Mike Palm stories, Page 12
Exodus guitarist Gary Holt talks tour, memoir, Slayer reunion, late Iron Maiden singerVideo
Playing thrash metal — a style of music rooted in speed and aggression — takes a toll physically, as Exodus guitarist Gary Holt can attest. “I’m suffering from arthritis everywhere, neck down to my feet, literally just every joint in my body is (expletive) up,” he said. “But you just...
Kacey Musgraves floats through Pittsburgh on Deeper Well tourVideo
The past seven days have been a whirlwind for Kacey Musgraves. Fresh on the heels of this year’s divisive presidential election, with the country singer stressing “moving forward,” Musgraves racked up several new Grammy nominations (for best country album, best country song and best country solo performance). And that’s not...
Iron Maiden rocks Pittsburgh on Future Past tourVideo
Iron Maiden is out on the road on their Future Past tour, but they’re celebrating their present just as much as they’re honoring the past or looking to the future. The British heavy metal band, who will be celebrating a 50th anniversary next year, appeared as relevant as ever in...
Better Lovers guitarist Jordan Buckley on metalcore supergroup’s new album, chaotic live show and the futureVideo
For Better Lovers guitarist Jordan Buckley, the title of the metalcore supergroup’s debut album — “Highly Irresponsible” — appealed to him on multiple levels. Formed last year after the dissolution of Every Time I Die, Better Lovers features Buckley, bassist Stephen Micciche and drummer Clayton “Goose” Holyoak from that band,...
Low Cut Connie frontman talks energetic live shows, new documentary ahead of Pittsburgh showVideo
For those who haven’t seen a Low Cut Connie show before, it’s a sweaty, physical night of music. Or as frontman Adam Weiner puts it: “Rock ‘n’ roll. High-energy, full-contact, cathartic, life-affirming rock ‘n’ roll.” Weiner, who frequently ends up with ripped shirts during live shows, has led the Philadelphia-based...
Goose singer/guitarist talks spontaneity, stage setup ahead of Pittsburgh showVideo
Maintaining spontaneity is a crucial ingredient for a jam band like Goose, which is known for its improvisation amid fluid, marathon performances. “That’s an interesting and ultimately a mysterious thing in and of itself,” guitarist/singer Rick Mitarotonda said. “Some nights, things just flow pretty readily and some nights they don’t....
Interview: Original ‘Housewife’ Luann de Lesseps brings Countess Cabaret show to Pittsburgh
Luann de Lesseps, perhaps better known as Countess Luann as one of the original castmates of “The Real Housewives of New York City,” has gotten used to explaining her version of cabaret. ”It’s really a personal story, how culture meets cabaret meets comedy meets a fashion show, because I’ll be...
Iron Maiden, Kacey Musgraves, Dave Matthews Band highlight top November concerts in Pittsburgh
A classic metal band, a genre-bending country singer and a newly inducted member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are coming to Pittsburgh. Here’s a look at some of the top shows coming to the region in November: Top concerts Nov. 8: Iron Maiden, The Hu at PPG...
CMU grad Ravish Momin, who performs as Sunken Cages, brings ‘digital folk music’ back to Pittsburgh
While Ravish Momin was studying engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in the mid 1990s, he was getting another education in music. “Long story short, I ended up begrudgingly doing an engineering degree, which I did not want to do,” Momin said with a laugh. “Parental pressure, all that stuff, and...
Lainey Wilson packs Pittsburgh for Country’s Cool Again tour stopVideo
Lainey Wilson is holding up her end of the bargain in making country music cool again. The country star packed Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh on Saturday night, filling the arena with cowboy hats and bell-bottom pants. The Country’s Cool Again tour, which also featured support acts Ian Munsick and...
Alana Springsteen talks Tiny Desk concert, ‘TWENTY SOMETHING’ album, new era ahead of Pittsburgh showVideo
Alana Springsteen grew up watching the Tiny Desk Concerts hosted by NPR, obsessing over the way artists arranged songs differently in the compact environment. So the country singer found it “surreal” when she got her opportunity to perform there in August. ”So when NPR tapped me to come do it,...
Pink Martini’s China Forbes on the band’s 30 years and 30 languagesVideo
Pink Martini, the Portland, Oregon, band known for its eclectic blending of jazz, Latin and classical music, is celebrating its 30th anniversary, which caught singer China Forbes off guard. “It’s so hard to believe. It’s really quite unexpected,” said Forbes, who joined a year after the band’s formation. “I wasn’t...
