Scott Tady: Mother's Day, Moon rockers, Rochester choral concert & The Sadies deserve attention

Whoa, Mother's Day snuck up on us this year.

If you need a last-minute idea for an activity to enjoy with dear ol' mom this Sunday, consider the West Hills Art League's 55th Anniversary Mother's Day Art Show and Sale at lovely Robin Hill Park in Moon Township.

From 1-4 p.m. inside Robin Hill's mansion, local artists will showcase their original juried artworks.

Harmony Township singer-songwriter James Tobin will provide the live entertainment, strumming up songs and smiles as he's done at gigs ranging from street fairs to wineries to the Pittsburgh International Airport.

Light refreshments will be provided, and moms can enjoy a stroll through Robin Hill Park's gardens.

The West Hills art exhibit will remain on-site until May 18.

New members are welcome to join the group, which meets the third Thursday of each month at Robin Hill, located at 949 Thorn Run Road.

More: Men Without Hats, Marty Stuart, The Jaggerz among concerts headed to Hartwood & South Park

Rochester concert celebrates

Beaver Valley Choral Society continues its second century of song with the second annual BVCS Pops Concert, “Celebrate the Day,” at 4 p.m. May 21 at Grace Lutheran Church, 393 Adams St., Rochester.

“Diamond Jubilee" will be the orchestral prelude, followed by “What a Joy to Be Here,” the first movement from the Johann Strauss II operetta, "Die Fledermaus." Other selections: “How Can I Keep from Singing,” “Sing Your Way Home” based on Dvorak’s "Largo from ‘New World Symphony," “I Remember,” the traditional Appalachian hymn, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” “I Sing Because I’m Happy" and “Celebrate the Day."

Admission is free; donations are accepted.At intermission, the Treble Youth Chorale will sing “It’s a Grand Night for Singing,” from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, "State Fair."

The BVCS carefully selected its program to highlight the themes of the choral society's celebration of its first 100 years and the general role of music in all our lives, publicist Robert Headland said.

Charged up music

"Uneasy is the head that wears a crown," said William Shakespeare, though Chip & The Charge Ups, don't seem to be fazed at all.

Fresh off being crowned “Best Rock Band” by voters in the Iron City Rocks Pittsburgh Music Awards in February, Chip & The Charge Ups recorded an entertaining six-song album, "What Happened to the Boy Next Door?" that effortlessly meshes metal riffs and pop-punk choruses.

Uniquely led by the dad-daughter duo of Chip and Maleena Dominick, Chip & The Charge Ups release the album on June 2. The Moon Township band celebrates the following night with an album release show at the Hard Rock Cafe in Pittsburgh. Tickets cost $10 at.thechargeups.com/store.

Fans can look forward to songs like the punchy, crunchy, pick-yourself-up-off-the-street "Paying Back The Devil," the growling, gritty "Sideways Middle Finger," and catchy metal-punk hybrid "Married in White, Buried in Black" (which begs to be covered by a punkabilly band.)

I'd have lobbied for a shorter, more user-friendly song title for "Maleena Made Us Change the Name of This Song to Fit in With the Pop-Punk Community," a nevertheless breezy blast of adrenaline and attitude that points to Blink-182 and Metallica influences, with a protagonist cheerily hoping to become a good enough guy to win the heart of the girl-next-door.

"If I get my act together it'll be something she can't ignore," Chip sings in an infectiously enthusiastic way.

Maleena, 21, steals the show, though, in the Halestorm-ish "Welcome to The Neighborhood," conjuring a wall-shaking bass riff for an anthemic song celebrating rock 'n' roll's inclusivity.

"This is your church, and you can call me priest," she sings with engaging confidence.

The new album already has earned praise from as far away as Brazil ― "an acclaimed work that mixes contemporary and retro, capable of conquering the most nostalgic audience and those looking for a newer sound" (Headbangers News).

Forged in 2018, Chip and The Charge Ups have performed on WQED-TV, earned local radio spins, and opened for famed artists like Dee Snider and Nita Strauss. This new release further solidifies their stature on the Pittsburgh rock scene.

Sadies soared

"This is the best country-western show I've ever seen!" shouted a spectator two-thirds through The Sadies concert May 4 at Club Cafe in Pittsburgh.

Fair argument.

The Sadies did sound sensational, charging through a set of twangy, propulsive country-western with a few sturdy shakes of psych-rock seasoning.

The venerable Toronto band's urgency was infectious. Travis Good, now the lone frontman, kept his eyes tightly closed much of the time when singing and shredding on electric and acoustic guitars, not to be distracted when imparting the band's heart-on-the-sleeve messages.

He began dedicating a song ― then said no, wait let's dedicate all our future songs ― to his brother Dallas Good, the band's lyricist and co-leader who died unexpectedly 15 months ago from a heart condition.

Dallas' image hung from a large tapestry behind Mike Belitsky's drum kit, as The Sadies, including ace upright bassist Sean Dean, powered through their lively set loaded with songs from "Colder Streams," the band's widely acclaimed 2022 album (that year's fourth-best on my year-end list) that posthumously features Dallas.

Set highlights included "Stop and Start," awash in shimmering cymbals and rugged guitar, and the haunting "More Alone," with its embittered assessment "In this day and age, rage has become all the rage / And we choose to behave like wolves left to starve in a cage."―

The Sadies brought audience-pleasing warmup act Julianna Riolino, a fellow Toronto-ite, back out for a final flurry of Americana-by-way-of-Ontario songs. They soared their mightiest together on a foot-stomping "I Wasn't Born to Follow," the Carole King-penned song The Byrds recorded, and the film "Easy Rider" made iconic.

Unfortunately ignored by Pittsburgh radio stations ― not that that's something that matters as much anymore ― The Sadies are a band I highly recommend.

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

This article originally appeared on USATNetwork: Tady: Mother's Day art & music in Moon, BVCS choral concert set in Rochester