In the P!nk, Under the Solvang Night Sky

P!nk, the certifiable global pop superstar, has been known to pay it back philanthropically, close to home. Until she moved to N.Y.C. this year, that home had been a ranch and vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley, and she has lent her talents to such causes as the One805LIVE! first responders’ benefit in 2024 and, last Friday, for Solvang’s arts organizations. 

This time out, under the stars in the al fresco Solvang Theaterfest venue, P!nk’s charitable instincts addressed a very specific and personal cause. Her daughter, Willow Sage Hart, benefited from the educational and therapeutic agenda of the youth-oriented Arts Outreach program. And as proof of fruition, Sage — now enrolled in the prestigious Performing Arts High School in New York and aimed towards a life in musical theater — was one of the impressive young musical theater stars gathered on stage for the “Voices of the Valley” benefit evening.

As P!nk told the SRO crowd, “Our family has benefitted from Arts Outreach, especially after COVID. It’s a place to be safe and free.” 

Alongside the Broadway singers Sky Lakota-Lynch and Emma Pittman (both from The Outsiders and more), and surprise guest Sophia Anne Caruso (Beetlejuice), Hart acquitted herself beautifully, on tunes including “I Could Talk to You All Night,” from Amelie, in a duet with Pittman. 

The artist known as P!nk, born Alecia Beth Moore 47 years ago, teasingly told the audience that when she was designing this fundraiser evening, she wanted to bring along other singers “because hearing me singing acoustically for 90 minutes would be boring.” But we knew that she knew that we knew that would not be the case.

Fittingly, the program was framed by song and dance numbers by current tender-aged participants in Arts Outreach, a program formerly directed by Sandie Mullin, the recipient of glowing praise from P!nk. Long-standing Arts Outreach head Mullin passed the torch to new director Megan Linton this year and is now director of the Elverhøj Museum of History and Art, which also benefitted from the night’s proceeds, along with the Solvang Theaterfest. 

Joined by her longtime guitarist Justin Derico, and a string quartet and keyboard in the background, P!nk seemed in a relaxed, hometown state of mind. She even kicked off her heels, literally, and borrowed a jacket from a man in the front rows, to fend off the evening chill. 

In her compact seven-song set, P!nk avoided her early smash hits, favoring a curated flight of tunes, including “Who Knew,” the self-acceptance anthem “Fuckin’ Perfect,” and “What About Us.” For cover material, she gave her personal touch to Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” and Kris Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobby McGee,” rasping it up in tribute in honor of her homegirl Janis Joplin.

Joined for a duet by Pittman, P!nk closed out her set with the touching “When I Get There,” a poignant tribute to her late father. It was another family connection in an evening fueled by love of both family, and community.