WILDNESS: JADED BLOCK PARTY with Rivers of Steel, August 12, presents film screening of Last Mayor of Chinatown, cookie decorating, performances, and more.

JADED, Pittsburgh’s first Asian American & Pacific Island (AAPI) artist collective, will present WILDNESS: JADED BLOCK PARTY with Rivers of Steel on August 12 at the Waterfront.

JADED presents WILDNESS, a daylong festival at the historic Pump House featuring a film screening of The Last Mayor of Chinatown, performances, live music, and AAPI vendors sharing art, food, & services. Come out and celebrate women and queer AAPI folks through events and workshops, uplifting the work of local filmmakers, writers, artists, and activists.

Events:

3-4pm Opening Remarks & Screening of “The Last Mayor of Chinatown” (plus discussion with Director Lena Chen & Shirley Yee)

4-6:30pm DJ Samira Mendoza, Food/Art Vendors, & Workshops

6:30-8pm Performances

Steel Dragon Martial Arts

Anisha Baid

Davine Byon

Bonnie Fan

Mango

Sara Tang

Workshops:

4pm Cookie Decorating with Jasmine Cho (until supplies last)

4:30 Asian Calligraphy: A Touch of the Art with Eva Hui

Vendors:

ManduHandu, Yhet Pinoy Cuisine, Greenhouse Co-Op and so much more

Raffle Prizes:

A gift card from Bahn Mi and Ti

Prototype PGH Membership

A session with First Light Reiki

and much more!

The event runs from 3 to 8 pm at the Rivers of Steel: Pump House & Water Tower (map).  Donations are encouraged online.  

Mongolian folk-fusion band Tuvergen in Pittsburgh, September 21.

Tuvergen, a Chicago-based trio performing Mongolian folk-fusion, will perform in Pittsburgh on September 21.

An emerging act at world music festivals across the U.S., Tuvergen Band (“galloping” in Mongolian) is a Chicago-based folk-fusion trio founded by Tamir Hargana (lead vocals, folk lutes, morin khuur), Naizal Hargana (morin khuur, vocals), and Brent Roman (percussion, didgeridoo, vocals) in 2020. Hailing from Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, Tamir and Naizal bring some of the country’s most distinctive sounds to Tuvergen Band, including the cello-like horsehead fiddle (morin khuur), various folk lutes (the Tuvan doshpuluur and West Mongolian tovshuur), and khoomii throat singing. An ethnomusicologist and Asian percussion specialist, Roman augments these sounds with a custom hybrid drum kit of twenty global percussion instruments and didgeridoo. The trio use this rich instrumental palette to perform what they call “modern nomadic music,” incorporating bluegrass, blues, rock, and more into its repertoire of Mongolian and Tuvan folk songs and originals.

Tuvergen will perform at the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh in Shadyside (map) from 7:30 to 9:30 pm.

Celeste Ng Our Missing Hearts in conversation with Robert Yune, August 24 in Shadyside.

White Whale Bookstore will present Celeste Ng Our Missing Hearts in conversation with Robert Yune on August 24 at the First Unitarian Church in Shadyside.

Join us for an in-person event offsite at the First Unitarian Church in Shadyside with one of our favorite writers, Celeste Ng, for the paperback release of her New York Times bestselling novel, Our Missing Hearts. She'll be in conversation with Robert Yune.

Acclaimed 2023 film Past Lives returns to Pittsburgh, from August 4.

The 2023 film Past Lives, which opened in Pittsburgh on June 22, will return to the Manor Theater in Squirrel Hill from August 4 through 10. A synopsis, from the distributor A24:

Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life, in this heartrending modern romance.

Tickets are available online.

Indonesian rock band Voice of Baceprot in Pittsburgh, August 11.

The Indonesian rock band Voice of Baceprot will play a show in Pittsburgh on August 11. Their official site introduces them thus:

Young, Indonesian, hijab-wearing, female metal trio Voice Of Baceprot (VOB) have been covering the members’ favourite metal songs since they learned to play their instruments. Their prowess at playing these covers got them attention from fans and media worldwide and enabled them to develop to the point where they could, as a band, create original songs.

Consisting of Marsya (vocals and guitar), Widi (bass), and Sitti (drums), the trio first met when they were still junior high school students in their hometown of Singajaya, a small village two hours’ drive away from the city of Garut, West Java. The word “baceprot” from their band name comes from the Sundanese language meaning “noisy”. It was chosen to represent the type of music that they play.

Since their formation, VOB have become a point of discussion for a host of renowned global media, including The New York Times, NPR, BBC, DW and The Guardian, featuring them in the pages of their online publication. VOB were recently named by heavy metal and rock magazine Metal Hammer as “the Metal Band the World Needs Right Now”.

