Jason Aldean Plays Star Lake; Stage AE Hosts The Flaming Lips; Kinetic Has ‘Hangmen’; Barrel and Flow Fest (Sat., 8/9/25)

1) Maybe you’ve got genuine country roots, clear down to your cowboy boots. Or maybe you wish you did. Either way, if that’s your stan, Jason Aldean is your man. Ever since his 2005 breakthrough to stardom, the Macon, Georgia native has done songs that embrace the country ethos emphatically. Except he sure wouldn’t use a citified word like “ethos.” He would simply present it as the way to be, as he did in his rollicking debut single “Hicktown” (above)—in which he foresaw that the country, um, ethos would become the dominant chord of our culture and others: “Got your country boys and your redneck girls / It’s the party heard ‘round the world / Right here in Hicktown!” And so it has come to pass. Today, Aldean has a star-spangled fan club called the Aldean Army. His current Full Throttle tour will carry the vibe to faraway places like New Zealand. Along with a passel of country-music and Billboard awards and his 11 studio albums, Aldean has gained a rep for in-your-face-ness, notably with his 2023 single “Try That in a Small Town.” And you can meet Jason Aldean face-to-face in his concert at The Pavilion at Star Lake. Guest artists are Nate Smith, RaeLynn, and Dee Jay Silver. 7:30 p.m. 665 Rte. 18, Burgettstown. (M.V.)

2) The experimental psychedelic alt-rock band The Flaming Lips, spawned in 1983 in Oklahoma’s tornado country, storms into Pittsburgh again for a concert at Stage AE. The Flaming Lips are among the genre’s most accomplished and revered acts, and their shows expertly combine visual and auditory stimulation through rhythmic lines and a trippy, syncopated light show. (Other concert highlights: During their 2010 visit to the late Station Square Amphitheater, frontman Wayne Coyne stopped the show to listen to a passing train. And in the pandemic year of 2020, they played an Oklahoma City concert with the band members—and audience members—encased in inflatable plastic bubbles.) The Lips had a hit with “She Don’t Use Jelly” in 1993 and won further prominence with 1999’s The Soft Bulletin and 2002’s Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.  The latest of their 16 studio albums is 2020’s American Head. Their awards include three Grammys, and The Lips shared a 2018 Tony Award nomination for “Tomorrow Is,”  part of the original score for SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical. Also on the bill at Stage AE is Modest Mouse. Formed in Issaquah, Washington, in 1992, the group scored big with 2004’s Good News for People Who Love Bad News and its lead single, “Float On.” Some Modest Mouse members have come and gone, but frontman Isaac Brock is a constant. The group’s most recent album is 2021’s The Golden Casket. Indie duo Friko rounds out the concert lineup. Doors at 6 p.m. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. (E.C., M.V.)

3) One of the hottest tickets in town is Kinetic Theatre’s production of Hangmen, a modern classic by a master of very dark comedy. British-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh is perhaps best known in our country for his films. He wrote and directed Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri as well as the delirious tragicomedy In Bruges, a chart-topper on the list of weird movies to see before you die. But first act promptly to reserve seats for Hangmen, winner of the 2016 Laurence Olivier Award (England’s equivalent of a Tony Award) for Best New Play. Inspired by true events, it’s set in the 1960s, when the U.K. moved to abolish capital punishment. Which raises a question. What’s an executioner to do when his job is eliminated? In McDonagh’s play, hangman Harry Wade retires to a side gig as a small-town pub owner, only to find that fate won’t let him ride off placidly into the sunset. A strange young stranger arrives. Madcap mayhem ensues. Amid the rave reviews, a British critic punned that Hangmen invites us to re-think how we remember “the Swinging Sixties.” Kinetic presents Hangmen with a star-laden cast. 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Through August 24 at Carnegie Stage, 25 W. Main St., Carnegie. (M.V.)

4) The Barrel & Flow Fest 5 will be happening at The Stacks at 3 Crossings. The event features over 75 breweries and distilleries some collaborating on products with each other. Entertainment will be provided by musicians, artists, DJ’s and speakers. There will also be food and shopping opportunities. Barrel & Flow features many black breweries and distilleries and has been voted the #1 Brew Fest in America two years in a row, by the readers of USA Today. 2875 Railroad St., Lawrenceville.

5) For four Saturdays every summer and fall, Walnut Street in Shadyside shifts its focus from the usual bustling bevy of bistros and boutiques to putting a bit of music in the air, courtesy of the Shadyside Chamber of Commerce. The annual Jam on Walnut series brings some big names out for free concerts that stop traffic and pack the street. Tonight’s edition features popular Pittsburgh dance band No Bad JuJu. All of the Jams On Walnut are free to attend. 6 to 10 p.m. 5442 Walnut St., Shadyside.

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