Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to Launch New Friday Music Series MUSIC SPACE, Beg. 5/30

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announces the new music series Music SPACE, featuring concerts taking place at SPACE gallery the last Friday of each month. These all-ages performances invite audience members to experience some of the best musical talent in the Pittsburgh area. Tickets are $5 at the door. Doors open at 8 p.m., and shows begin at 8:30 p.m.

The series kicks-off on Friday, May 30, with two Pittsburgh-based bands: the indie rock group Wreck Loose, and the electronic musician Troxum.

"I developed this series, together with Andy Mulkerin, music editor of Pittsburgh City Paper, with the goal of extending SPACE's programming in a way that would not only feature stellar, interesting local music, but complement the curated visual exhibitions," says Amy Staggs, curatorial assistant at Wood Street Galleries and co-curator of Music SPACE. "Our hope is that these exciting, energetic bands with attract Downtown residents and people throughout the Pittsburgh region to the Cultural District to experience everything this vibrant neighborhood has to offer."

SCHEDULE:

FRIDAY, MAY 30

Wreck Loose-a piano-driven rock pop band from Pittsburgh-draws inspiration from nostalgia and musicians who they were drawn to in their youth, such as James Taylor, The Who, Elton John, and Steely Dan. The group hit the local music scene in 2013, but its members have been playing Pittsburgh for years: Dave Busch, bass and backing vocals; Max Somerville, piano and vocals; Derek Krystek, drums and backing vocals; Nathan Zoob, guitar and backing vocals.

Pittsburgh-based electronic musician Troxum creates "spacesynth music inspired by alien rainforests, sub-atomic dance parties, and terraforming planets."

FRIDAY, JUNE 27

Morgan Erina is a singer-songwriter with haunting, sensitive lyrics to accompany her acoustic guitar. She is also part of the Pittsburgh-based, indie-folk duo Broken Fences, together with Guy Russo. Since its 2012 debut LP Broken Fences, the duo has toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe.

Pittsburgh collective Silencio is a tribute to David Lynch's often dark and intriguing films and television series, such as Eraserhead (1977), Twin Peaks (1990-91), Mulholland Drive (2001), and Inland Empire (2006). The group not only re-creates the timeless soundtracks of his films, but it also composes original music based on the direct influence of Angelo Badalamenti's noir-jazz vignettes. Silencio features Kirk Salopek, guitar; David Jamison, drums; Matt Booth, bass; Lee Hintenlang, sax; Dan Barrett, keyboards; and Dessa Poljak, vocals.

PSYCHIC PANIC

On view during the concerts is the exhibition Psychic Panic, featuring more than 25 artworks by nine artists working in a range of media. Psychic Panic presents recent works by artists who are concerned conceptually or formally in their practices about ideas of the body, materials, or labor. The works illustrate differing ways of envisioning the subjects, through photography, film, video, painting, sculpture, and mixed media, and are the artists' endeavors to confront the psychic panic, or psychological ramifications, of these themes.

About SPACE: SPACE is located at 812 Liberty Avenue. Gallery Hours: Wed & Thurs: 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Fri & Sat: 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. The gallery is free and open to the public. SPACE is a project of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. For more information about all gallery exhibitions featured in the Cultural District, please visit www.TrustArts.org.

About the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust: The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has overseen one of Pittsburgh's most historic transformations: turning a seedy red-light district into a magnet destination for arts lovers, residents, visitors, and business owners. Founded in 1984, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit arts organization whose mission is the cultural and economic revitalization of a 14-block arts and entertainment/residential neighborhood called the Cultural District. The District is one of the country's largest landmasses curated by a single nonprofit arts organization. A major catalytic force in the city, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a unique model of how public-private partnerships can reinvent a city with authenticity, innovation and creativity. Using the arts as an economic catalyst, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has holistically created a world-renowned Cultural District that is revitalizing the city, improving the regional economy and enhancing Pittsburgh's quality of life. Thanks to the support of foundations, corporations, government agencies and thousands of private citizens, the Cultural Trust stands as a national model of urban redevelopment through the arts.

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