Event Type : Free Concert

Join us for a Big Rail first:

We’re featuring three great Pittsburgh songwriters in an intimate session where they’ll perform some of their favorite tunes and share their thoughts about writing music, living life, and whatever else they want.

Paul Luc: paulluc.com

Clinton Clegg: thecommonheart.com

Mark Dignam: markdignam.com

For the past 14 years, Full Cord Bluegrass has been making a name for themselves blending traditional bluegrass music with jazz, western swing, and rock n’ roll while keeping the traditional bluegrass feel alive and well. These influences make every performance memorable and unique.

Jim Donovan and The Sun King Warriors are best described as a blend of rhythm heavy roots rock, with a strong dose of big barreling drums. Think bluesy Zeppelin-esqe bombast, Santana style percussion with wild Avett Brothers energy.

For over 20 years, Blues Attack has been an integral part of the Pittsburgh blues scene. Originally fronted by the amazing Jill West, Blues Attack has played around the country and were the third place winners of the International Blues Challenge in 2005. Although we have lost our friend Jill, Blues Attack is carrying on. The core trio of Gregg Krupa on guitar and vocals, Hank Raffetto on bass, and Nicky ‘No Shoes’ on drums remains in place (also known as the Bo’Hog Brothers) and has been joined by the talented ‘Big Sexy’ Jack Sanso on harmonica and vocals and rhythm guitar player Jimmy ‘MG’ Tassone. The band has won the Pittsburgh Blues Challenge a total of 5 times and Gregg Krupa is a two time winner of the best blues guitar player award from the Blues Society of Western Pennsylvania.

The six-stringer song singer from Erie, PA.

Major Morgan is an acoustic band from Grove City, PA that plays an eclectic mix of classic rock, pop, country, and bluegrass.

A traveling troubadour born and raised in the hills of rural western Pennsylvania. Shaping her signature sound developed from her teenage years, Alyssa’s music is unmistakable. With influences that span across many genres, her lyrics bring you into the heart of the steel mills and the bucolic landscape of rural America.

Company Townes is a country & western band from rural Northwestern Pennsylvania. Following their debut album Canyon(2016) Co.Townes released a collection of reimagined Townes Van Zandt classics entitled, “Van Zandt” in April of 2019. The band kicked off 2022 with a short tour opening for Dwight Yoakam.

theCAUSE is a band consisting of 5 Pittsburgh musicians who have all been around the proverbial block.  Playing tunes from Grateful Dead, Phish, The Beatles, Bob Dylan and MORE, including some very tasty originals, theCAUSE packs a punch while still paying close attention to the delicate touch. The players are Eric “Pappy” Weingrad on guitar and vocals (Double Dose, Pappy’s Blues Junction), David Tauberg on bass and vocals (Powers Run Band, Hard to Handle, Cherylann Hawk),  Mike South on drums (Left for Dead, Sticky, Russ Lauf Band) and, joining us in 2008, Pittsburgh blues veteran Jill Paone Simmons brings a whole new dimension to theCAUSE on vocals and continues to rock with us today. Jill also fronts the all female Dead band Brown Eyed Women .  Kip Lieber on keyboards, who also performs with Fungus.

The Plate Scrapers originated in 2014 in western Maryland the way any good bluegrass band does: from a bunch of fellers pickin’ around in a circle, surrounded by delicious plates of food, strong libations, and good friends. The traditional spirit of The Plate Scrapers is still innately intact nearly half a decade later, though they have evolved into far more than your average bluegrass band. Through diverse backgrounds and influences ranging from jazz, to hard rock, to funk, the band has taken their music to an eclectic new level.

Formed by Pennsylvania-based frontman Nick Snyder, Ferdinand the Bull is an indie-folk collective rooted in big hooks, carefully crafted songwriting, and a dynamic stage show. 

Raised an hour from Philadelphia in Kutztown, Snyder later moved to Pittsburgh, where he launched Ferdinand the Bull in 2013. The band was initially an acoustic project, its songs punctuated by vocal harmonies, heartland hooks, and the influence of rootsy contemporaries like The Avett Brothers. Released in 2013, the self-produced Ella EP introduced that stripped-down sound, with Snyder handling all songwriting and instrumental duties apart from harmonica. The band’s lineup grew over the next two years, bringing a new sense of energy and dynamics to Snyder’s songs.

Things began to expand with 2015’s Amber Skies and the Evergreen, an EP that made room for mandolin, banjo, swooning strings, and thick stacks of harmony. Recorded nearly an hour outside of the city, Amber Skies and the Evergreen helped Ferdinand the Bull build its reputation as one of the city’s premiere folk revivalists. 

The Boom Rockets allows three, top, regional musicians to express their love of Rockabilly, Hillbilly, and Surf Instrumentals. Let Levi, Dave, and Jeff transport you to the Rockabilly era!

Bindley Hardware Co. is a rust-belt Americana band from Pittsburgh, PA. They draw influence from classic country, folk and modern alt-country, as well as from the original Bindley Hardware Co., its namesake hardware store owned and operated by frontman Jon’s family during Pittsburgh’s industrial boom in the early 20th century. “To be able to make music or have any kind of creative endeavor that identifies where you’re from is really important. […] Things in Pittsburgh inspire me every day. The Bindley Hardware Co. has such a rich history and I’m kind of making it my own.”

When it’s time to escape from it all, it’s time to Roam Free.  An original band from Pittsburgh, PA, Roam Free believes in using music to free the mind from the mundane, to ride the waves of sound to wherever you want to be in your universe in that moment.  From explosive peaks to delicate valleys, Roam Free explores music organically, with songs that emote and tell stories that encourage us to leave behind the stress and pressures of the daily grind to escape, even if just momentarily, and enjoy life to the fullest as often as we can.

Looking to get away for a little while?  Of course you are.

Roam Free.

Hailing from the mountain towns of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland, The Jakob’s Ferry Stragglers draw freely from Old-Time, Bluegrass, Rockabilly, and Swing music to create their own brand of high energy, Appalachian Bluegrass. Gary Antol (guitar/vocals) and Libby Eddy (fiddle/vocals) founded the band in 2014 with a very simple goal: write good songs, honor the music, and take it to the road. Their music, described as heavy and traditional with stirring harmonies, powerful instrumentation, and a progressive originality, has been experienced on festival stages including Delfest, Grey Fox, Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival, Darrington Bluegrass Festival, and others across the country. JFS was honored to be an Official Showcase Artist at IBMA Bluegrass Ramble 2018.

“Hardscrabble honky-tonk at its best, nodding to Johnny Cash and Buck Owens in equal measure. Ties of Blood and Affection is a stellar collection that could earn Pinnell comparisons to Sturgill Simpson.” – ROLLING STONE