Concert Guide June 2025: Megan Moroney, Phish, Jack’s Mannequin, Bret Michaels, Jon Pardi, Halsey, and The Clarks

There are no shows at PNC Park, PPG Paints Arena, and Acrisure Stadium this month. However other venues are in summer swing. Stage AE has two sold out concerts, Megan Moroney and Jack’s Mannequin. Another one there that could sell out is The Clarks. Vampire Weekend and Less Than Jake also play the venue. The Pavilion at Star Lake has Thomas Rhett and Halsey. The Petersen Events Center will be jammin’ and two-stepping with Phish and Jon Pardi respectively. Hometown fave Bret Michaels plays an outdoor concert at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. Big Country, who had a blockbuster hit, “In a Big Country,” in the ’80s, are at Jergel’s. Southern rock outfit, The Allman Betts band bring their guitar-driven rock to Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall. Super talented songwriter Suzanne Vega performs at the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival. Another amazing group, New Orleans’ Preservation Hall Jazz Band also gives a free outdoor performance at the Arts Fest. And on a similar note, legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma performs in a sold out concert with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

The Concert Guide features (in chronological order) Spotlight Picks, Other Shows of Interest, and Big Shows on the Horizon. Get out and see what pleases you, whether it’s one of our concert picks or something entirely different. Mike Vargo (M.V.) also contributed to this guide.

Tuesday, June 3

They’re baaack. Vampire Weekend, the indie rock band born in 2006 in the hallowed halls of Columbia University—well, in the student living quarters, which perhaps weren’t so hallowed—never actually died, but they arose from the undead last year with their fifth studio album, Only God Was Above Us. The reviews ranged from puzzled-but-positive to ecstatic. Over in England, where frontman Ezra Koenig and his mates sometimes sojourn, the critic for The Guardian loved the new sounds. And here in the United States, we’re now being treated to what is billed as Part 2 of the Only God Was Above Us Tour. Vampire Weekend’s music is eclectic. In some songs you may detect echoes of Zach Condon’s band Beirut, absent the ukulele. In others, anything from Afrobeat to weird harmonic wailing. Lyrics-wise, there is class consciousness. (Remember “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”?)  And always, the live shows are truly alive. The tour stop in Pittsburgh shapes up as a very good evening. See and hear Vampire Weekend at Stage AE. Doors open at 6 p.m., with guest artists Geese. 400 N. Shore Dr., North Shore. (M.V.)

Wednesday, June 4

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra often collaborates with legendary musicians. This month the PSO teams up with another legend, Yo-Yo Ma. The renowned cellist was born and partially raised in Paris and then moved to New York City. He was a child prodigy and began performing at only four and a half years-old. Ma graduated from the Juilliard School and Harvard University. He has performed as a soloist with many of the top orchestras around the world, has recorded over 92 albums and won 19 Grammy Awards. Ma enjoys learning about and performing various pieces of world music including American bluegrass music. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is also a Grammy Award-winning musical powerhouse that has performed around the world. Yo-Yo Ma returns with Manfred Honeck and joins with the PSO for a performance of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, the “King” of cello concertos. 7:30 p.m. Sold out. Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave., Cultural District. (R.H.)

Friday, June 6

The history of jazz is so rich and varied, and its impacts on other kinds of music have been so far-reaching, that it’s hard to believe this musical form is only a little more than a century old. Jazz emerged during the years around 1900, in New Orleans. It was a bewitching brew from the start, created by African-American musicians who blended the sacred and the profane, drawing on sources that ranged from uplifting spirituals to naughty ragtime. And now—at a price that’s absolutely free—Pittsburghers can enjoy modern renditions of vintage New Orleans jazz. We are privileged to have the famous Preservation Hall Jazz Band performing live and in vibrant personhood at the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival. The PHJB previously visited here in 2019, on the heels of their rollicking film A Tuba to Cuba, which documented the band’s visit to Havana and Santiago to jam with Cuban musicians and singers. This time, expect to hear the Preservation Hall Jazz Band taking music into realms you might not expect. 7:30 p.m. Dollar Bank Main Stage, Waterfront Pl. between 15th and 16th Sts., Strip District. (MV) 

Jon Pardi rose to country music success by way of Dixon, California. While in High School there he started writing songs and formed a band. After High School he found his way to Nashville to pursue his music career. Several years after starting out he opened for the likes of Dierks Bentley. Soon he was playing for more big headliners. He’s been very successful too, becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opery and has had 11 songs that have charted on the Billboard Hot Country Chart, four of which even reached no.1 on that chart. In 2017 he won best new artist categories of the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music Awards. Honkytonk Hollywood, released in April is Pardi’s fifth studio album. Pardi has said, it’s the “most grown-up record I’ve ever made.” Happily married with two young daughters will often change a man’s perspective on things. Pardi is playing the Petersen Events Center. Corey Kent and Kassi Ashton open. 7 p.m. 3719 Terrace St., Oakland. (R.H.)

