About the Festival

As a young man, Wilson shopped Pittsburgh’s thrift stores, buying stacks of old albums for change. One day, he found a record by Blues legend, Bessie Smith. The world, for August Wilson, changed that day. He said, “Somehow, all that other music was different from that. And I go, ‘Wait a minute. This is mine…” The blues is “life’s way of talking…life’s instructions“. The Highmark Blues & Heritage Festival (HBHF) is about hope, roots, and the connections that music makes across races, neighborhoods, and beliefs. We at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center celebrate that diversity and hope that you will join us, hoping for a more humane TODAY, and a brighter TOMORROW.