Kristian Bush and Rita Wilson at Hard Rock Cafe; Mntn. Playhouse Has ‘The Irish…and How They Got That Way’ (Wed., 6/19/19)

1) It’s a double-shot of country at Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall: Kristian Bush and Rita Wilson. Bush is one-half of the country duo Sugarland, but he released a solo studio album in 2015, Southern Gravity. 2017’s “Sing Along” is a new-ish, non-album single. Wilson is an accomplished actress/producer/singer, appearing in such films as My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 and Gloria Bell. She’s released three solo albums, most recently this year’s Halfway to Home.  “Throw Me a Party” is from that album. Wilson’s hubby is Tom Hanks, who was in Pittsburgh last year starring as Mr. Rogers in the upcoming film, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. 8 p.m. 510 E. 10th Ave., Munhall. (CM) Note: The venue has been changed to the Hard Rock Cafe at Station Square.

2) Irish-American writer Frank McCourt was famous for his Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Angela’s Ashes and for spinning tall tales that he presented as nonfiction. (His mother, Angela, once attended an autobiographical stage show he’d co-written, shouting from the audience that it was “all a pack of lies.”) But there’s no denying McCourt was a colorful writer, and his 1997 musical The Irish… and How They Got That Way is grounded in historical facts. Drawn from first-hand sources, the show retells grim and not-so-grim events ranging from the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s to Irish immigrants’ experiences in America. All is mixed with authentic Irish music, from “Danny Boy” to U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” Now the folks at Mountain Playhouse are staging The Irish… and How They Got That Way in the green, green hills of the Laurel Highlands. 2 and 7 p.m. Performances continue through June 30. 7690 Somerset Pike, Jennerstown. (MV) 

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