Sunday, June 8

Suzanne Vega, highly acclaimed folk pop, singer/songwriter/acoustic guitar player and who Biography Magazine called “one of the most brilliant songwriters of her generation,” is playing the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival this month. Vega grew up in New York City, attending the High School for Performing Arts. She has always had an interest in lyrics, literature, and poetry, even publishing The Passionate Eye: The Collected Writings of Suzanne Vega, a volume of poems, lyrics, essays and journalistic pieces. Her songs include the top 10 hits “Luka,” and “Tom’s Diner.” Vega’s latest album is Flying with Angels, which dropped in May. She will be accompanied by her longtime guitarist, Gerry Leonard (of David Bowie fame), and cellist Stephanie Winters. 7:30 p.m. Free. Due to construction the Arts Festival will take place in the Riverfront lots at the 15th Street Plaza along Waterfront Place in the Strip District. (R.H.)

Friday, June 13

Country music keeps evolving, most notably with the infusion of hip-hop influences. But a strong mainstream current also persists—lots of songs about courtin’ and drinkin’ and trucks and religion, all delivered in a reassuring down-home twang—and nobody carries that flag much better than Thomas Rhett. Check out the song above, from his latest album, last year’s About a Woman. You want internal rhyme? Who else but Rhett would think of rhyming “boondocks” and “boom box”? Thomas Rhett is a country blue-blood. His dad, Rhett Akins, first made a splash as a performer and has segued to being mainly a songwriter. Meanwhile, young Thomas moved in the opposite direction. The kid started out writing for the likes of Jason Aldean, then broke through as a performer with his 2012 debut album It Goes Like This (which featured, among other songs, “Beer with Jesus”). And it’s been on to the mountaintop from there. Rhett is a two-time winner of the Academy of Country Music’s Male Artist of the Year Award. He’s got a passel of other awards. Catch Thomas Rhett on his Better In Boots Tour at The Pavilion at Star Lake, with guest artist Tucker Wetmore and The Castellows. 7:30 p.m. 665 PA Route 18, Burgettstown. (M.V.) 

The very popular alternative pop rock group Jack’s Mannequin, led by indie-pop singer-songwriter-pianist Andrew McMahon, plays a sold-out show at Stage AE. The group is on a 25-date headlining tour, stopping in Pittsburgh with special guest Yoke Lore. This year Jack’s Mannequin will be performing at Bonnaroo, When We Were Young, Summerfest, and SXSW and playing at the famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre in July for McMahon’s Three Pianos event. “Jack’s Mannequin was born out of one of the most prolific and transformative periods of my life,” shares frontman Andrew McMahon. “The songs narrate my journey from youth to adulthood, heartbreak to marriage, cancer to remission. The health crisis at the heart of this journey often made it difficult for me to fully appreciate just how magical this music was and how powerfully it connected me to my bandmates and the audiences we played it for. It’s been nearly fifteen years since the band and I have toured this catalog exclusively and it feels like such a gift to do so at a time in my life when I feel able to truly celebrate what we created together. Jack’s was always two things: a studio project and a live band that toured relentlessly. I’m so excited to bring it all back to life onstage for the fans that made it possible to take that strange and beautiful ride.” Jack’s Mannequin launched in 2005 as a solo project for McMahon following the success of his pop-punk band Something Corporate in the early 2000s. Doors open 7 p.m. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. (R.H.)

Saturday, June 14

The singer-songwriter Halsey already had an album, 2015’s Badlands, peak at no. 2 on the Billboard 200. However, her career exploded when she appeared on The Chainsmokers’ single “Closer.” The song stayed at no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 consecutive weeks in 2016. “Closer” was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. She followed this success with her sophomore album, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom. A concept album inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom follows Solis Angelus and Luna Aureum, lovers separated by socioeconomic class in a purgatory-like land. And hey, the singles, such as “Now or Never,” are catchy too. Her latest, and fifth, release is The Great Impersonator, which dropped last October. It reached no. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. Halsey was born Ashley Frangipane. Her stage-name is an anagram of her first name, and it also references Halsey Street station, a stop on the New York City Subway. She will perform at the Pavilion at Star Lake on her For My Last Trick Tour. Sir Chloe and Flowerovlove opens. 7 p.m. 665 Rt. 18, Burgettstown. (C.M., R.H.)

