Pearl Street's basement bar to host weekly concerts to benefit Give for Greatness

Next Sunday, April 3, Pearl Street Brewery and the Good Neighborhood—the news and do-good-through-art website created by music promoter Seamus Gallivan—present the first of four Sunday evening concerts to benefit the Give for Greatness campaign. The setting will be Brawler’s Back Alley, Pearl Street’s handsome basement bar. The first show will feature two outstanding acoustic acts: Erie Lackawanna Railroad and Reverend Soapbox and the Rabble Rousers.

April 10 brings an installment in the recently launched ReBop Sessions, an improvisational troupe led by saxophone/keyboard showman Eric Crittenden and the groundbreaking rhythm section of turntablist DJ Cutler and MPC sampler savant Tone DiGesare. The April 17 show features Rhubarb and organist Ronnie Davis. After a break for Easter, the May 1 finale will bring Celtic rockers McCarthyizm playing an acoustic show, joined by the newly formed string trio Soulis, featuring Megan Callahan, Katie Panfil, and Kevin Lowney.

“We’re reimagining the speakeasy sound while honoring the vibe—none of these acts would be considered ‘safe,’ and some of them might be called a bit seedy,” says Gallivan. “While there is a wide range of styles in the series, this lineup is united by the notion that the Give for Greatness is a noble cause in service of the greater good.”

All the shows cost just $5, and every thin dime raised at the door—as well as money raised through raffles, auctions, and merchandise sales—will go to the Give for Greatness, which aims to plug the hole in funding for 47 cultural organizations zeroed out by the Erie County executive. All shows run 7-10pm.

—frances boots