Looking for something different to do on a Friday night? We've got you covered. We're kicking off weekly movie nights with a rotating double feature designed to bring friends, families, and neighbors together for a little food, fun, and entertainment.

Each Friday, we'll feature two films with free admission.

For those looking to make an evening of it, we'll be offering optional movie-night snack packages and specialty cocktails available for purchase.

And don't worry if movies aren't your thing! Our restaurant and bar will remain open and operating as usual throughout the evening. Whether you're here for dinner, drinks, the double feature, or a little bit of everything, there's a seat waiting for you.

Join us every Friday and make a new tradition out of movie night!

This November concert at City of Asylum welcomes Paul Thompson, one of Pittsburgh’s greatest jazz bassists and disciple of the bass-drum connection, for a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Jaco Pastorius’ eponymous debut album. 

Jaco Pastorius, recognized by many as the man who revolutionized how the bass guitar is played, was a drummer before he ever picked up a bass. In high school, fate intervened, and Pastorius became the bassist in the soul cover band, Las Olas Brass. The rest was history. Throughout his illustrious career, Pastorius built a reputation as a highly regarded American jazz bassist, composer, and producer, widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential bassists of all time

Since 2022, it’s been our pleasure to partner with Story Club (created by the former producers of The Moth Pittsburgh) for their monthly nonfiction storytelling series, Story Slam. Together, we aim to showcase a diverse range of voices and create a space for stories that resonate across backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. Each month, we welcome open-mic storytellers to the stage to share six-minute tales that tackle a preselected theme. This November, Story Club PGH talks connections you just can’t shake with the Story Slam theme Ties That Bind. 

Join us on Oct 31st for Cucina Alfabeto’s 1st Annual Halloween Party! More than anything, this party about creating another reason for our neighbors to gather, spend time together, and enjoy Alphabet City in a way that feels welcoming, relaxed, and fun.

Community has always been at the heart of what we want Alfabeto to be, and events like this are a big part of that commitment.

Come dressed up, bring the family, and spend part of Halloween with us.

Music has the power to transport us somewhere larger than life, to create legendary worlds where we are able to connect to forces greater than ourselves. After a 2023 performance at Alphabet City with their grounded, nature-inspired album, Elemental, the Stephen Philip Harvey Octet returns this fall to entrance audiences with their latest project, Mythos. This concert offers a preview into the world of Mythos—an album of original compositions inspired by African diaspora mythology, sure to bring some magic back into the world. 

Christopher Mark Jones returns with a celebration of his French-language album Montréal Encore, premiered with his collaborator Bernard Pozier at City of Asylum in March of 2023. This concert features selections from that album and mix-ins by Québécois, French Caribbean, and Parisian singer-songwriters—the likes of Boris Vian, Michel Rivard, Louis Aragon, and Henri Salvador.

After fusing jazz and hip hop this spring with his new group, The Soup Session, drummer and composer James Johnson III continues to take leaps of connection with a project three years in the making. This time, he invites us into a world where traditional jazz, the bounty of nature, and the allure of strings meld into one dynamic suite of sound. This performance presents a suite of original compositions, teaming up a trio of strings and a traditional jazz quintet for a nature-inspired evening of innovation. 

This performance from the Alton Merrell Trio explores the life, music, and artistic development of legendary jazz pianist McCoy Tyner. Tyner was a five-time Grammy Award-winning American jazz pianist and composer known best for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet. 

Through historical discussion, musical analysis, and live performance demonstrations, audience members will gain insight into the social, cultural, familial, spiritual, and musical influences that contributed to Tyner’s unique artistic voice and lasting impact on jazz. This lecture-performance draws extensively on the research Dr. Alton Merrell conducted to earn his PhD in Jazz Studies. 

Music has the power to transport us somewhere larger than life, to create legendary worlds where we are able to connect to forces greater than ourselves. After a 2023 performance at Alphabet City with their grounded, nature-inspired album, Elemental, the Stephen Philip Harvey Octet returns this fall to entrance audiences with their latest project, Mythos. This concert offers a preview into the world of Mythos—an album of original compositions inspired by African diaspora mythology, sure to bring some magic back into the world. 

