All weekend

Racing in

The American Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania, a weeklong 450-mile Tour de France-type bike race, peddles into the Pittsburgh area this weekend with sprint finishes and special Highmark Healthy High 5 Finish Line Festivals.

The festivals, free and open to the public, will include: performances by five-time national BMX stunt bike champ Mike Steidley; the Minutes in Motion School Challenge, which encourages students to spend time participating in their favorite physical activity; and Passport for Prizes, which offers American Eagle Outfitters gift cards, Tour of Pennsylvania memorabilia, a VIP photo opportunity with the best young rider in the tour.

They take place at Ligonier and Main streets in Latrobe Friday from 1-6 p.m.; SouthSide Works Saturday from 2-9 p.m.; Boulevard of the Allies and Stanwix Street, Downtown, Sunday from 2-9 p.m.

For details, go to www.tourofpa.com.

Tonight

Back to Blondie

Being old enough to collect Social Security isn't stopping Debbie Harry from getting up on stage and belting out the sexy come-on "One Way or Another."

The leader of Blondie joins original members guitarist Chris Stein and drummer Clem Burke on the reunion tour, hitting the Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in Chester, W.Va., tonight.

The New Wave band from New York -- inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 -- is celebrating the 30th anniversary of "Parallel Lines," the breakthrough album that delivered the sultry hits "Heart of Glass," "Hanging on the Telephone" and "One Way or Another."

So, does Blondie still have it? According to the Buffalo News, it does. "This was no pale rehash of former glories ...," the paper wrote. "The group came out and tore through the entire record pretty much without taking a breath ... This stuff still packs a punch. And it still doesn't really fit neatly into anyone's stylistic cubbyhole."

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 to $60. Call 412-323-1919.

Friday

Bike friendly

These crazy high gas prices aren't only benefiting the oil companies -- they're also feeding the bike culture, with more and more people on the trails and streets.

Celebrating that culture is Bike Pittsburgh, presenting Bike Fest, a fund-raiser that's part of a weeklong series of events. It takes place Friday at 6 p.m. at 121 Seventh St., 6th floor, with performances by Flotilla Way, Mary Mack, Laser Crunk's Cutups and Keeb$ and Edgar Um, plus food and drink from Whole Foods, Dozen and East End Brewing. Ticket levels range from $10 to $50.

Go to bike-pgh.org/bikefest.

-- Scott Mervis

PUMP it up

Global Beats, PUMP (Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project) and Stay & Play Fridays are combining their powers (rings unite!) to bring a little bit of Brazil and Cuba to our fair city. Javier Garcia, a Latin pop star from Miami, and NYC's Nation Beat, will perform in Market Square Friday from 5 to 9 p.m. So you have something to look forward to after your 9 to 5.

Garcia, despite being Spanish and Irish, tapped Miami's Cuban roots and plays anything from rumba and ska to boleros or Haitian compass. Nation Beat is the beat of northeast Brazil, plus a little New Orleans rhythms, funk and rock thrown in for good measure.

So if you're among the 70 percent of Americans without a passport or just can't afford to pony up an arm and a leg for airfare, legal or illegal, to Brazil or Cuba, you can at least still enjoy the tunes. For free. No customs lines, passport stamps or lost luggage needed.

-- Kate McCaffrey

Free music

The Old 97's and Juliana Hatfield are the marquee names at the WYEP Summer Music Festival Friday at 6 p.m. in the new location of the Schenley Plaza. Hatfield, who came to fame with the Boston indie band the Blake Babies in the mid-'80s, will release her 10th solo album, "How to Walk Away," in August.

Also on the bill are The Watson Twins, an L.A. folk duo reminiscent of the Cowboy Junkies, and quirky Pittsburgh pop band Good Night, States. For more see page W-16.

• Wayne Bergeron, a trumpeter from L.A. who earned a Grammy nomination in 2004 for Best Large Jazz Ensemble, plays a free concert in South Park Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday

Crankin' that

He's been dissed as a "ringtone rapper." Ice-T says he killed hip-hop. And LeBron James is obviously not a fan.

