As Pittsburgh’s Mayor Bill Peduto declared Saturday “Norman Nardini Day,” honoring its native son’s 50 years as a musician, some might ask themselves, “Why?” Especially since Nardini grew up near Springdale. The self-described local “uncrowned king of rock ‘n’ roll” has proven to be an inexhaustible songwriter and performer whose music and comedic rants continue to entertain. And he’s been a force in the Pittsburgh rock ‘n’ roll scene for 50 years.

To celebrate his Normaness, Ron “Moondog” Esser put together a concert featuring Nardini and a lineup of local bands including the SPUDS and Bill Toms & Hard Rain with the Soulville Horns at the Syria Shrine Center in Harmar. I had the good fortune to work for Nardini, who helped me work my way through college and then some. It was the ultimate gig: I got paid to do something fun — the business details and promotion — of a band that was lighting up the nightclubs with their energetic and charismatic shows in the late 1970s and 1980s, securing gigs in New York City, New Jersey and beyond, ultimately landing a contract with CBS records.