This weekend in Pittsburgh: mean monster trucks, little Oscar shorts and a Hard Rock finale.  

Hard Rock Cafe (Thursday)

It’s the last call at the Hard Rock Cafe, which will close its doors after a final blast. The last honors are going to Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers who will be joined by Bill Deasy, Billy Price and other guests. Believe it or not, it’s almost 23 years since the Hard Rock opened at Station Square. The set begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20; cafe.hardrock.com/pittsburgh.

‘Unreconciled’ (Thursday-Sunday)

It’s the final weekend for the Pittsburgh premiere of this barebones productions play — written by Jay Sefton and Mark Basquill — that “chronicles a survivor’s journey as he confronts his past, navigates a victims’ reparations program set up by the Catholic church and discovers the courage to use his voice.”

Performances at Barebones Black Box being at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $40; barebonesproductions.com.

‘The Return of Benjamin Lay’ (Thursday-Sunday)

Quantum Theatre continues with the Pittsburgh premiere of this play, which premiered in London's Finborough Theatre in the summer of 2023. Written by Naomi Wallace and University of Pittsburgh historian Marcus Rediker, “The Return of Benjamin Lay” is a story about a fierce abolitionist who stood up for what he believed in the Quaker community, despite standing just four feet tall. Mark Povinelli stars in the work directed by Ron Daniels.

Performances at Braddock Carnegie Library run through Feb. 23. Showtimes this weekend are 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $68; $35 under 35; quantumtheatre.com.

‘Romeo and Juliet’ (Friday-Sunday)

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and the PBT Orchestra spend Valentine’s Day Weekend at the Benedum Center with one of the all-time great, classic, tragic love stories. They bring Shakespeare to life with choreography by Jean-Christophe Maillot and the music of Sergei Prokofiev.

Performances are 7:30 p.m. Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $28; pbt.org.

Oscar Shorts (Friday-Sunday)

The Harris Theater, Downtown, preps the true cinephiles of Pittsburgh for the 97th annual Academy Awards with a weekend of short film packages:

The Oscar Nominated Shorts: Animation category consists of “Beautiful Men” (Nicolas Keppens and Brecht Van Elslande), “In the Shadow of the Cypress” (Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi), “Magic Candies” (Daisuke Nishio and Takashi Washio), “Wander to Wonder” (Nina Gantz and Stienette Bosklopper) and “Yuck!” (Loïc Espuche and Juliette Marquet). 5:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

The Oscar Nominated Shorts: Documentary category features “Death by Numbers” (Kim A. Snyder and Janique L. Robillard), “I Am Ready, Warden” (Smriti Mundhra and Maya Gnyp), “Incident” (Bill Morrison and Jamie Kalven), “Instruments of a Beating Heart” (Ema Ryan Yamazaki and Eric Nyari) and “The Only Girl in the Orchestra” (Molly O'Brien and Lisa Remington). 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

In the Oscar Nominated Shorts: Live Action category you’ll see “The Last Ranger” (Darwin Shaw, Cindy Lee), “A Lien” (Sam Cutler-Kreutz, David Cutler-Kreutz), “I'm Not a Robot” (Victoria Warmerdam, Trent), “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent” (Nebojša Slijepčević, Danijel Pek) and “Anuja” (Suchitra Mattai, Adam J. Graves). 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets are $9 at trustarts.org.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (Friday-Sunday)

The PSO spends Valentine’s weekend with a program featuring 22-year-old Spanish violinist María Dueñas performing Violin Concerto No. 3 by Camille Saint-Saëns. It will also feature the PSO premiere of Carlos Simon’s “Four Black American Dances” and Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 "From the New World." The latter was inspired by the Czech composer’s visit to America in the 1890s exposing him to African American spirituals and Native American traditions. Of the “New World” symphony, he said, “I tried to write only in the spirit of those national American melodies.

Concerts will be held at Heinz Hall at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $25; pittsburghsymphony.org.

Monster Jam (Friday-Sunday)

The rink at PPG Paints Arena becomes a mud pit for the annual bouts of 12,000-pound trucks in both skill and racing. Guests will feel the heat from Grave Digger (Krysten Anderson), Megalodon (Mikayla Tulachka), El Toro Loco (MJ Solorio), ThunderROARus (Tony Ochs), Monster Mutt Dalmatian (Blake Granger), Just Get-Er-Done (Brandan Tulachka), Raminator (Mark Hall) and Rammunition (Kurt Kraehmer).

The action gets underway at 7 p.m. Friday; 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday; and 1 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $38; ticketmaster.com.