But none of that is going to stop young Soulja Boy, whose breakthrough party single, "Crank That," hit No. 1, earned him a Grammy nomination and has sold more than 5 million ringtones and 3 million digital downloads.

The 17-year-old rapper from Chicago makes a tour stop Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Pittsburgh Indoor Sports Arena in Harmar.

He recently told he Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, "I'm not scared of being called a ringtone rapper. I get that all day, every day and will continue to get it. At the end of the day, as long as the people calling me that are not selling more albums than me, I'm straight."

For details, go to www.indoorsportsarena.com or call 412-347-0372.

Sunday

Together-ness

As part of the ongoing Biennial 2008 celebration, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and Pittsburgh Filmmakers present a free Family Fun Day Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. on the PCA campus in Shadyside with music, face-painting, sing-alongs, art-making, demonstrations and free goodie bags with healthy snacks. Here is the schedule: Drum circle with Music Together and Karen Sloneker (12:30 p.m.); Family Art Olympics with Tom Sarver (1:30 p.m.); Music Together (2 p.m.); Concert with Music Together (4 p.m.). For details, visit www.pittsburghbiennial.org.

Need to know

• We've already mentioned bikes. Don't forget about boats. The seventh annual Pittsburgh Dragon Boat Races will be held at Station Square Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with first-time paddlers and internationally recognized teams competing on the Mon. For details, go to www.ThreeRiversRowing.org/PDBR.

• The National Aviary -- keeper of real live penguins -- honors the hockey team's great season with Pittsburgh Penguins Day on Saturday. The Aviary's Stanley, Elvis, Patrick, Simon and Sidney will greet guests during a penguin parade. Sidney, not Crosby, will pose for photos while Iceburgh, the Pittsburgh Penguins' mascot, visits with guests. Those wearing Pittsburgh Penguins gear receive $2 off general admission. General admission is $9 adults; $8 seniors; $7.50 children ages 2 and up; under 2 admitted free. Go to www.aviary.org or call 412-323-7235.

• Jam on Walnut begins it series Saturday in Shadyside with Good Brother Earl and Velveeta. The concert is free, but the $2 fee for a drinking wristband benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. It runs from 7 to 11 p.m. It continues with the Chris Higbee Project and Get Back: The Cast of Beatlemania (July 26) and Grapevine and Rob, Greg and Scott of the Clarks (Aug. 23).

• More than 50 antique cars will be on display at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Washington for Classic Wheels Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There also will be oldies music and unlimited trolley rides and complimentary tours of the 30 trolleys in the Trolley Display Building. Admission is $8; $7 for seniors (62+); $5 for ages 3-15. For more information, call 724-228-9256 or visit the Web site at www.pa-trolley.org.

• The Shadow Lounge in East Liberty celebrates its eighth anniversary Saturday with a Block Party outside featuring music by Omega Love, Mifune, Eviction Notice, Nation Beat and Jimmy Ponder with James Johnson Trio, plus DJs Selecta (hip-hop/soul/party), the Vipers Soul Club (Northern soul), and Aaesir St. James & Jose Moran (Deep House). There will be an art show by Anire Mosley, Tarish Pipkins and Chris Savido. Free Magic Hat Beer from 6 to 8 p.m. It runs from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Baum and Highland avenues. Tickets are $17.50 advance; $20 at the door. Go to www.showclix.com.

• Celtic rockers Black 47 sure have a thing for Pittsburgh. The New York band returns again for a show at Claddagh Irish Pub, SouthSide Works, Friday at 9 p.m., touring in support of "Iraq," a new album featuring songs that frontman Larry Kirwan wrote inspired by the real stories of soldiers. Tickets are $5. Call 412-381-4800.

• Also in the clubs, Chicago punks The Alkaline Trio play Club Zoo in the Strip with Bayside at 7 tonight ($20); RED, a hard-rock band from Nashville that toured with 3 Doors Down, plays Diesel Saturday at 8 p.m.($14); for something harder (much), Florida doom band Consular plays the Mr. Roboto Project in Wilkinsburg tonight at 7 with Token Black Guy, Bastard, Jumbo and Implant Grade ($6).