Smokestack Lightning: A Fundraiser at The Roots Cellar

We’re thrilled to return to The Roots Cellar for a special show featuring one of our favorite bands: Smokestack Lightning!

Smokestack Lightning started over a decade ago at Pitt in the History Department as a band that re-created the songs of historical movements and peoples, like blues, labor songs, civil rights anthems, and immigrant ballads. As the band evolved, adding and changing members and repertoire, they kept a focus on songs of the working life and environmental change – but they opened up to arranging and playing favorite songs from a variety of bands and singers they admired as well as originals by band members. They have played many venues in and near Pittsburgh, ranging from shows at the Byham and Soldiers & Sailors Hall, to the Thunderbird, Biddle’s Escape, Mr. Small’s, and Point Breezeway; they often lend their talents to fundraisers, more recently for Operation Safety Net, and annually their concerts for the Sierra Club summer picnic and the many causes supported by the American Friends Service Committee.

This concert is a fundraiser for Calliope and will certainly be a good time. We hope to see you there!