If you want to relive ska punk’s glory days of the late ’90s, you’ll find what you’re looking for at Stage AE with Less Than Jake. Combining the distinctive beats of punk with the horns and saxophones of ska, Less Than Jake hit the mainstream in 2003 with the album Anthem. We can hope to hear their famed “She’s Gonna Break Soon” as well as old and new favorites. Less Than Jake’s latest LP release 2020’s Silver Linings. Also on the bill are The Suicide Machines, Fishbone, and Bite Me Bambi. The tour is called Summer Circus. Doors open at 6 p.m. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. (C.M., R.H.)

Monday, June 16

Big Country, an 80’s band with a big hit, plays Jergel’s Rhythm Grille. They were very successful with the song of a similar name “In a Big Country.” which rose to No. 3 on the U.S.charts in 1983. The Scottish band has been prolific in releasing over 20 albums including studio, live, and compilation. Their rock sound fuses harmonic vocals, blazing guitars, and big rock beats. Big Country’s latest album is 2013’s The Journey. 7 p.m. 285 Slade Lane, Warrendale. (R.H.)

Friday, June 20

Who is Megan Moroney? She looks like a fashion-and-beauty influencer. Or like what used to be called a blonde bombshell. But she’s not dropping bombs, just the kinds of hit songs that won her the 2024 Academy of Country Music Award as New Female Artist of the Year. We should probably refrain from calling last year’s album Am I Okay? her “sophomore” release, because it makes her sound like she’s still in college. The truth is, Moroney already has graduated from the University of Georgia, and at age 27—when some of her classmates are still working on their PhDs—she is moving rapidly up the ladder in Nashville. Recently she began co-directing her music videos, like the one shown here. Moroney’s field of study at Georgia was accounting, which may explain the business-themed scenes. And there’s no accounting how much it might cost to see Megan Moroney once she really, really hits it big. Her concert at Pittsburgh’s Stage AE is officially sold out, so check your secondary ticket sources. Doors at 6:30 p.m. and music soon after, with guest artist Sadie McLayne. 400 N. Shore Dr., North Shore. (M.V.)

Some ingredients go very well together, like ice cream and hot fudge sauce. Another tasty combination is the Allman Betts Band. The group consists of sons of some of the players in the former Allman Brothers Band. This includes Devon Allman, Duane Betts, and Berry Duane Oakley (son of original Allman Brothers Band bassist Berry Oakley). Other members are: Johnny Stachela (slide guitar) and Devon Allman Project percussionist John Lum, John Ginty (organs and keyboards). The band also includes a talented son of a famous rocker, Roy Orbison’s son Alex (drums). Devon Allman is the son of the late Gregg Allman and Shelly Jefts, while Duane is the son of  longtime Allman Brothers’ lead guitarist Dickey Betts and Paulette Howell. Duane was named after Allman Brothers’ band co-founder Duane Allman, who was a lead guitar virtuoso. The latest Allman Betts Band album is Bless Your Heart, which was released in 2020. Some Allman Brothers Band songs are sure to surface on the concert’s set list. 8 p.m. Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall, 510 East 10th Ave., Munhall. (R.H.)

Tuesday, June 24

Whatever you do, out of all the things that you possibly could do, please don’t mindlessly equate Phish with the Grateful Dead. Although certain similarities are evident—the proclivity to jam; the fans’ enthusiastic approval thereof—only the Dead were the Dead, whereas Phish live on and have forged a unique identity of their own. Last year’s Evolve was either their 16th studio album or more than that, depending on whether you count digital releases like 2022’s Get More Down, which they performed as the Halloween-inspired faux band Sci-Fi Soldier. (Which brings to mind the Halloween in Las Vegas when they covered í rokk by the Scandinavian prog-rock band Kasvot Växt, another escapade that was in fact the Phish and nothing but the Phish.) But who’s counting, anyway? Part of the joy of Phish is that you can enjoy them in many ways. A song like “Chalk Dust Torture” can be savored in its tight-and-tidy studio version or in the mammoth jambalaya version you get live. And speaking of live: Good seats have been going fast for the Phish concert at Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, so act swiftly. Doors at 6 p.m., music at 7:30 p.m. with guest artists TBA. 3719 Terrace St., Oakland. (C.M., M.V.)

