool stuff coming up in June and July.
For Make Music Pittsburgh on June 21, I’ll be playing a two hour lunchtime set at The Frick in Point Breeze, and I’ll be playing the pre-show music for the Sweet Lizzy Project at Summer Sounds on July 21 in Greensburg! Or see me at one of the venues listed to the right (or just below, if you’re on a cell phone)!
I’ll also be playing at the Bloomfield Saturday Market, the Swissvale Farmers’ Market, and the Swissvale Edible Garden Tour. For all the details, see my Events page!
Hope to see you out in the world!
-BJ
Well…
Had an absolute blast at Art All Night and at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theatre on April 29!
I organized and ran sound for the Art All Night Coffeehouse stage, as I have been doing for several years. It was a blast! Here are some pictures of the performers…
I didn’t perform on the coffeehouse stage myself though because about halfway through the evening I went to play blues with Debbi Pace in the lobby of the Kelly-Strayhorn Theatre, as the pre-show opener for Calliope‘s concert featuring Guy Davis with special guests Ernie Hawkins & Ray Morin.
I also help to organize the SongSpace concert series at First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh. Our last show of the season (just last night!), featuring Jess Klein with special guest Brad Yoder, was really special to be a part of.
For a fuller listing, audio and video recordings, and more, see brianjunkermusic.com.
Summer’s heating up and I wanted to let you know about where I’ll be singing and playing. You can see it all on my events page. They all should be fun, and all but one are free!
Hope to see you out in the world!
-BJ
It’s been a great summer of music!
I had great performances at the 25th annual Art All Night event in the Strip in April, the rainy but wonderful Friendship Flower & Folk Festival in May,
the Sharpsburg Art & History Stroll and International Make Music Day at Cousin’s Lounge in Millvale (both in June),
the tenth annual Deutschtown Music Festival in July,
and the Pittsburgh Art Jam / Play Music on the Porch Day at the Sleeping Octopus in Wilkinsburg in August!
I also provided live sound engineering for Art All Night, the Deutschtown Music Festival and the Pittsburgh Art Jam!
And all through the summer there were almost-weekly performances at the Swissvale Farmers’ Market (alone and with East End Appalachian Jam) and the Bloomfield Saturday Market. There are always friendly faces at the Swissvale Market, and the Bloomfield performances were completely un-amplified, allowing me to connect with market shoppers and vendors a little more personally (and it was only a challenge to hear myself during the Columbus Day Parade!).
Looking forward to seeing you at my last farmers’ market performance of the season, at the Swissvale Farmers’ Market Saturday Oct 22. I’ll be playing songs and tunes from 9 to 11, and then joining the East End Appalachian Jam from 11 to 1.
And of course I’ll let you know of other upcoming events right here at brianjunkermusic.com.
cheers,
-BJ
Donna O, Paul Eisert and I had a blast a Cousin’s Lounge, playing for Make Music Pittsburgh June 21, 2022!
Had a great time at the Sharpsburg Art and History Stroll!
Here are some pictures of the musicians from music co-organizers Devin Russian and Mike Berkey (pix courtesy of Ukulele Mollie, I think!).
https://www.facebook.com/devin.russian/posts/pfbid022XrWB6eJ7MZcY3bjhPGP425fRMuZhDj3WumScsqN9vMdx1CcGrNBy5GMPvfkUjbMl
…and here are a picture and video from my set!
Art All Night 2022 is happening live and in-person this year, staring on Saturday April 23!
As usual, I am hosting a Coffeehouse Stage, perfect for acoustic and nearly-acoustic singer-songwriters of all types! Sign up right away (first come, first served), at
https://www.artallnight.org/index.php/live-musician-sign-up-form-2022/
Be sure to specify your genre as “Coffeehouse” if you want to play on my stage, and select as many time preferences as possible to give me lots of flexibility in scheduling you or your group to perform. Mics and cables and a PA will be provided.
Any questions? Send email to junkerb@gmail.com
I wrote a track for an online benefit concert for the National Foundation for Transplant. You can find out all about the concert, and the accompanying digital compilation, here: blowupradio.com/nftpress.html.
The live concert runs online Saturday March 5 and Sunday March 6, from noon to 9pm each day.
There is also a digital music compilation, which you can get for free if you donate to the fundraiser: donate.transplants.org/story/Burwebathon .
My song “Second Chance” is on the compilation, as well as several tracks by super singer-songwriter Catherine Wacha (https://catherinewacha.bandcamp.com/), who is an inspiration for this fundraiser.
Hoping to see your donation!
all best,
-BJ
I wrote a track for an online benefit concert for the National Foundation for Transplants. You can find out all about the concert, and the accompanying digital compilation, here: https://blowupradio.com/nftpress.html.
The live concert runs online Saturday March 5 and Sunday March 6, from noon to 9pm each day.
There is also a digital music compilation, which you can get for free if you donate to the fundraiser: https://donate.transplants.org/story/Burwebathon .
My song “Second Chance” is on the compilation, as well as several tracks by super singer-songwriter Catherine Wacha (https://catherinewacha.bandcamp.com/), who is an inspiration for this fundraiser.
Hoping to see your donation!
all best,
-BJ
It’s been a long year-plus without much in the way of live music… But with the widespread availability of great vaccines, it’s clear live music is coming back this summer! Free performances are coming back at some farmers’ markets, and other outdoor (and some indoor) live music is coming back!
Here are some opportunities that I’ll be involved in, in the coming months. I hope to let you know about even more as things develop!
Swissvale Farmers’ Market (2036 Noble Street, Swissvale): Starting on Saturday June 12, I’ll be playing 9-11am, and East End Appalachian Jam will be playing 11-1pm, almost every other Saturday, all summer long! There’s also a kickoff show Saturday June 5!
Make Music Pittsburgh: June 21, all over Pittsburgh! Check back here to find out when & where I’ll be playing.
Starlite Lounge Open Mic: Every Wednesday night at 8pm. The “regulars” (with special thanks to Michael Berkey and Devin Russian) have kept this open mic going online through the pandemic, and the live in-person event is starting up again at the Starlite Lounge in Blawnox.
Pittsburgh Songwriters’ Circle: First Wednesday of every month at 7pm, Starlite Lounge!
Play Music on the Porch: August 28, all over Pittsburgh (and all over the world!). Check back here to find out when & where I’ll be playing.
Hope to see you at one of these events!
-BJ
Brad’s playing songs live tomorrow evening (Fri., 9/4), from 6:30-8pm, weather permitting. Folks are invited to come and sit (socially distanced) out on the yard (we have some folding chairs), BYOB (but i have lots of ice!), and there’s a bathroom in the house available. 7211 Thomas Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15208-2506. He’ll also be live-streaming this, from https://facebook.com/bradyodermusic.
I’l be there too! — mostly running the livestream. See you there!