Since 2022, it’s been our pleasure to partner with Story Club (created by the former producers of The Moth Pittsburgh) for their monthly nonfiction storytelling series, Story Slam. Together, we aim to showcase a diverse range of voices and create a space for stories that resonate across backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. Each month, we welcome open-mic storytellers to the stage to share six-minute tales that tackle a preselected theme. This October, Story Club says everything you wish you could as storytellers tackle the theme Things Left Unsaid. 

Each month, the top storyteller, as voted by viewers, will win a free City of Asylum t-shirt. Learn more here or sign up for an open mic slot at the slam. Not interested in storytelling but still want to participate? Try joining a judging team and help decide the winners instead!

The songwriting team of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart created many masterpieces for the Great American Songbook. Vocalist Grace Elliott, one of Pittsburgh’s best young singers, will present her interpretations of some of Rodgers and Hart’s classic songs on October 1.

Featured Musicians:
Grace Elliott: vocals
Joseph Seman: tenor saxophone
Alton Merrell: piano
Leon Boykins: bass
Thomas Wendt: drums

Prepare to be hypnotized by the musical stylings of sibling duo Las Áñez. The Áñez twins’ music is designed to be performed live with a loop pedal and small instruments, in a minimal yet enchanting concert style. Their shows include songs from their four award-winning albums, which have captivated audiences in ten countries across the Americas and Europe with their unique blend of folklore and the avant-garde. 

Pittsburgh’s importance as a Jazz city involves many different facets and the history of the Jazz guitar is well represented here. On September 24, we will celebrate this aspect of Pittsburgh Jazz by featuring three talented, up-and-coming guitarists from the city’s Jazz scene. From Barry Galbraith and Jimmy Ponder to George Benson and Joe Negri, Pittsburgh’s Jazz guitar legacy will be celebrated!

Since 2022, it’s been our pleasure to partner with Story Club (created by the former producers of The Moth Pittsburgh) for their monthly nonfiction storytelling series, Story Slam. Together, we aim to showcase a diverse range of voices and create a space for stories that resonate across backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. Each month, we welcome open-mic storytellers to the stage to share six-minute tales that tackle a preselected theme. This September, Story Club PGH reveals alter egos one by one, as storytellers tackle the theme Double Life.

Each month, the top storyteller, as voted by viewers, will win a free City of Asylum t-shirt. Learn more here or sign up for an open mic slot at the slam. Not interested in storytelling but still want to participate? Try joining a judging team and help decide the winners instead!

Roger Humphries’ 10-piece band honors and celebrates the late, great hard bop pianist and composer Horace Silver. In 1964, Roger went to New York to join the Horace Silver Quintet. While with Silver, Roger recorded three albums: Song For My Father, Cape Verdean Blues, and Jody Grind, with Song for My Father (1965) taking its place as one of the most legendary albums of our time. 

Horace Silver was the heart of the hard bop era, helping to form the influential Jazz Messengers and composing many blues and gospel-flavored songs that have become part of the jazz canon, including “Lonely Woman,” “Song For My Father,” “Señor Blues,” “The Preacher,” “Nica’s Dream,” and “Peace.” His piano playing was heavily rhythmic, driving his musical colleagues to greater heights in their solos. Learn more about Horace Silver in his National Endowment for the Arts profile. 

Dr. Emmett Goods is a Pittsburgh native who comes from a very rich musical background. He is an alumnus of the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, where he flourished under the instruction of drummer Roger Humphries, and then further developed with the support of the legendary trombonist Steve Davis.

Emmett has performed with a wide variety of musicians from jazz to R&B, like Dr. Billy Taylor, Wycliffe Gordon, The Four Tops, Aretha Franklin, and Gladys Knight. What many fans of Emmett don’t know is that Latin music is a specialty of his as well. He has performed with many of the Latin world’s musicians, such as Kevin Caballo, Tony Vega, and his own band, THE LATIN JAZZ PROJECT. As an educator, Emmett began his successful teaching career as a private instructor, teaching trombone and piano. 