Friday, June 27

He’s the good-looking cowboy from right here in western PA! You can bet the joint will be jumping when Butler native and diehard Steelers fan Bret Michaels revisits his home turf this month. Michaels, born Bret Michael Sychak, has won fame in practically every way available. In addition to the solo career he launched in 1998, he’s been a founding member and longtime lead vocalist of the glam-metal rockers Poison. He wrote, directed, and starred in the movie A Letter from Death Row, with his friend and colleague Charlie Sheen. Michaels has even had his own reality TV shows. Expect to hear him doing new songs like “Back in the Day” along with numbers from his repertoire (maybe “The App Song”), vintage Poison hits, and more. 8 p.m. Hollywood Casino at The Meadows, 210 Race Track Rd., Washington. (M.V.)

Saturday, June 28

The Clarks continue to build on their foundation of playing solid working-class rock. The group gained a strong local following in the early ’90s gigging at clubs like Graffiti and Nick’s Fat City and have remained together and active long after nearly every other band on the scene during that era called it quits. After over 35 years, 11 studo albums, countless gigs and zero line-up changes, The Clarks have gone from being a regional favorite to a local institution. And the band members, who formed The Clarks at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, have never forgotten their home turf. Their most recent studio album is 2018’s, Madly in Love at the End of The World, released on the Clarkhouse Entertainment label, although the group has released a retrospective album, a live album, and an EP since then. Streaming now is a new single, “No. 9.” The Clarks say about it, “It was written by Noah Minarik and Greg Joseph, and as described by the band, ‘The story of persuasion and manipulation is nothing new. How many times we fall for it is the real story, the weakness of the fool. Is she a friend, a lover or a family member? Noah brought in a very cool dark musical groove and a killin’ bass line. From there Greg added a story to match. Scott refined the vocals and the band created a song that pulses into a new musical direction.’” Special guests for The Clarks at Stage AE are Melinda and the Night Sky and Brooke Surgener & The Bandits. Doors open 6 p.m. Outdoors. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. (R.H.) 

Other Shows of Interest

Wednesday, June 4
Miss Freddye (Jergel’s Rhythm Grille)

June 6
Los Lonely Boys (Jergel’s Rhythm Grille)
The Redlines (Mr. Smalls Funhouse)

Saturday, June 7
Mt. Joy (Stage AE)

Sunday, June 8
Bill Deasy and Scott Blasey (Gateway Clipper)

Tuesday, June 10
Molly Miller Trio (Agnes Katz Plaza)

Thursday, June 12
Slightly Stoopid (Stage AE)

Friday, June 13
BPM: Brian Bromberg, Paul Brown, Michael Paulo (South Park)

Saturday, June 14
Billy the Kid and the Regulators (Moondog’s Pub)

Wednesday, June 18
Joe Samba (Mr. Smalls Funhouse)

Thursday, June 12
Houndmouth (Roxian Theatre)

Friday, June 13
Night Ranger (Hollywood Casino at The Meadows)
Tjuan Benafactor and Bantana (Mr. Smalls Funhouse)

Saturday, June 14
Alabama (Pittsburgh Brewing Co.)

Sunday, June 15
Band of Horses (Roxian Theatre)

Saturday, June 21
Pgh Pride in the Pit (Mr. Smalls Funhouse)

Sunday, June 22
The Gaslight Anthem (Roxian Theatre)
Pure Gold (City Winery)
Buzz Poets (Pittsburgh Winery)

Monday, June 23
Billy Corgan

Wednesday June 25
Betty Who (Roxian Theatre)

Thursday, June 26
Avril Lavigne (The Pavilion at Star Lake)
Mark Farner (Jergel’s Rhythm Grille)

Friday, June 27
Bret Michaels (Hollywood Casino at The Meadows)
Slaughter (Jergel’s Rhythm Grille)
The Disco Biscuits (Stage AE)

Saturday, June 28
Stone Temple Pilots (Hollywood Casino at The Meadows)

Sunday, June 29
Frankie Avalon (Palace Theatre)

Big Shows on the Horizon

July 3
Robin Trower (Palace Theatre)

July 9
The Lumineers (The Pavilion at Star Lake)

July 10
The Wallflowers (Palace Theatre)

July 11
Little River Band (Palace Theatre)

July 12
Vince Gill (Heinz Hall)

July 13
Blues Traveler, Gin Blossoms, and The Spin Doctors (Pittsburgh Brewing Co.)

July 15
Pantera (The Pavilion at Star Lake)

July 18
Ghost (PPG Paints Arena)

July 19
Wiz Khalifa & Sean Paul (The Pavilion at Star Lake)

July 20
Frankie Valli (Heinz Hall)

July 22
Shinedown (PPG Paints Arena)

July 23
Indigenous (Jergel’s Rhythm Grille)

July 24
Toto, Christopher Cross, Men at Work (The Pavilion at Star Lake)

July 26
Kesha (The Pavilion at Star Lake)

Rick Handler is the executive producer of Entertainment Central.

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