Scott Tady: Trinity soars; 500 Miles releases anthem and get that Allman Bros.-Pittsburgh album (if you can)

Three songs deep into her performance at one of Pittsburgh's swankest hotels, Trinity Wiseman abruptly stopped strumming her acoustic guitar to say hello to a pre-teen girl who had approached the stage seeking an autograph.

Wiseman, a Nashville-by-way-of-Pittsburgh singer-songwriter, has signed autographs before, but on this particular April 5 night at the Renaissance Hotel came a first: The female fan also made sure to secure an autograph from Wiseman's cajon player.

I get it. Wiseman and her percussionist − who doubles as her dad − had just performed an electrifying version of Taylor Swift's "Anti-Hero" and Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now," with a spirited and catchy Wiseman original soon to follow.

I'd never seen a show at the Renaissance before ― to me, it's always been a place to pregame before a Heinz Hall concert, or a warm lobby to duck into to thaw your body on Pittsburgh's Light-Up Night. Truthfully, the hotel lounge's narrow, rectangular layout makes it tricky for a band to entertain. Though I'll say this: I've never seen a higher percentage of spectators buy CDs or stuff bills into the tip jar as I did at Wiseman's performance, which ran the covers gamut from Avril Lavigne to Lee Ann Womack to Fleetwood Mac's "Silver Spring."

With demonstrative but well-measured acoustic strumming, and a pretty and powerful singing voice that effortlessly climbed mid-verse, Wiseman demonstrated the kind of talent you want to tell friends about.

I hadn't known about her until the darkest days of the pandemic, when musical artists were live-streaming performances minus in-person audiences. I was highly impressed by Wiseman then, and even more so now that I've seen her captivate a grateful group of hotel guests and music-appreciating stragglers.

Wiseman launched her second set with a mighty version of Alanis Morissette's "Hand in My Pocket," which one spectator had requested during the intermission. And I'm really glad I did.

Wiseman has sung at the Three Rivers Arts Festival before, and I'd be eager to see her again at a big Allegheny County event like that one, or maybe opening for a national act at Hartwood Acres or South Park Amphitheater.

We might even see her in a return engagement in Beaver County, like the Monaca First Fridays summer series that she played in August 2021.

No punches pulled

College is overpriced, health care costs are a crippling mess, greedy banks don't deserve government bailouts and rich country singers need to stop pandering and start writing their own songs.

That's the smackdown delivered deliciously in "I Want Mine," a song by Americana-punk band 500 Miles to Memphis, which hails from Cincinnati though it features fiddle-playing ace Luke Zacherl of Ellwood City.

Measuring a tidy 2 minutes, "I Want Mine" begins with an old-timey, blues-country twang like Beck's "Loser," as the singer drawls "All I need is my truck, my pole, a fishing hole and beer," reminiscent of oh-so-many bro-country radio singles.

But that's just a pump fake. At the 29-second mark, the song speeds off into a mosh pit-worthy rant about the difficulties of making rent payments as an underpaid working stiff, living in a town beset with opioid addiction.

The chorus' kicker: "I'm not asking for a handout, but if you're giving out those bailouts, I want mine."

Zacherl, a longtime member of Pittsburgh country band NOMaD, will join 500 Miles to Memphis singer-banjo player Ryan Malott in the show April 28 at 222 Ormsby, a club in Pittsburgh's Mount Oliver section. They'll perform a half-set of originals, and a half-set of Weezer covers (specifically from the "Pinkerton" album). Beginning at 6 p.m., the all-ages Half Covered Halloween show also features Johnny and the Razorblades (doing Weezer "Blue Album" covers.)

Three years ago, Zacherl joined 500 Miles to Memphis, which released its 2021 album, "Hard To Love," on vinyl a couple of weeks ago, along with a repress of 2007's "Sunshine In A Shotglass."

Market Square music

The Uprooted Band, fronted by Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root, joins Pittsburgh blues duo Soulful Femme and dynamic rockers NASH.V.ILL led by Byron Nash in an matinee Earth Day festival April 22 at Market Square in downtown Pittsburgh.

Live Art on Stage by Pittsburgh artist, Kevin “The Nerve” Wenner and two back-to-back community exercise classes also round out the fun, along with The Pirate Parrot, at 1 p.m.

The live music lasts from 12:30 to 4 p.m., with the full schedule at pittsburghearthday.org.

In the Earth Day spirit, an educational area will include an alternative and an electric transportation corner, plus ways to interact with and learn more about local, green businesses.

Allmans-Pittsburgh-vinyl

Released last year on CD and digital formats, The Allman Brothers Band's "Syria Mosque: Pittsburgh, PA January 17, 1971" live album comes out on vinyl for Record Store Day on April 22.

Capturing the Allman Brothers at their creative peak, ramping up to the classic "At Fillmore East" album recorded eight weeks later, that live-from-Pittsburgh album is a two-LP package hued in “Pittsburgh Steel Grey,” for which 10,000 vinyl units will be sold. Just some − not all − participating Record Store Day retailers will get copies, so collectors might need to drive around, call ahead, or simply hope luck is on their side.

More: Allman Brothers' '71 Pittsburgh concert album released

The Record Store Day retailers nearest to us are Spin The Black Records in Chester, W.Va., The Exchange at Robinson Town Center and Get Hip Record Store in Pittsburgh's Manchester section, plus other Pittsburgh vinyl outlets. The full list of special-release albums and retailers is at recordstoreday.com

More: Hotel honors Pittsburgh's rich musical past with recording studio & shows

InnerGroove Record Store in Monaca will celebrate Record Store Day with special deals, though won't be carrying any of the exclusive Record Store Day releases.

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

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Tady: Trinity soars; 500 Miles delivers anthem, Allman Bros. set PGH release