Dan + Shay, Phoebe Bridgers, and Chaka Khan in Pittsburgh Concerts (Fri., 9/17/21)

1) Dan Smeyers grew up in Wexford, Pennsylvania, and graduated from North Allegheny High School. He attended CMU before embarking on his professional musical career. He played in several  bands, one of which was even on the Vans Warped Tour, before meeting Shay Moooney, a native of Natural Dam, Arkansas, in Nashville. The two of them clicked and started writing country songs soon thereafter. After some early success they started performing together as Dan + Shay. Now they have four albums and numerous awards including three Grammys and four ACM Awards. Dan + Shay’s latest album is Good Things, released in August. Special guests are The Band CAMINO and Ingrid Andress. 7 p.m. PPG Arena, 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown. (R.H.)

2) Phoebe Bridgers’s sophomore album, Punisher, was one of the most acclaimed albums of 2020, and now she’s finally able to tour in support of it, including a stop at Stage AE. Songs from the album pair incisive lyrics with lush instrumentation. Standout singles include “Kyoto” and “I Know the End,” both of which she performed, in that order, on “Saturday Night Live” in 2021. The latter performance saw her smashing her guitar in true rock-n-roll fashion. She’s also a member of the supergroup boygenius with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus. Bridgers has collaborated with numerous other musicians as well. One recent collaboration is on The Killers’ 2021 single, “Runaway Horses.” Her solo work earned her four Grammy nominations this year. She is based in Los Angeles. MUNA opens. Doors open 6 p.m. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. (C.M.)

Friday, September  17 – Sunday, September 19

3) The world famous New Orleans Jazz Festival is cancelled for 2021, but the also noted Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival is still on with covid protocols in place. This year’s mix of jazz and R&B includes top notch performers Chaka Khan and Patrice Rushen. Khan (Fri., Benedum Center) has had many top hits over the years including “I Feel for You” as a solo artist and “Ain’t Nobody” and “Tell Me Something Good” as part of the group Rufus. Rushen’s mega-hits are “You Remind Me” and “Forget Me Nots,” the latter of which includes one of the best funky bass lines ever. The hook was so good that Will Smith used it in the music bed for his song “Men in Black.” Rushen performs Sunday at Highmark Stadium. Both performers have amazing voices. 

The festival’s other performers hold their own too with Marcus Miller, Branford Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, Gregory Porter, Kenny Garrett, Jazzmeia Horn, Jeff “Tain” Watts, and Eddi Palmeri Afro-Caribbean Jazz Septet are scheduled to play over Saturday and Sunday. The Pittsburgh International Jazz festival is a production of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center and presented by Citizens Bank. (R.H.)

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