They'll play at the Hard Rock Cafe Pittsburgh, located at 230 W. Station Square Drive (map) in Station Square. The show starts at 7:00 pm, and guests under 21 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

MAMAMOO: My Con The Movie in Pittsburgh, August 9 and 12.

The tour film MAMAMOO: My Con The Movie will play in Pittsburgh on August 9 and 12.

"1, 2, 3, Eoi!" Join the new powerhouses of K-pop as they embark on their first world tour in the highly anticipated film MAMAMOO: MY CON THE MOVIE. Idols Solar, Moon Byul, Whee In, and Hwa Sa invite you on their special and thrilling journey. Witness their captivating vocals and dynamic performances, then delve into their personal and heartfelt stories like never before, offering a rare glimpse behind the scenes. Beginning with the MAMAMOO WORLD TOUR - SEOUL, the group's story unfolds. Don’t miss this unforgettable experience on the big screen with the musical phenomenon – MAMAMOO!

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark theaters in McCandless and Robinson. Tickets are available online.

[New date] Korea-based travelling music family TENGGER in Pittsburgh, October 3.

The three-piece travelling music family band Tengger will play in Pittsburgh on October 3 as part of their North American tour (a change frmo the original October 4 date). Their official site describes their sound thus:

텐거/天郷
TENGGER is a traveling musical family, made up of Pan-Asian couple, itta and Marqido, who create their brand of psychedelic New-Age drone magic through the use of harmonium, voice, and toy instruments (played by itta) and analogue synths (played by Marqido). The duo originally started out with the moniker “10” but since the birth of their son RAAI (who joins them on tour and often on stage) in 2012, have called themselves TENGGER (meaning ‘unlimited expanse of sky’ in Mongolian) to mark the expansion of the family. It also means ‘huge sea’ in Hungarian. Travel, as spiritual experience in real environments, and the sound between the space and the audience have been central themes of their works. The family’s yearly pilgrimages inform every aspect of their art.

They will play at the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh in Shadyside (map), from 7:30 to 9:30 pm.

"Japanese Action Comic Punk" band Peelander-Z in Pittsburgh, September 25.

"Japanese Action Comic Punk" band Peelander-Z will return to Pittsburgh on September 25.

PEELANDER-Z, the Japanese Action Comic Punk Band based in NYC, was originally formed in 1998 by Peelander-Yellow, Peelander-Red, and Peelander-Blue, after meeting in New York City (although they’ll tell you they’re all from the Z area on the planet Peelander). Peelander-Green was welcomed in July 2008 after Blue left the band.

Peelander–Z has appeared at major music festivals including Bonnaroo and the Vans Warped Tour and has also been featured on TV programs such as VH1’s “Best Week Ever” and Comedy Central’s “Upright Citizens Brigade” among others. The band has also been covered by SPIN, Rolling Stone, Village Voice, NPR and The Onion among many others.

At its live shows, Peelander–Z guarantees intense audience participation and a chance to exercise. You’ll see the band in colorful costumes reminiscent of Japanese anime, though they describe their outfits as their skin. You’ll also see The Red Squid, human bowling and all around insanity. A Peelander–Z performance is a rare occasion for the entire family to rock out and have a great time.

The 21+ show is at Club Cafe on the South Side (map) from 8:00 pm and tickets are available online.

2003 Korean film Oldboy (올드보이) in Pittsburgh theater for 20th anniversary, August 16 - 23.

The 2003 Korean film Oldboy (올드보이) will play in Pittsburgh for its 20th anniversary from August 16 to 23. A synopsis from the distributor:

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of Park Chan-Wook’s cinematic masterpiece, Oldboy will be released in theaters, restored and remastered in stunning 4K. After being mysteriously kidnapped and imprisoned with no human contact for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su (Choi Min-sik) is suddenly released without any explanation. In a twisted game of cat and mouse, he has only five days to retrace his past, track down his captors, and get his revenge.

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online.

1997 film Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫) in Pittsburgh-area theaters, August 5 - 9.

The 1997 Japanese animated flim Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫) will play in Pittsburgh from August 5 - 9 as part of this year's Studio Ghibli Fest. From the distributor:

From the legendary Studio Ghibli, creators of Spirited Away, and Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki, comes an epic masterpiece that has dazzled audiences worldwide with its breathtaking imagination, exhilarating battles, and deep humanity.

Inflicted with a deadly curse, the young warrior Ashitaka heads west in search of a cure. There, he stumbles into a bitter conflict between Lady Eboshi, the proud people of Iron Town, and the enigmatic Princess Mononoke, a young girl raised by wolves, who will stop at nothing to prevent the humans from destroying her home and the forest spirits and animal gods who live there.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront, the Cranberry Cinemas, Waterworks Cinemas, and the Cinemark Theaters in Monroeville, North Hills, and Robinson. Tickets are available online; please note, the screenings on August 5 and August 8 are in Japanese with English subtitles, while the screenings on August 6, 7, and 9 are dubbed in English.