Greensburg Music Fest returns for 4th year, featuring bluesman Jimmy Adler

Pittsburgh bluesman Jimmy Adler will make his first appearance at the Greensburg Music Fest on Saturday, as the free live music event returns for its fourth year.

Hosted by the Westmoreland Cultural Trust, the event will feature music for all ages and tastes on three outdoor stages and in The Palace Theatre from noon until 9 p.m.

That something-for-everyone vibe is what’s best about festivals like this one, Adler said.

“This will be our first time on the Greensburg stage, but we do a lot of these kinds of festivals,” Adler said. “They expose people of all ages and all walks of life to music they might not hear otherwise, especially those who may not come into a club.”

That’s the goal, said Trust CEO April Kopas.

“Westmoreland Cultural Trust is committed to providing free entertainment families can enjoy,” she said. “The community response to Greensburg Music Fest has been overwhelming. We are looking forward to bringing back an event that showcases local artists, benefits surrounding businesses and highlights the Westmoreland County region as an arts and culture hub.”

The festival’s headlining act will be Lithium, A Tribute to Nirvana, from Pittsburgh, playing a free show at 6 p.m. in The Palace Theatre, 21 W. Otterman St. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. for general admission.

“Lithium is something I started for fun and it’s blown up,” said singer Christian Groblewski, also the owner of Pittsburgh’s Rock ‘n Roll Record label, SMRCo, and a blues/rock guitarist going by the name SuperMonkey.

“We’re going to play the entire Nirvana ‘Unplugged’ album live. Should be fun,” he said.

The Jimmy Adler band will play a set of what its front man calls “high-energy, danceable, feel-good, blues-based original music steeped in the blues tradition.”

Matt Otis and The Sound will delve a little deeper, playing songs from its latest album, “Here Not Here,” which also is the soundtrack for a short film of the same name.

“‘Here Not Here’ is about feeling like you’ve been physically here but mentally elsewhere throughout the past three years,” said the Bedford-based Otis. “A lot of people can connect to that — trying to hold onto who you are despite the vast amount of crazy changes we’ve been experiencing in the country and world.”

While the album features layers of instrumentation, including African instruments and strings, along with a children’s choir and other vocalists, the Greensburg crowd will hear “a little bit of stripped-down version,” Otis said.

The band comprises a collective of musicians who tour in various configurations. The Greensburg crowd will see “a four-piece, alternative folk-rock band,” Otis said.

“Our live performances tend to be a little more rambunctious than our studio work,” he added. “We might toss in a few covers. Our covers are all over the place, anything from Mumford & Sons to Avicii.”

Cover-lovers also can check out Tres Lads, a Pittsburgh-based trio that member Kevin McDonald says gives “a rocked-up acoustic sound” to everyone from The Beatles and Queen to Johnny Cash and Frank Sinatra.

Tres Lads all perform singly and with other groups, said McDonald, who plays with Jim Donovan and Sun King Warriors and also owns Main Street Music & Sound in Irwin.

“We started this in the early to mid-2000s on our nights off, playing cover tunes with our own twist,” McDonald said. “Seventeen or 18 years later, we’re still at it. We’re a three-piece acoustic band, but we like it to sound big.”

Music, food and more

The festival’s free outdoor performances will take place consecutively throughout the day on two stages in the Helman-Ghrist Parking Lot beside The Palace Theatre and Westmoreland Cultural Trust’s Art in the Alley.

Food trucks and other vendors will be on site, and the Trust will sell beverages. Petagogy will provide lawn games.

In addition, attendees can purchase a Royal Treatment Palace Wristband for $12, which allows access to The Palace Theatre and its Megan’s Suite and S&T Bank Courtyard between 1 and 5:30 p.m.

Acoustic performances are scheduled in the courtyard, and wristband holders will receive a $1 discount on all drinks at WCT bars and a reusable Palace Theatre cup to bring drinks into the theater.

Wristbands can be purchased in advance at The Palace Theatre box office, on the trust website or at the event.

Free parking will be available in the Robert A. Bell Parking Garage opposite The Palace.

The performance schedule includes:

Palace Theatre Courtyard

(Wristband needed for admission)

1 p.m. – Allison Borek

2:15 p.m. – Michael Christopher

3:30 p.m. – Noah Myers

4:45 p.m. – Derek Beattie

Elegant Catering Stage

Noon – Seton Hill University Commercial Music Ensemble

2 p.m. – Matt Otis and The Sound (Indie folk rock)

4 p.m. – Jimmy Adler Band (Blues)

6 p.m. – Bindley Hardware Co. (Country, roots, Americana)

8 p.m. – Tres Lads (Energetic acoustic rock)

Smail Mazda Stage

1 p.m. – Black Cat Moan (Blues/rock n’ roll)

3 p.m. – Norside Organ Trio (Groove music)

5 p.m. – Walkin’ Rosie (Top hits covers)

7 p.m. – Aris Paul Band (Red-eyed road rock)

For more information, visit westmorelandculturaltrust.org.