Summer brings on the music

May 24, 2011 Last Updated: May 24, 2011 04:15 PM Special Sections

Here are scheduled musical events this summer.

Summer events at Butler County Community College will include The Fads from Cleveland performing a 1960s pop rock and British invasion show on June 18.Also planned is a Don Orwald Arts Initiative presentation “Mark Twain Meets Elvis” to benefit the Mary Jo Mohn Covert Scholarship Fund.Free Family Summer Concert SeriesThe Butler County Park and Recreation Department will host a Free Family Summer Concert Series at Alameda Park.Concerts will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays and will take place in the park's Carousel Shelter. Call 724-284-5383 for information.• Mass Transit, a four-member group that will perform Frank Sinatra songs, oldies and rock ‘n' roll, June 21.• Waldo Young-The One-Man Band, performing tunes from the 1960s to present plus some original songs on acoustic guitar and harmonica, June 28.• Greater Cranberry Barbershop Chorus featuring the Sharp Edge quartet, July 5.• Divine Ridge, contemporary Christian music, July 12.• Moses and the Trash Bandits, three-piece group that plays neoclassic rock and blues, July 19.• Butler Tabernacle Choir, high energy music by multicultural, multiage performers, July 26.• Muddy Creek, a four-piece acoustic band that plays music from the 1970s through today, Aug. 2.• Back to the Good Stuff, five-person band that plays a wide variety of classic rock including covers of Rush, ZZ Top, Boston and the Beatles, Aug. 9.

The Butler County Symphony Association's Concerts to Munch By series brings a summer full of lunchtime entertainment.Concerts will take place from 12:15 until 12:45 p.m. Wednesdays beginning June 8 and continuing through Aug. 17 in the symphony office building, 259 S. Main St.Each week a musician or group of musicians will perform a free half-hour concert.Audience members may take a lunch or buy one on site courtesy of Cafe Main. Cookies and cold beverages are free. Admission is free.Scheduled performances include:• Hill Youth Chorale, June 8• Titans of the Tenor, Jim Schaffner and Artie Black, tenor saxophones, June 15• Butler Symphony Percussion All-Stars, June 22• Tom Wotus and Mary Andreassi, piano and vocals, June 29• Karma Acoustic, contemporary acoustic, July 6• Sharp Edge Barbershop Quartet, July 13• NKC Trio, flute, violin and cello, July 20• Jerry Johnston and the Soul Patrol, July 27• Simcha String Quartet, Aug. 3• Jim Cunningham and Friends, jazz, Aug. 10• Dorko Mahoney Band, traditional folk, Aug. 17.For information, call the symphony office at 724-283-1402, or visit www.butlersymphony.org.

Thursdays in the Park concerts take place in the Rotary Amphitheater in Cranberry Township Community Park. All shows will be at 7 p.m.• East Winds Symphonic Band, July 14• Mahajibee Blues, July 21• Softwinds, July 28• Allegheny Brass Band, Aug. 4• No Bad Ju Ju, Aug. 11.Admission is free. Call 724-776-4806 for information.

Friday Lunchtime Concerts at the Municipal Center Gazebo in Cranberry Township start at noon.Performing will be:• Randy Shoup, July 22• Pittsburgh Banjo Club, July 29• Sandy Lusco, Aug. 5• Butler Notables, Aug. 12.Admission is free. Call 724-776-4806 for information.

The Harmony Business Association's 16th annual Thursday evening concert series begins at 8 p.m. June 30 with a popular band and pyrotechnics providing a traditional launch into the Independence Day weekend.Kardaz, a regional group that performs classics from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s will kick off the show in front of the Harmony Inn on Mercer Street. The evening will conclude with fireworks.Concertgoers should take their own chairs.Other concerts, which are at the Harmony Inn except when listed, will feature:• Eugene & the Night Crawlers, 7:30 p.m. July 21• The Wheels, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 4• The Pop Rocks, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 18, performing in the diamond at the center of Harmony's historic district.Admission is free. Call 724-452-6220.

The big news for Musicians' Concert Band shows this summer is that they will be in Butler Intermediate High School's auditorium. The previous concert site, Miller Auditorium on the Slippery Rock University campus, will be under construction and unavailable.The concert dates are June 9 and 23, July 7 and 21 and Aug. 4.The group's swing band will join the concert band for the last show of the summer.All performances will begin at 7:30 p.m.Admission is $3. For information, send e-mail to musiciansconcertband@gmail.com.

Watermelon Wednesdays will take place in July in Slippery Rock Park. The park address is 320 N. Main St., Slippery Rock, but the concerts are at the other end of the park, near the basketball court and pavilion.Shows will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Performing will be:• Chris Buhler, Rich Warham and Bob Shawgo, acoustic blues, July 6• Muddy Creek, four-piece acoustic group playing folk, blues and rock, July 13• Joey Cirillo and Friends, acoustic rock, July 20• Tree Beard Brown, acoustic, traditional folk music, July 27.Concert admission and watermelon are free.Call 724-794-8180 for information.

Not only music but ballet and folk dancing will be presented as well as part of the free summer series at Hartwood Acres, Allegheny County.Performances are outdoors in the Middle Road concert area amphitheater at the park in Hampton Township.Performances are free unless otherwise noted.The schedule is:• Josh Ritter with David Wax Museum, folk/rock, 7:30 p.m. June 5• Pittsburgh Opera, 7:30 p.m. June 12• Open Sky Microphone Night, hosted by Joy Ike, 7:30 p.m. June 19• Community College of Allegheny County Alumni presents Ruthie Foster, blues, 7:30 p.m. June 26• Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, 8:15 p.m. July 3• Dog Days, 1 to 5 p.m. July 10• Mary Chapin Carpenter, country/folk/rock, 7:30 p.m. July 17• 17th annual Pittsburgh Blues Festival, with proceeds benefiting the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, July 22 to 24. Hours are 4 to 10:30 p.m. July 22 and 1:30 to 10:30 p.m. July 23 and 24. Admission is charged.• The High Kings, Irish folk music, 7:30 p.m. July 31• Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, rock, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 7• BNY Mellon Jazz presents Joe Lovano, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 14• Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 18• Duquesne Tamburitzans, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 28• 12th annual Allegheny County Musical Festival, Sept. 4 with opening bands starting at 5 p.m. and Rusted Root playing at 7:30 p.m. Cost of $20 per car will benefit the Department of Human Services.All performances are subject to change.For information, call 412-767-9200.