Night Markets Return to Squirrel Hill!

By Meghan Poisson-DeWitt

Uncover Squirrel Hill and the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition are proud to announce the 2016 return of the summer Night Markets*! A long tradition in Asia and in other U.S. cities, night markets have recently sprouted up in Pittsburgh neighborhoods, including last summer in Squirrel Hill. With its diverse population and eclectic business community, Uncover Squirrel Hill and the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition will be hosting three more markets this summer.

After last year’s hugely successful summer season, they’ve been brought back bigger and better! Market events this year focus on musical performances while also offering the same great arts market you’ve been craving. I Made It Market comes back with their collection of amazing and versatile artists, as well as many other local sellers. Individual performers from across the city will also be joining in to wow crowds throughout the evening.

Here’s just a taste of the groups you can look forward to over the summer:

Squirrel Hillbillies
From deep within the urban forest of Pittsburgh’s East End, the Squirrel Hillbillies often emerge to share their eclectic mix of folk, country and blues.

Rabidly social and clawingly curious, they relish opportunities to interact with diverse audiences. They have performed more than 200 shows, including recent appearances at the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh and the Leigh Folk Festival in England.

Through a collaborative, nonlinear songwriting process, duo partners Jenny Wolsk Bain and Gary Crouth draw from personal experiences, third-hand stories, and vivid imaginations to craft songs that are unpredictable and quirky yet widely accessible. Their CDs have gotten radio play on stations across the US and around the world. The Squirrel Hillbillies will be playing at the June 18th Night Market.

Buffalo Rose

Buffalo Rose is a four piece folk band that combines intricate and passionate lyrics with soaring vocal harmonies. Formed in March 2016, this group has wasted no time feeding from each other’s creative energy and musicianship. The members, which include Mac Inglis (dobro and vocals), Shane McLaughlin (guitar and vocals), Lucy Clabby and Mariko Reid (vocals) all contain within them a fiery passion for music that intensifies the sensitivity of their musical collaboration. This energy shines through in their performances as well, where the combination of each distinct voice with the others creates a swirling web of sound and harmony. Paired with evocative and catchy lyrical phrases drawn from life experience and the American lexicon, Buffalo Rose’s songs are ones that you will find yourself singing along to before they come to an end. Currently writing and perfecting music for their debut album, Buffalo Rose will be joining the Squirrel Hillbillies on the roster for the June night market!

August and September performers have yet to be decided, but looking at June’s line up, you’re in for a treat!

Celebrating the Bicentennial

SHUC and Uncover Squirrel Hill are pleased to announce their partnership with the Pittsburgh Bicentennial Commission. The Commission was formed by Mayor William Peduto and includes communities, organizations and individuals in the celebration of the two hundredth year of the incorporation of the City of Pittsburgh.

The Pittsburgh Bicentennial anniversary differs from the 2008 regional celebration of the founding of the city in 1758. The 2016 Bicentennial marks the first time Pittsburgh’s citizenry could vote, creating a mechanism for self-governance, as well as creating legal standing for Pittsburgh with the nation.

Our September Night Market will bridge the past to the present, with reenactors and locals in historical costume, photo displays from Squirrel Hill’s past and much more. Squirrel Hill has such a vibrant and storied history, we’re looking forward to sharing how we helped shape the past, build the present, and look forward to changing the future!

For more information about this and other Bicentennial events, visit PGH200.com

For more information about these Night Markets, visit SHUC.org/squirrelhillnightmarket.

*The 2016 Squirrel Hill Night Market builds on a concept initiated with NextGen:Pgh.