Joe Grushecky to christen Peters Township’s new amphitheater
Legendary Pittsburgh singer-songwriter Joe Grushecky will christen the new Peterswood Park amphitheater with his Houserockers on June 3.
Peters Township resident Steven Hart, who performed at last year’s Three Rivers Arts Festival, will play at 5:25 p.m. June 3 at the Peterswood Park Amphitheater with his band, Steven and the Harts, as a prelude to Joe Grushecky’s concert.
Local students perform during the 2006 Peters Township Community Day at the old concrete amphitheater.
The new Peterswood Park amphitheater is ready for its June 3 ribbon cutting and first performances.
When the Iron City Houserockers gained national prominence in the 1970s and ’80s, the band’s name let fans know exactly how the members felt about their hometown.
”We’re Pittsburgh people, through and through,” group leader Joe Grushecky said, “and we like the chance to get involved with communities throughout Western Pennsylvania.”
For three decades, he’s performed with a series of stellar backing musicians as Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers, and their latest community venture is a special one for Peters Township. On June 3, they’ll christen the new Peterswood Park amphitheater with a free concert following a 6 p.m. ribbon cutting.
“We’re more than happy to do it,” Grushecky said. “Playing the first show in a place is always cool.”
His band’s performance will be followed by a wide variety of events at the amphitheater extending into the fall.
“We have this brand-new amphitheater, beautiful design, and we really just tried to branch out and offer some different things that we hadn’t before,” township recreation supervisor Lisa Taylor explained.
“We tried to not only have our four big concerts,” she said about the traditional Wednesday summer concert series, “but expand upon it with some smaller shows. We expanded it to Sunday afternoons. We have our big grand opening on a Saturday.”
The new amphitheater, built at a contracted cost of $461,475 – that’s significantly under original estimates – replaces the 30-year-old concrete structure that often tested performers’ ability to withstand the heat during sunny days.
Grushecky, who played at the venue about a decade ago, returns on the heels of his latest collaboration with Bruce Springsteen, the Joe-penned song “That’s What Makes Us Great.” Among their other projects together, Springsteen produced the Houserockers’ 1995 album “American Babylon,” and during Bruce’s Pittsburgh concert in September, Grushecky and son Johnny joined the Boss for a rendition of “Light of Day.”
Speaking of Springsteen, the Aug. 2 concert at the Peterswood Park Amphitheater is by Bruce in the USA, a tribute to the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and, of course, his E Street Band.
The first Wednesday concert is July 5 by Jeff Jimerson and Airbone, fronted by the singer known for his performances of the national anthem prior to Pittsburgh Penguins games. Others are Totally ’80s on July 19 and country musicians the Joseph Sisters on Aug. 16.
New features in conjunction with the new amphitheater include food trucks at some of the events, plus the township’s policy of allowing audience members to bring certain beverages that weren’t permitted in the past during age-appropriate presentations.
Also, for those who remember the charm of drive-in movies, a Friday Night Flicks series is scheduled.
“We just got a brand new 16-by-20-foot inflatable screen, so we’re excited to debut that,” Taylor said.
The final flick wraps up the amphitheater’s season with a showing of the original “Ghostbusters” in October.
“It’s Friday the 13th,” Taylor acknowledged, “but we wanted something that everybody can enjoy.”
The films titled for the time-honored day of bad luck just don’t fit that description.