Australian singer Imogen Clark discusses new album, famous studios, moving away ahead of Pittsburgh debutVideo
Australian singer Imogen Clark had a memorable first time in Pittsburgh earlier this summer, traveling here to see one of Bruce Springsteen’s concerts. “It was great, but unfortunately it was a very short trip,” Clark said recently. “We really just came, we had some good seafood — it was delicious...
Soul Asylum’s Dave Pirner talks touring, new album ‘Slowly But Surely’ ahead of Pittsburgh showVideo
Dave Pirner has been touring with Soul Asylum for around 40 years, but there’s one item he continually loses on the road, so much so that he joked about adding it to the band’s merch. “I still can’t keep track of a toothbrush,” he said. With all the touring Soul...
Billie Eilish brings Hit Me Hard and Soft tour to PittsburghVideo
Pop star Billie Eilish transcended the arena setting Sunday night, putting on a display of intimacy among the almost 20,000 in attendance at a sold-out show at PPG Paints Arena. An arena might not sound like the optimal choice for a concert overflowing with intense emotions, feelings and reflections, but...
Mt. Lebanon native Amy Rigby on hometown show, moving to England, new albumVideo
There was a point during the covid pandemic when Amy Rigby considered moving back to the Pittsburgh area. The singer-songwriter from Mt. Lebanon, who has lived in New York City, Nashville, France and upstate New York over the years, got to the point of checking out homes online with her...
Lee DeWyze out to show he’s so much more than a former ‘American Idol’ winnerVideo
Lee DeWyze may have that he’s the Season 9 winner of “American Idol” on his resume, but it’s not the pinnacle of his career, not by a long shot. Likening his musical output to a Christmas tree, DeWyze is striving for a diversity of decorations. ”(‘American Idol’ is) a beautiful...
JVK singer Jo Krieger discusses Boston band’s tour, ‘Body Double’ single, more ahead of Pittsburgh showVideo
Putting together the first cross-country tour for Boston-based rock band JVK has definitely been daunting for founder/frontwoman Jo Krieger. ”We’re very ambitious and we’ll do absolutely anything and everything to get to where we want to be. So we were coming up with this tour and all the dates, we’re...
Jelly Roll offers inspiration in sold-out Pittsburgh concertVideo
Jelly Roll provided a concise yet accurate description of his show at one point Saturday night, calling it “real music for real people with real problems.” In a sold-out concert at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, the country/rap/rock/pop star never flinched as he stared down those issues, while also being...
Pop violin star Kishi Bashi talks documentary, AI and new album ‘Kantos’
After spending years working on a documentary about Japanese-Americans incarcerated during World War II, Kishi Bashi joked that he needed something lighter to help with “cleansing my brain of sadness.” With the completion of the album “Omoiyari” in 2019 and the Emmy-nominated documentary “Omoiyari: A Song Film By Kishi Bashi”...
Crypta singer Fernanda Lira talks Brazilian metal band’s current tour, brush with a tornado and intense screamingVideo
Life on tour isn’t all it’s cracked up to be sometimes, as Fernanda Lira, the singer for Brazilian death metal band Crypta, can attest. On Tuesday, an elevator issue left Lira and drummer Luana Dametto stuck in their Toronto hotel for about 30 minutes. “Everyone thinks it’s like really about...
Ann Hampton Callaway talks revamping ‘Nanny’ theme for Kamala Harris, more ahead of Pittsburgh showVideo
For jazz singer Ann Hampton Callaway, there’s a sure sign that it’s been a good show. “One of the things I love is that people will be laughing and crying with their laughter, and then the straight men tell me that they cry during some of my ballads. So if...
Sold-out shows from Jelly Roll, Billie Eilish, Lainey Wilson highlight Pittsburgh’s top October concerts
The temperatures may be dropping as fall approaches, but the concert season in Pittsburgh is still heating up in October, with three sold-out arena shows. Here’s a look at October’s top concerts for the Pittsburgh area: Top shows Oct. 5: Jelly Roll, Warren Zeiders, Alexandra Kay at PPG Paints Arena...
Stevie Wonder launching fall tour in PittsburghVideo
Stevie Wonder is kicking off a fall tour of several battleground states ahead of the Nov. 5 election, with the first night of the trek set for Pittsburgh. Wonder, a 25-time Grammy winner, will play PPG Paints Arena on Oct. 8. The tour, dubbed “Sing Your Song! As We Fix...
Jhené Aiko’s Magic Hour tour coming to PittsburghVideo
R&B singer Jhené Aiko announced the third leg of her Magic Hour tour, which includes a stop in Pittsburgh. The six-time Grammy nominee will visit PPG Paints Arena on Dec. 1, with an all-female lineup that includes Jessie Reyez, Shenseea, Umi, Kiana Ledé and Starrza. Known for popular songs like...
