Scott Tady: Ambridge winery uncorks fine shows; Bindley Hardware showcases musical tools

Harkins Mill Wines continues to energize Ambridge's flourishing entertainment scene.

The cool concerts keep coming there, including a March 30 show by V. Valentina, a pop singer and Ambridge native with two original singles streaming on major sites. Her 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. set will feature originals and covers from multiple eras.

Finishing out her second year of law school at Loyola University-New Orleans, Valentina is the older sister to Los Angeles music-theater student Carlina Ricca, who also has entertained at Harkins Mill.

The April concert calendar at Harkins Mills:

April 5: Cody Alushin; April 6: Shelly Duff; April 7: Ricky Lake; April 12: Samantha Sears; April 13: Jay Wiley; April 14: Kevin Latshaw; April 19: Eclectic Acoustics; April 20: Straight Up with Ed & Gary; April 26: David Green and April 27: The Jive Daisy.

Two customer-friendly things that craft breweries and wineries like Harkins Mill have brought to the local music scene: Earlier start times (usually 7 p.m.) and full schedules advertised more than a month in advance.

I hope local bars are paying attention.

Singer's career in full 'Bloom'

Get down with "Bloomfield Sound," the impressive new album arriving April 12 from Pittsburgh honkytonk aces Bindley Hardware Co.

"Bloomfield Sound" spans the emotions, from the buoyant banjo twanger "Nana Mae's Kitchen," to the slow roasting, lyrically boasting "Loser's Waltz" where a man tells his new lover's lingering ex-boyfriend to skedaddle. "Loser's Waltz" features backing harmonies from Margot Jezerc of Buffalo Rose.

Bindley Hardware Co., like Buffalo Rose, has delivered crowd-pleasing performances at Beaver Station Cultural Event Center, including a 2023 outdoor hootenanny where spectators got a preview of "Akimbo Boogie," a danceable, horn-fired tune on the new album.

The band's frontman, Jon Bindley, feels a kinship to old-timey country-western as evidenced by his monthly Honky Tonk Jukebox music and dance extravaganzas featuring the region's finest country and roots musicians.

The April 19 Honky Tonk Jukebox, at a bar called Bloomfield Liedertafel, will celebrate the new album's release with a performance by Bindley Hardware Co. Tickets cost $20 at eventbrite.com.

Yeah, Bindley loves Bloomfield, as heard on the new album's "Can't Be Blue in Bloomfield," a gauzy, lyrically upbeat number powered by pedal steel.

The gloomy "Cinderblock," pairing pedal steel with anguished guitar and vocal wails, and released-this-weekend single, "Deadbeat Daddy," a gritty country-blues song leavened by piano, flesh out an album of impactful songs.

Moon concert postponed

Russell Thompkins Jr. & The New Stylistics postponed a May 4 concert at Moon High School.

Thompkins "has experienced a cataclysmic event that has caused him to push the pause button on his business activities," eloquently explains Melvin Steals, a songwriting collaborator with Thompkins who had planned the Moon show. "The recent passing of his high school sweetheart, best friend, business partner, and wife of 50-plus years, Florence, has created a void in his life that will literally require him to come off the road for a while."

Thompkins, who sang lead parts on 1970s Stylistics R&B hits like "You Make Me Feel Brand New" and "You Are Everything," released an album this past February featuring three songs co-written by Aliquippa native Steals and his twin brother, Mervin Steals. That included Thompkins' remake of the Steals' "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love," which The Spinners took to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1972.

The Moon show also was scheduled to include Pittsburgh oldies band Johnny Angel & The Halos.

I'll keep you updated if a new date is scheduled.

"Please keep Russell and those who depend upon him for their livelihood in prayer," Steals said.

Grand Funk brought 'Loco-Motion' to Pittsburgh

Grand Funk Railroad got a little off track in its Rivers Casino show, but a strong start and crowd-pleasing finish were enough to carry the performance.

The classic rockers started out sizzling with "Rock n' Roll Soul" and "Footstompin' Music" both living up to their titles.

Drummer Don Brewer adeptly took over lead vocals for "Heartbreaker." Fans embraced the invitation to sing along with Grand Funk's 50-year-old roller skating rink classic "The Loco-Motion," during which a small, female-led conga line danced down the aisles.

New guitarist Mark Chatfield delivered quick, flashy solos.

Chatfield was fine, though I was dismayed to learn ex-Kiss member Bruce Kulick recently ended his 23-year sojourn with Grand Funk. Much more surprising were the couple of concertgoers I met who somehow hadn't heard Grand Funk's co-founding singer-guitarist Mark Farner had left the band almost 25 years ago.

The lone remaining originals are Brewer and bassist Mel Schacher who didn't play at "bong-rattling" volume as immortalized in an episode of Fox's "The Simpsons," though he kept the rhythm sturdy.

Grand Funk singer Max Carl belted out the adult contemporary power ballad "Second Chance" from his seven-year stint with Southern-rockers 38 Special. The cheering crowd appreciated the warm familiarity of "Second Chance," one of those songs I swear is in perpetual loop at dentist offices. Though by night's end, I bet the audience would have preferred an omitted, vital Grand Funk hit, "Bad Time to Be in Love."

More: Free Pittsburgh concert festival brings Ben Folds, Sugarhill Gang, Los Lonely Boys & PSO

All five band members played in a drum circle, as the setlist started to get more obscure and less interesting.

An American flag got propped up on stage as Chatfield unleashed a solo version of "The Star-Spangled Banner," which surely signaled "We're An American Band" would be next, right?

Erm ... no.

Eschewing the obvious segue, Grand Funk instead played "Inside-Looking Out," a Top-40 song forgotten by classic rock radio.

"Some Kind of Wonderful" perked things up again, tapping into the soulful, testifying powers of the band's 1970s stadium-headlining heyday.

"I'm Your Captain (Closer to Home)" set sail with dramatic organ work from Tim Cashion, yielding to three-part harmonies and. Brewer's fleet drum strokes. The crowd sang along 10 times with the emotional chorus: "I'm getting closer to my home." In an interview with The Times decades ago, Farner said that 1970 song has been cited frequently by Vietnam veterans as the anthem that helped get them home safely.

Brewer donned an Uncle Sam hat, as the show finished with, at last, the rambunctious "We're An American Band" and fans again dancing in the aisles.

Starting at 7:10 p.m., the concert ended at 8:30 sharp, giving concertgoers ample time to get back to the casino slots.

I've seen acoustic concerts at Rivers Casino's Events Center, but this was my first fully plugged-in one. I thought the sound was well balanced and I'd definitely return.

You can see Barenaked Ladies there Sept. 27.

Scott Tady is at stady@timesonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Tady: Harkins Mill Wines & Bindley Hardware Co. showcase fine music