Balafon was born in Washington D.C. in 1997, out of the passion for dance that Kadiatou Conte shared with her core of dedicated students. Approaching dance as a way to share the joy of African arts and offer culturally responsive health and wellness, the performance company was involved in youth and community engagement while also mastering classic dance styles often shared on the Kennedy Center stage.

Bringing Mama Kadiatou’s theatrical flair gained from years touring with Guinea’s national dance company, and her desire to break the mold as one of the few women-led directors of an ensemble, Balafon skillfully blends the classic traditions of West African culture with contemporary arts and social consciousness. Elaborately colorful costumes, heart-stirring live music, and high energy movement captivate, inspire and energize audiences from all backgrounds and walks of life.

Iconic bassist Paul Thompson is a local legend, but he is not a monolith. As a community member, Paul understands the importance of honoring your roots and maintaining lifelong long connections. As an artist, he understands the critical role the intersection of percussion and bass provides in grounding and uplifting musical compositions.

This August, Paul and a handful of lauded percussionists—who happen to also be his best friends—celebrate the crucial bass-drum connection with special guest and Juilliard faculty member Paul Wells. 

Throughout the phases of Paul’s life, each of his friends and fellow concert performers have influenced his life and his music in unique ways. Paul Thompson and Paul Wells grew up together in Pittsburgh, where they shared not just a name, but a love for music and a path forward as future music educators. Thomas Wendt exemplified everything jazz music rooted in tradition could encompass, while David Throckmorton introduced Paul to artists like Chick Corea, who lived at the nexus of jazz fusion and possibility. 

Musician, ethnomusicologist, and author of the incredible ode to Pittsburgh’s jazz history Jazz in the Hill, Colter Harper takes to the Alphabet City stage this summer to celebrate the life and music of Caetano Veloso.

Veloso was a noted member of the Tropicália arts movement who brought together jazz, American pop music, and Brazilian pop music in a time when democracy was collapsing in 1960s Brazil. The then–military dictatorship in Brazil saw Veloso’s work as subversive, and he was ultimately imprisoned and exiled. But even this could not snuff out the impact of his work and legacy—Veloso later returned to Brazil and won nine Latin Grammys and two US Grammys.

This August, allow the sounds of uilleann piping and the bodhrán to carry you into the heart of Ireland and Scotland, following the deft navigation and instrumentation of Pittsburgh-based folk band Bealtaine.

Since starting in 2018, Bealtaine has grown from playing in the corners of pubs to taking the main stage at festivals, always searching for new ways to make their mark. Their performances feature instruments audiences would be hard-pressed to find in your standard concert sets, including the uilleann pipes (a particular kind of Irish bagpipes) and the bodhrán, an ancient Irish percussion instrument similar to a tambourine. With roots in Irish and Scottish folk, songs from the Canadian Maritimes, trad tunes, and working-class anthems, they strive to keep traditions alive while borrowing influence from the modern world.

Since 2022, it’s been our pleasure to partner with Story Club (created by the former producers of The Moth Pittsburgh) for their monthly nonfiction storytelling series, Story Slam. Together, we aim to showcase a diverse range of voices and create a space for stories that resonate across backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. Each month, we welcome open-mic storytellers to the stage to share six-minute tales that tackle a preselected theme. This August, Story Club PGH keeps its eyes on the horizon, as storytellers take on the theme No Turning Back. 

Each month, the top storyteller, as voted by viewers, will win a free City of Asylum t-shirt. Learn more here or sign up for an open mic slot at the slam. Not interested in storytelling but still want to participate? Try joining a judging team and help decide the winners instead!

A graduate of the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, Thomas Wendt has been a professional musician since the age of 14. Based in Pittsburgh, Tom is an active member of the current local jazz scene, playing drums for groups led by such notables as Joe

Negri, Dwayne Dolphin, Mark Strickland, and the Latin Jazz group Salsamba. In addition, he also leads his own groups, including his sextet, Firm Roots. Tom is also a member of the well-established Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra. In addition, he has played with many internationally known Jazz greats like Clark Terry, Donald Byrd, and Jimmy Heath.

