City of Asylum
Giving Voice.
Pat Hart and Marc Nieson’s Free Association Reading Series continues this March with four regional writers sharing new and in-progress works.
Lynn Speakman and Evan David go head-to-head and saxophone-to-saxophone in this dynamic alto and tenor sax duo showcase, accompanied by Joe Sheehan, Anton DeFade, and Thomas Wendt.
Award-winning author of “Chlorine” and Pittsburgh native Jade Song returns to City of Asylum for the launch of her sophomore novel, a macabre and deeply original coming-of-age work navigating the meaning of life and the inevitability of death.
Sometimes you need to look back before you can go forward. Share your story this April at Story Club PGH’s Story Slam, for the chance to win prizes and storytelling glory!
Pittsburgh guitarist John Shannon and trio members Cliff Barnes and James Johnson III celebrate the vinyl release of John’s debut full-length jazz album, which features original music inspired by the landscapes of Tarifa, Spain, and Pittsburgh.
Pat Hart and Marc Nieson’s Free Association Reading Series continues this April with four regional writers sharing new and in-progress works.
Decades-long collaborative partners Alex Harding and Lucian Ban celebrate 20 years of creating together with their latest project, “DARK BLUE,” an amalgam of original pieces and improvisations informed by traditions of jazz, blues, and European chamber music.
Pittsburgh’s top ten poets battle it out on the Alphabet City stage, sharing original work to be scored by selected audience members for a chance to win it all!
Grab a friend and head to Alphabet City this spring for a FREE screening, presented in partnership with one of the oldest LGBTQ+ film festivals in the world.
Fan-favorite Cuban percussionist Hugo Cruz takes the stage with Kelsey Jumper, Brittany Dorazio, JD Chaisson, Mike Tomaro, Frank Cohen, Frank DiDiano, Craig Davis, and Eli Namay for the launch of his new 8-track album.
The 20-piece jazz orchestra of the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts High School presents their spring concert, with special guest musician Dan Meunier joining on steelpan.
Anderson Tepper joins bestselling Algerian author Amara Lakhous as he shares his new psychological thriller, brimming with deceit and intrigue of a criminal investigation in postcolonial Algeria.
A sextet jazz band performance sponsored by City of Asylum's in-house restaurant, Cucina Alfabeto, and led by bassist Stephan Crump.
Everything that comes together will someday come apart. Share your story this May at Story Club PGH’s Story Slam, for the chance to win prizes and storytelling glory!
Six-time Jazz Poetry Month headliner James Brandon Lewis takes to the stage with his punk-jazz fusion band, the Messthetics, and poets Mark Andryczyk, Rania Mamoun, and Volodymyr Rafeyenko to herald in another month of poetry and improvisational jazz collaboration at City of Asylum.
Jazz Poetry 2026 welcomes Marta Sánchez for a stunning solo-piano album release, with compositions inspired by themes of isolation and solitude, as well as intimate, improvisational poetry collaborations with four City of Asylum Writers-in-Residence.
Innately fusion, this concert and book launch debuts poems by Erika Denae J that have leapt off the page and been adapted into musical compositions, brought to life with a 13-piece band including the likes of Jennifer Orchard, John Shannon, Theron Brown, Denzel Chismar-Oliver, James Johnson III, and more.
Some secrets are meant to be kept. Others? Meant to be shared and scored in front of a live audience! Share your story this June at Story Club PGH’s Story Slam, for the chance to win prizes and storytelling glory!
It's the paperback release of Damon Young's riotous anthology, featuring work by Hanif Abdurraqib, Mahogany L. Browne, Wyatt Cenac, Kiese Laymon, Deesha Philyaw, Roy Wood Jr., Nicola Yoon, and more.
Writer-in-Residence Oleksandr Frazé-Frazénko and wife Mari Frazé-Frazénko bring the spellbinding sound of their folk-experimental duo—accompanied by fellow musicians Vsiudysvoia, Lesya Verba, and Hugo Cruz—to Alphabet City for a night of reimagined Eastern European songs.
This Pittsburgh Performs concert, curated by Carlos Clark, features music by composers from the US, Uruguay, and Brazil, offering a vibrant vision of discovery while simultaneously reflecting on the complex history of the Americas.
Welcome rock band The Leila on their debut North American tour as they blend elements of rock, soul, and traditional Moroccan sounds in songs about self-expression, empowerment, and societal issues.
Grab a friend and celebrate Pride Month with a FREE screening, presented in partnership with one of the oldest LGBTQ+ film festivals in the world.
James Johnson III, Ross Antonich, Joe Garner, Lorenze Jefferson, Michael Bernabe, Mike Hugo, and Alex Perez cook up innovative jazz hip hop fusions to bring a new sound to the steel city.
English PEN Award winner Rodrigo Hasbún and moderator Anderson Tepper dive into the secrets and shrapnel of a 20-year-old friendship ripped apart in Rodrigo’s new novel.
There comes a time when you just can’t take it anymore. Share the story of when you reached your Breaking Point this July at Story Club PGH’s Story Slam, for the chance to win prizes and storytelling glory!
Legendary guitarist of over 50 years kicks off the three-part Kente Summer Madness jazz series, leading a killer quartet this summer at City of Asylum.
Etta Cox, eight-time winner of “Best Jazz Vocalist,” brings her Broadway chops and unparalleled vocal performance to the Alphabet City stage for a night of transformed jazz favorites and fan-favorites upon request!
Our On Topic series continues this season with a moderated discussion among free speech experts, who will get into the weeds of current controversies and the role free expression plays in maintaining a democratic government.
From the minds of Andrew Swensen and Yan Pang, City of Asylum hosts an expanded showcase of “Shelter,” the story of scars carried from childhood into adulthood, how pain can distort our perception and damage our relationships, and how we find our strength through it.
