Mavis Staples, Rare Essence, Robert Cray, And More At Blues Fest The August Wilson Center

September 28, 2021

The August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC) announced the complete lineup today for the fourth annual Highmark Blues & Heritage Festival, returning live and in person.

The event features a lineup of award-winning artists including iconic Blues and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer Mavis Staples, performing at the Center on Friday, October 1, 2012, at 8 p.m. ET. The Festival continues at Highmark Stadium on Saturday, October 2, 2021, beginning at 11 a.m. ET with a day of live music featuring Grammy Award-winning Robert Cray Band; funk legends Morris Day and the Time; acclaimed Go-Go band Rare Essence; boundary-pushing reggae-fusion band Third World, which has continued to shape Jamaica’s soundtrack for nearly five decades; Robert Randolph & The Family Band, whose leader was dubbed one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time by Rolling Stone; New Orleans-based funk, blues, and soul group Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen; and funk and jam band Dumpstaphunk, whose latest album, “Where Do We Go From Here,” was released earlier this year.

Created by AWAACC President and CEO Janis Burley Wilson, the festival celebrates the blues and honors the musical roots that continue to inspire today’s generation of artists, especially those who recognize the artists who came before them and have had a significant influence on their music. The Highmark Blues & Heritage Festival extends the non-profit AWAACC’s mission to celebrate Black culture and the African diaspora and highlights the Center as a leader in presenting programming that reflects the diversity of Pittsburgh and the nation. To learn more about the Center and its year-round activities, please visit https://aacc-awc.org/

SAFTEY: AWAACC and Highmark Stadium are committed to the utmost safety of its patrons, artists, and staff; all attendees will be required to show proof of receiving a full FDA or WHO-authorized COVID-19 vaccination at least two weeks prior to attending performances. Masks are strongly encouraged for all festival goers, regardless of vaccination status, and are required for all indoor events, regardless of vaccination status.

Attendees under the age of 12 will be required to wear a mask at all times. To learn more about the Center’s health policies, please visit https://aacc-awc.org/covid-19-policies/

Highmark Inc., doing business as Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, serves approximately 2.6 million members through the company’s health care benefits business and hundreds of thousands of additional members through the BlueCard® program. Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield is the market leader in commercial market share, and through its affiliated Blue companies has strong Medicare Advantage market share as well. All of Highmark’s Medicare Advantage plans in Pennsylvania received a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services quality rating of 4.5 out of 5.0 stars.

In western Pennsylvania, its unaided brand awareness, brand preference, and overall brand rating are significantly higher than its closest competitor. Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield employs approximately 4,000 people in western, north-central, and northeastern Pennsylvania. Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. For more information, visit www.highmark.com

One of the largest cultural centers in the country focused exclusively on the African American experience and the celebration of Black culture and the African diaspora, the non-profit organization welcomes more than 119,000 visitors locally and nationally.

The August Wilson African American Cultural Center is a non-profit cultural organization located in Pittsburgh’s cultural district that generates artistic, educational, and community initiatives that advance the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson. One of the largest cultural centers in the country focused exclusively on the African American experience and the celebration of Black culture and the African diaspora, the non-profit organization welcomes more than 119,000 visitors locally and nationally.

Through year-round programming across multiple genres, such as the annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, Black Bottom Film Festival, AWCommunity Days, TRUTHSayers speaker series, and rotating art exhibits in its galleries, the Center provides a platform for established and emerging artists of color whose work reflects the universal issues of identity that Wilson tackled and which still resonate today.

August Wilson African American Cultural Center (980 Liberty Avenue) and Highmark Stadium (510 W Station Square Drive).

Friday, October 1, and Saturday, October 2, 2021.

Get Tickets Here.


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