Scott Tady: Beaver County's music scene heats up; North Sewickley's Broadway star shines

For many people, this Easter weekend will be a time spent at home with family.

But we can look forward to a bunch of cool shows in the next week, beckoning to those craving live music in a local bar or brewery.

Consider these shows:

*April 12: River & Root, female-fronted Pittsburgh rock with hand percussion, 7 p.m. at Fermata Brewing, Ambridge.

*April 13: Groove Doctors, jazzy dance party band, 5-8 p.m. Jackson's Restaurant + Bar, Center Township.

*April 14: The Project Band, doing its 1960s-'70s tribute show, 8 p.m. at The Tee Box-Indoor Golf and Sports Lounge, 630 Beaver Ave., Ellwood City.

*April 14: Stacey and The Wild Cards, rock, country and blues, 8 p.m. Ambridge Sportsman's Club, 2900 Ridge Road Extension, Economy.

*April 15: Rust Valley Revival, modern rock/R&B, 9 p.m. Wooley Bullys Juke-Joint, New Brighton.

More: Jackson Browne returning to Pittsburgh

Beaver County's Broadway star

Beaver County-bred Broadway star Amber Ardolino shared more exciting news recently.

The North Sewickley Township native will appear in the Broadway adaptation of "Back to The Future," appearing as Linda Fly (sister to the lead Marty McFly character) and as part of the ensemble. The show opens Aug. 3 at the Winter Garden Theatre in Manhattan. Producers must be confident, as according to Broadway World a summer 2024 tour already is being planned.

Ardolino, a Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School graduate, previously appeared in Broadway hits like "Moulin Rouge," "Funny Girl" and "Hamilton."

More: Broadway shows headed to Pittsburgh

BC's son on CBS

You might have caught a glimpse of BC Taylor, son of beloved Beaver Valley rocker B.E. Taylor, drumming for Carly Pearce at last Sunday's CMT Music Awards on CBS.

As part of Pearce's band, BC Taylor also was on stage March 24, when she opened a PPG Paints Arena show for Blake Shelton.

In 2021-22, Taylor performed at Hopewell and Moon Area high schools, and in 2018 at Beaver Falls Middle School, in each instance as part of all-star bands reprising the feel of his late father's rocking Christmas concerts. BC will appear at this year's Feel The Love holiday shows, too, his uncle, Crescent Township guitarist and concert organizer, Dan Taylor said.

Word Nerds

Go see the Word Nerds this Wednesday at Beaver Area Memorial Library.

As great of a band name as that would be, the Word Nerds actually is a distinguished panel of local authors: Maria Farina, Frederic Durbin, Wende Dikec, Linda Au and Val Brkich, who enjoy chatting about the writing life.

Their Beaver library appearance, from 6-8 p.m., will involve "sharing our experience with others and helping them achieve their writing goals," an event flier said.

Some of their books will be on display, including "A Royal Pain," a rom-com being released Tuesday that's the 20th published book from Dikec, in this case under the pen name "Abigail Drake."

Dikec aims to reinstitute the Beaver County BookFest, possibly in September 2024.

Messina was marvelous

Before he became a rock star, Jim Messina worked as a sound engineer and producer for Columbia Records.

That background continues to serve him well, as evidenced by the perfectly balanced and pristine sound at his concert March 28 at the Oaks Theater in Oakmont.

Every nuance from Messina's acoustic guitar picking and electric guitar grinding could be discerned clearly. Ditto the work of his highly skilled bassist, organist, drummer and standout saxophonist-woodwinds player Steve Nieves who also wielded an arsenal of exotic hand percussion instruments, including some sort of bag with marbles that effectively mimicked ocean waves during "Whispering Waters."

Meeting up with Messina in the Oaks green room after the show, he told me he took pride in his well-crafted setlist, which started with two pretty Loggins & Messina album cuts; "Thinking of You" and the flute-powered "Watching the River Run." Next came his two breakout early '70s hits with Kenny Loggins; "House at Pooh Corner" and "Danny's Song," which became a lovely singalong by the seated but thoroughly engaged crowd.

In fine vocal form, Messina, 75, introduced his Latin drums-seasoned "Mexican Minutes" by reminding fans he wrote it for Brooks & Dunn, as the setlist moseyed into country territory with his Poco treat "You Better Think Twice" and "Listen to a Country Song/Holiday Hotel". Handed an electric guitar by his roadie, Messina charged into the funky Loggins & Messina hit "Your Mama Don't Dance," tweaking the tempo of the chorus vocal just a scooch, so it wasn't a carbon copy of the original.

After a 15-minute intermission, the band rocked out on "Changes," a medley of "Lovin' Me/Make Your Woman Feel Wanted" and "Peace of Mind," keeping the Loggins & Messina train chugging with "Be Free" and a fiery, 11-minute "Angry Eyes" that ratcheted up the excitement.

The band encored with "New and Different Way" and "You Need a Man."

Sure, that famous Logins & Messina lyric goes, "the old folks say that you got to end your date by 10," but at the stroke of 10, Messina and his band were back out on stage for a second encore featuring his most recent single, "She's Got to Rock," a roadhouse romper with big, chunky guitar notes.

Making his first Pittsburgh area visit in five years, Messina delivered a thoroughly entertaining performance. The Oaks is a cool spot, with ample street parking in quaint Oakmont.  And for your pre- or post-show needs, the town's iconic bakery stays open till 7 p.m.

More: 2-day Hartwood Acres concert lineup announced

Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Tady: Beaver County shows to consider; local Broadway star shines