Welcome
Welcome to Peter King's Website. Peter is a Pittsburgh-based performer, guitar teacher (blues, jazz, folk and rock) and music historian. Shows, recordings, lectures and lessons -- Peter's got a lot going on. So click around a little, and you'll probably find something you like!
Peter King joins Hackman, Mendelssohn Choir in music of Dylan Jan. 25-28
The Beatles in Their Prime
Quiet Fire - The Music of James Taylor
Git Outta Yer Basement II Wows Aspinwall -- And The World!
Second Git Outta Yer Basement! announced for Sunday, April 19
Git Outta Yer Basement!
What I've been listening to: Newer Paul Simon
Getting there, but still "under construction"
Previous events
Peter King and Marc Reisman
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Marc Reisman and Peter King
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J. Gough's Tavern, 4212 Murray Ave., Pittsburgh (Greenfield), PA
Free admission for this Labor Day event.
Paul Simon's World
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Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, University of Pittsburgh, main campus, Pittsburgh, PA
Performer/guitar teacher Peter King leads five two-hour classes of lecture, discussion, and guided listening tracing the extraordinary, sometimes controversial career of Paul Simon. Classes are open to students enrolled in OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) at University of Pittsburgh.
Peter King and his Band of Fast Friends
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Tavern in the Wall (formerly The Aspinwall Grille), 211 Commercial Ave., Aspinwall, PA 15215
Peter performs with Marc Reisman on harmonica, Gary Pandolfo on bass and Vince Taglieri on drums. There is no admission fee.
Peter King and his Band of Fast Friends
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Tavern in the Wall (formerly The Aspinwall Grille), 211 Commercial Ave., Aspinwall, PA 15215
Peter King and his Band of Fast Friends zoom into Tavern and the Wall for a return engagement. The band includes King, acoustic and electric guitars/vocals; Marc Reisman, harmonica; Gary Pandolfo, bass; and Vince Taglieri, drums. Catch 'em if you can!
Peter King and his Band of Fast Friends
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Tavern in the Wall (formerly The Aspinwall Grille), 211 Commercial Ave., Aspinwall, PA 15215
The Fast Friends include Peter King on vocals, acoustic and electric guitars; Marc Reisman, harmonica; Mark Perna, bass; and Vince Taglieri, drums. Ask anyone who's seen 'em -- they're fast!
Mendelssohn Choir sings Bob Dylan
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Three Rivers Arts Festival, Dollar Bank Mainstage, Point State Park, Pittsburgh
The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh The Times They Are A-Changin’: Words and Music of Bob Dylan Arranged by Steve Hackman, Matthew Mehaffey Music Director Special guest: Peter King, guitar and vocal
Quiet Fire: The Music of James Taylor (taught by Peter King)
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Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, University of Pittsburgh, main campus, Pittsburgh, PA
Hear a few notes from his guitar, and you know it’s James Taylor. Now 70, the writer of “Fire and Rain,” “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight” and “Carolina in My Mind” has influenced pop, folk and country with his jazz-tinged chords and syncopated rhythms. The melodies and harmonies go down easy, but a closer listen reveals nuance, power and surprise. Taylor’s socially conscious, sometimes tormented soul reveals itself in songs about drug addiction, the First Gulf War and Martin Luther King. Other songs draw on his brother’s death, his difficult relationship with his father and his family's seafaring past. In a 5-session course, musician/guitar teacher Peter King will explore what makes Taylor’s music so original. Through guided listening to Taylor’s recordings as well as songs played live by the instructor on his guitar, the class will gain a deeper appreciation of the art of Sweet Baby James.
Peter King and his Band of Fast Friends
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Tavern in the Wall (formerly The Aspinwall Grille), 211 Commercial Ave., Aspinwall, PA 15215
GIG POSTPONED DUE TO PENS GAME! WILL BE RESCHEDULED SOON! Peter returns to the Tavern in the Wall acoustic and electric guitar/vocals with his fast friends Mark Perna on bass, Marc Reisman on harmonica and Vince Taglieri on drums.
Peter King joins renowned conductor/arranger/composer Steve Hackman, the Mendelssohn Choir and a string quintet in an all-Bob Dylan program that re-imagines matchless songs including "Like a Rolling Stone," "Tangled Up in Blue" and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." Tickets are available at ticketfly.com or at 844-4-FLY-TIX
More details to follow!
Peter King and his Fast Friends Band
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Wallace's Tap Room, Hotel Indigo, 123 N. Highland Ave., East Liberty, Pittsburgh
Peter King (that’s me) will be performing his songs ("jazzy, easy-going acoustic folk-pop in the vein of vintage James Taylor and Paul Simon" – Post-Gazette) at Wallace's Whiskey Room + Kitchen Tuesday, Sept. 26 (that's tonight)! Expect a little less “easy-going acoustic,” as I’ll be playing plenty of electric guitar, backed by the dynamite Fast Friends Band: Mark Perna, bass; Marc Reisman, harmonica; Eric Kurtzrock, drums/vocals. Elegant, hip, happenin’ Wallace’s serves great dinners and drinks and offers an excellent viewing area for music. Check us out! Thanks, Peter www.peterkingmusic.com www.facebook.com/pkingmusic/
Know My Song Well: Bob Dylan, 1961-1966
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Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Posvar Hall, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan, now 75, was 19 when he arrived in Greenwich Village in the bitter cold winter of 1961. Although Dylan creates fascinating music to this day, he made his boldest mark in the early to mid-sixties, when he transformed the pop soundscape with his matchless topical songs, signature symbolist imagery and leap from acoustic music to raw rock ‘n’ roll. In Dylan’s early career, a smart, confident, determined musician/myth-maker emerges. So does a charged era, from the Folk Revival to the Freedom Rides. Vivid characters – from Joan Baez to Allen Ginsberg to the brash, funny, enigmatic Dylan himself – parade by. And the great songs ring out: “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall,” “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “Like a Rolling Stone” and more. Peter King, a well-known Pittsburgh guitar teacher, performer and journalist, will supplement lecture, recordings and videos with his own guitar playing to tell the story of this true American iconoclast.
Peter King and Fast Friends
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Tavern in the Wall (formerly The Aspinwall Grille), 211 Commercial Ave., Aspinwall, PA 15215
Guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Peter King is back at Tavern in the Wall, again backed by his Fast Friends: Mark Perna, bass; Marc Reisman, harmonica; and Eric Kurtzrock, drums.