Regional Stars Will Shine for Auberle Tuesday

20th annual ‘Voices Carry’ takes stage at Westin for McKeesport-based agency

By Yousuf Lachhab Ibrahim
The Tube City Almanac
September 22, 2024
Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

Revelers take the dance floor at the 2022 Voices Carry. (Photo courtesy Auberle via Facebook)

For 20 years, some of Pittsburgh’s favorite musicians have been performing at Auberle’s Voices Carry event to fundraise for the nonprofit agency’s human services programs.

On Tuesday, Auberle will be holding its 20th annual Voices Carry at The Westin Pittsburgh hotel at 1000 Penn Ave., downtown Pittsburgh, with doors opening at 5:45 p.m.

Attendees can expect performances from DJ Bonics, Scott Blasey of the Clarks, Kelsey Friday, and over a dozen others. Pittsburgh musician Josh Verbanets will be the MC of the event.

Blasey, who just released a three-song EP in February, will be playing two Motown classics at the event: “Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch” by The Four Tops and “It’s Your Thing” by The Isley Brothers.

“[My father] loved all kinds of music,” said the singer, “And he really loved Motown, and he loved soul music, so I remember hearing those songs as a little kid.”

The singer will also be auctioning off a private performance as part of the fundraising part of the event.

“We will be auctioning off Scott Blasey of the Clarks to come out and do a private concert at your house for your company,” said John Lydon, CEO of Auberle, “You can invite a bunch of people, and you pick and set up a date with Scott that works for both of you. And when he comes out and does one of these events, it’s a really cool opportunity where he’s performing, but he’s also talking about the songs. He’s answering questions. It’s, you know, a small, intimate group of people. And it’s really pretty cool.”

This event raises unrestricted money that supports Auberle in its mission, which is, according to Lydon, “to help build strong individuals, families, and communities throughout a 12-county area in western PA.”

Based in McKeesport, Auberle is a non-profit agency that provides housing, foster care, behavioral health, young adult services, and workforce development for young people, teen-agers and famiies. It has been serving Allegheny County since 1952, and according to Lydon, currently serves 25 percent of children and 50 percent of teens who are in Allegheny’s foster care system.

“We doubled the number of people that we served last year,” said Lydon, “And we doubled the number of people from the prior year. So we’ve more than quadrupled the number of people we serve in housing in the last two years.”

Scott Blasey reported that he has recorded new music with The Clarks over the winter, and that they have a new single coming out within the week, three months after their previous single, “Supernatural.”

The Voices Carry event began in 2005 as a karaoke event at a jazz club, Dowe’s on Ninth, which was located in downtown Pittsburgh. Randy Baumann, host of the Morning Show on WDVE, was the MC of the first few events.

By the fourth-annual event, Baumann had suggested bringing in professional musicians to perform, and since then, the Voices Carry event has had professional performers every year.

Yousuf Lachhab Ibrahim is a freelance writer from Pittsburgh and a recent Penn State University graduate. He won a Golden Quill award for his work at the Penn State Greater Allegheny Gazette.

Originally published September 22, 2024.

In other news:
"Take Action Celebrate…" || "Duquesne Textile Firm…"