Like most jazz musicians, “going out on the road” is not uncommon for Tom. He has played with NEA Jazz Master Hubert Laws at several major Jazz festivals. He has recorded with Gene Ludwig, Maureen Budway, and many other artists.

As a top-notch musician able to jump between bebop, hard bop, Latin, or swing, it’s no surprise that Tom keeps busy! The loyal fans who come out to support him in his many performances describe him as versatile, expressive, and soulful.

Allow yourselves to be dazzled by the exciting and unfamiliar time signatures of Balkan folk songs and dances with music collective Bombici. Performing in a style that sometimes nods to New York’s late-70s no-wave scene and other times evinces tenderness and care, Bombici is an experimental electroacoustic collective that explores sounds and improvisation through Western and non-Western musical practices.

Steve Ippolito was born with a pair of drumsticks in hand—or at least that’s how he plays. And while he might not have been born playing the drums, his connection to percussion dates back as far as he can remember. In an interview with WYEP, Steve says, “I’ve been playing drums almost my whole life. I can remember as far back as age three or four at my parents’ house in New Jersey, I had a pair of Zildjian brand sticks in my hand that my grandparents bought me…I didn’t get on my first drum set until I was 12, but knew almost immediately it was something I’d have in my life forever.”

This July, Steve and his fellow trio members, Brad Fritcher and Denzel Chismar-Oliver, pull from modern jazz and electronic music to create something even greater than the sum of its parts in the form of fully improvised tunes.

How lucky are we to welcome back the incomparable Etta Cox to City of Asylum for a splendid summer night of captivating vocals? This July, the eight-time winner of “Best Jazz Vocalist” in Pittsburgh and Steel City icon brings her unequaled stage presence and vocal prowess to Alphabet City. For decades, Etta has kept audiences rapt with her genre-crossing and transformative performances. This summer, Etta will regale audiences with beloved jazz tracks and reimagined hidden gems. And there’s no need to wonder if she will perform your favorite songs—attendees are encouraged to come prepared with song requests!

Nothing says summer is here like the arrival of the Kente Summer Madness series at City of Asylum! The first of three concerts kicks off this July with legendary Pittsburgh guitarist Mark Strickland. He has collaborated with some of the jazz scene’s most notable players including Grady Tate, Groove Holmes, Michelle Benson, and Gene Ludwig. In addition, he has produced or engineered projects for jazz legends like Dizzy Gillespie and Dakota Staton. 

In an interview with Jazz Guitar Today, Mark noted the tenacity of the many “monster players” Pittsburgh’s jazz scene has produced over the years and their influence on his chops as a musician: “You never knew what to expect, but it kept you sharp!” 

Mark Strickland has been influenced by Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, and other jazz and R&B legends.  Currently, Mark maintains a full-time performance schedule and is also a dedicated music educator. He has taught at the University of Pittsburgh since 2019. At Pitt, he offers individual guitar lessons and teaches ensemble groups. 

Pittsburgh’s resident pop star and powerhouse Mai Khôi is leaving the city and starting her next chapter in Philadelphia—but not without a rockin’ farewell show. The alumna City of Asylum Artist-in-Residence returns with her group, the Dissidents.

Mai Khôi & the Dissidents was originally formed in 2016 with Vietnamese musicians, but the group was forced to disband due to government pressure. Khôi herself fled to the US in 2019, where she has lived in exile ever since. In 2021, she re-formed Mai Khôi & the Dissidents with American musicians, alongside pianist and composer Mark Micchelli. The new band features prominent members of Pittsburgh’s jazz, experimental music, and activist communities. For this performance, Mark and Khôi have composed and arranged a powerful style of music that reflects the turmoil of the world and the hope that continues to shine.

Since 2022, it’s been our pleasure to partner with Story Club (created by the former producers of The Moth Pittsburgh) for their monthly nonfiction storytelling series, Story Slam. Together, we aim to showcase a diverse range of voices and create a space for stories that resonate across backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. Each month, we welcome open mic storytellers to the stage to share six-minute tales that tackle a pre-selected theme. This July, Story Club PGH shatters expectations, as storytellers take on the theme Breaking Point. 

Cucina Alfabeto will be closed for the 4th of July. We look forward to seeing you after the break!