Ariana Grande in Concert at PPG Paints Arena; Kaia Kater Plays Arts Three Rivers Arts Festival (Wed., 6/12/19)

1) Ariana Grande started out as a child actor on Broadway and then was featured on a few Nickelodeon shows. Her voice possesses four-octave range, which gives it the dynamics to float higher, much like Mariah Carey’s. Grande’s music career was on fire right from the start when her first release, Yours Truly, debuted at no. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart in 2013. She won New Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards. Her second album, 2014’s My Everything, reached no. 1 as well. “Thank U, Next,” which later appeared on the 2019 album of the same name, was a smash when it was released November 2018. It namechecks past romantic partners, including ex-fiancé and comic Pete Davidson and late Pittsburgh native Mac Miller. She recently released “Monopoly” with singer Victoria Monét. Grande brings the party to PPG Paints Arena. Normani and Social House open. 8 p.m. 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown. (RH, CM)

2) The 10-day Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival is Pittsburgh’s largest summer event. Launched in 1960, it has evolved along with the city itself. Early Festivals were focused on the juried visual art show, with hundreds of paintings and other works displayed in open-sided pavilions that turned the plazas near the Point into a temporary outdoor museum. Today you can see a variety of modern visual arts throughout the center-city Cultural District—including an indoor juried Festival show, plus exhibits at five Pittsburgh Cultural Trust galleries and the August Wilson Center. Meanwhile other Festival activities have grown into huge draws of their own. Handmade arts, crafts, and wearables are on sale in 250 booths at the sprawling Artist Market. And this year’s Festival has nearly 70 performing arts acts, all free. All that plus face painting adds up to a can’t-miss! Tonight’s Headliner is Kaia Kater on the Dollar Bank Main Stage. 7:30 p.m. Multiple times and venues Downtown, Continues through June 16. (MV)

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