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Bonamassa, Gov’t Mule team for Youngstown amp show

Staff report Two renowned guitar players will be on the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre stage on Aug. 9, 2026. Joe Bonamassa will be joined by Gov’t Mule, led by Warren Haynes. It’s one of eight dates the two acts will play together as part of a co-headlining tour. Bonamassa has a long history of Mahoning Valley concerts, starting with shows at The Cellar in Struthers to performing several times as a headliner at the Covelli Centre. He’s had 29 albums top Billboard’s blues album chart, won four Blues Music Awards and received five Grammy nominations. In addition to ...

Youngstown Playhouse hires managing director

The man who directed the last two musicals at the Youngstown Playhouse now will direct its administrative path. Tyler Stouffer is the new managing director for the theater, which is in the middle of its 101st season. It’s the first managing director at the Playhouse since James McClellan resigned in 2020. Board President John Cox said Kayla Boye handled some of those tasks during the pandemic, but she was working remotely. “Because of the two stages down on Glenwood (the Playhouse main stage and Moyer Room) and us now taking over the downtown space (in the Morley Building), we're ...

BWR adapts ‘Nutcracker’ to strengths of the cast

Even those who don’t know a pas de deux from a pirouette know the basic story of “The Nutcracker.” But the ballet scored by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is adaptable to the needs and talents of each dance company that performs it. That’s one of the reasons for its enduring appeal, according to Danielle Perrotta, executive and artistic director of Ballet Western Reserve. Its annual production of “The Nutcracker” will be staged Saturday and Sunday at Powers Auditorium. “There's so many things you can do with it,” Perrotta said. “It doesn’t have to be played or done a ...

Rust Belt’s ‘Christmas’ show finds home in Moyer Room

Starrlet O’Hara has called several theaters home since “How the Drag Queen Stole Queen Stole Christmas” made its debut 19 years ago at the former Oakland Center for the Arts in downtown Youngstown. Rust Belt Theater Company founder Robert Dennick Joki brings the show to a new space in a former venue for 2025 as the non-traditional holiday show opens Friday at Youngstown Playhouse’s Moyer Room for a six-performance run. “This is the best I've felt about the show since it was at the Oakland,” Joki said. “It's just the kind of space that I wrote the show for, which is ...

Gray Areas: ‘Christmastime’ and live music time for Radio Lark

Back in 2019, Radio Lark released a great holiday track called “It’s Christmastime.” For those who’ve never heard it, check out the video on YouTube, which features a who’s who of Mahoning Valley musical talent. While Radio Lark’s Chris Rutushin has sung “It’s Christmastime” a couple of times with The Vindys (Jackie Popovec is prominently featured on the track), the band that recorded it never has played it live. That will change Saturday when Radio Lark & Friends performs Saturday at Westside Bowl, which will be the band’s first local show since the pandemic. ...

Mahoning Valley arts and entertainment

Art ARTS & EDUCATION AT THE HOYT, 124 E. Leasure Ave., New Castle, Pa.: “Floating Beauty: Women in the Art of Ukiyo-e,” through Jan. 29, 2026. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday. hoytartcenter.org and 724-652-2882. BUTLER INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN ART, 524 Wick Ave., Youngstown: “Kim Novak: Tribute on the Occasion of Her Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award,” through Sunday;“Robert Rauschenberg: A Centenary Tribute,” through Jan. 4, 2026. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. ...