Pittsburgh International Auto Show (Friday-Monday)

The annual show rolls into David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown, with a wide variety of new vehicles from manufacturers. Guests can take a seat in a sporty convertible, explore new safety features and gadgets, calculate cargo space and admire the rugged off-road features of pickup trucks — all in a non-selling environment.

Show times are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday and Monday. Admission is $15; $12 seniors (65+) and military; $7 kids 6-16 and all-day Monday; pittautoshow.com.

USA International Sportsmen's Show (Friday-Sunday)

Hunting, fishing, boating and RV needs will be met at the USA International Sportsmen's Show & Outdoor Recreation and Travel Show at the Monroeville Convention Center. The vendors will have everything from rifles to turkey calls and camo wear. There will also be seminars with Tim Andrus (“Rush Outdoors”), HuntChef’s Jeremy Critchfield, the Pa. Trappers Association and more.

The show is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $12; $10 seniors 65-plus; $6 kids 6-15; usasportsmenshow.com.

‘The Vortex’ (Friday-Sunday)

Billy Gardell, the Pittsburgh comic best known for “Mike and Molly,” does his first dramatic turn in this Richard Zelniker film about an in-house comedian at MGM Grand Casino struggling with his own gambling addiction. “We did this movie for a shoestring budget, but sometimes you have to take the chance on yourself to show that you can get to that next thing,” he told the PG.

The film is playing through Feb. 20 at The Lindsay Theater and Cultural Center. Tickets are $11. Go to thelindsaytheater.org for showtimes and tickets.

Grateful for Biggie (Friday)

This odd, multitasking tribute band from Syracuse began in 2009 as Skunk City, evolved into the Notorious B.I.G. tribute act The Frank White Experience and pulled off a Halloween stunt to mash Biggie with the Grateful Dead. They’ll lay a verse from “Hypnotize” over “Shakedown Street” and perform other feats that bring hip-hop and jam rock together.

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $20; citywinery.com/pittsburgh.

Donna the Buffalo (Friday)

The roots-rock band and former Rusted Root tourmates, formed in Trumansburg, N.Y. in 1989, return for a show at Mr. Smalls Theatre in Millvale. A few fun facts: The band got its name when the suggestion of “Dawn of the Buffalo” was misheard as Donna the Buffalo. Also, frontwoman Tara Nevins was part of Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann’s band BK3 in 2009. Tiger Maple String Band opens the show at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30; mrsmalls.com.

The Exes Tour (Friday)

This play on Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour at the Funhouse at Mr. Smalls finds Pittsburgh comedians roasting Swift and her exes. Abby Evans and Lizzie Martin play Taylor, Trevor Austin emcees as Travis Kelce. The rest of this heavily populated cast includes Ryan Carey (Joe Jonas/Calvin Harris), Andreas O'Rourke (Taylor Lautner), Clayton Hartley (John Mayer), Anthony Casella (Jake Gyllenhaal), Asher O'Briant (Harry Styles), Clint Hanson (Joe Alwyn) and Pete Morris (Matty Healy). It begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15/$20; mrsmalls.com.

Skinny Lister (Saturday)

The London folk-punks, who popped up on the 2012 Warped Tour, are bound for the SXSW Music Festival and the Shamrock Rebellion with Flogging Molly, but first they’ll stop in Pittsburgh for this Pittsburgh Winery show. The band is still touring behind “Shanty Punk,” a rollicking collection of drunken tales that includes “Pittsburgh Punch Up,” a song about a misadventure with an Uber driver.

The show starts at 8 p.m. with Jared Hart and Danny Rectenwald. Tickets are $18/$20; pittsburghwinery.com/

Rayland Baxter (Saturday)

The son of multi-instrumentalist Bucky Baxter (Steve Earle, Bob Dylan, The Beastie Boys) went from Colorado snowboard instructor to indie folk artist when he debuted in 2012 with “Feathers & Fishhooks.” A few projects later he paid tribute to Mac Miller with the EP “Good Mmornin.” His latest album, 2022’s “If I Were a Butterfly,” plays with beats and genres in the manner of Beck. This solo show is his Re-Imagination of the 2015 album “Imaginary Man.” It begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $32; citywinery.com/pittsburgh.

Boyz II Men (Sunday)

The Grammy-winning Philly trio, which played Rivers Casino in February 2024, is back a year later to treat fans to such hits as “End of the Road,” “I’ll Make Love to You,” “One Sweet Day” and “Motownphilly.” The lineup consists of Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman and Wanya Morris, who were all part of that debut. It’s at 7 p.m. Sold out; riverscasino.com/pittsburgh.

First Published: February 13, 2025, 10:30 a.m.
Updated: February 13, 2025, 5:12 p.m.