THE ENCORE AT THE CASCADES · SOUTH PARK, PITTSBURGH · AUGUST 2025
A performance venue without fixed walls — relocatable to any stage, any season, any space. Every show streams free to the world. Always family-friendly. Always affordable.
The Encore is the live streaming and venue partnership program of Jazzmania Live. It is not a building. It is a performance series that travels — setting up wherever live jazz is needed most, in intimate halls and open parks, and streaming every show live to anyone in the world who wants to listen.
What makes it The Encore is not the address. It is the music, the standard, and the mission: live jazz that is accessible, affordable, family-friendly, and always real.
"The Encore isn't just a series of shows. It's a permanent argument that live music belongs everywhere."
The Encore opened on Walnut Street in Shadyside in 1959 — the first live music venue in the neighbourhood, and the room that started Pittsburgh's most famous nightlife strip. Trombonist Harold Betters played it so often it was known as the House that Betters Built; his first record, At The Encore, was cut there in 1962. We are not that room. We carry the name because the argument it made — that live music belongs where people already are — is the one we are still making.
"At the Encore there wasn't even a standing room inside. The place was full of people, smoke and sound."
Contemporary account, 1963During the summer series at The Cascades, The Encore streams something truly special: Open Stage performances where the house band opens the floor to guest performers throughout the evening. Watch vocalists, instrumentalists, spoken word artists, and emerging performers join seasoned musicians on stage for jazz standards, originals, and spontaneous collaborations.
Every Open Stage performance is unique — built in the moment through creativity, improvisation, and community. What you see on the stream is a live, collaborative jazz experience that celebrates both the music and the musicians who make it.
"Open Stage turns every performance into a musical conversation between friends, seasoned artists, and emerging voices — all under the open sky."
THE ENCORE AT THE CASCADES · SOUTH PARK, PITTSBURGH · AUGUST 2025
Every Encore performance streams live and free. Not a recording — a real-time shared experience. Watch from anywhere in the world.
Go to the Stream →The 2026 season runs from spring through October. Winter/spring at Elks Lodge #339, summer outdoors at The Cascades at Stone Manse, plus pop-up performances at venues across the Pittsburgh region. The next Cascades show will be announced shortly — August Moon Jazz on August 16 was cancelled for weather.
See the Schedule →Have a café, gallery, community hall, or outdoor space with character? We're always looking for venue partners — particularly those that serve communities with limited access to live music.
Get in Touch →