Mike Palm stories, Page 13
5 questions with country star Josh Turner ahead of Greensburg concertVideo
In the midst of his Greatest Hits tour, country artist Josh Turner gets the opportunity to reflect on his career on a nightly basis. “It’s kind of wild. I tell my crowd every night that I’m just very honored and very blessed to even be able to say those words...
Review: Megadeth shows they can still thrash in Pittsburgh concertVideo
Megadeth earned its spot in the “Big Four” of thrash metal in the mid 1980s, and they showed they still have what it takes more than 40 years later. Founded in 1983 by Dave Mustaine, Megadeth put on a display of nearly unending guitar ferocity Wednesday when their Destroy All...
A conversation with British vintage rockers The Heavy Heavy ahead of Pittsburgh showVideo
On the day before The Heavy Heavy released their debut album earlier this month, singer Georgie Fuller ran into someone she hadn’t seen since March. “They were like, ‘Is the album out?’ I was like, ‘Tomorrow!’ That’s so crazy. I’ve been talking about it for so long,” she said with...
Seether bassist Dale Stewart on new album ‘The Surface Seems So Far,’ fatherhood and more ahead of Pittsburgh showVideo
Dale Stewart, the bassist for post-grunge veterans Seether, thinks there should be a calculation for “road years,” similar to the math surrounding dog years. “It’s like, how old are you in road years? In road years, I’m 73,” he said with a laugh. “Going by the equation.” In real life,...
Sessanta V2.0 featuring A Perfect Circle, Primus and Puscifer hits Pittsburgh in 2025Video
The unique Sessanta tour, which features A Perfect Circle, Primus and Puscifer sharing musicians and the stage together, will visit Pittsburgh next year after a successful run earlier this year. Sessanta V2.0 will hit the Petersen Events Center on May 20, 2025. Originally created to mark the 60th birthday of...
Thomas Rhett brings Better in Boots tour to PittsburghVideo
Country star Thomas Rhett will be back in Pittsburgh next summer on as his Better in Boots tour. The “Die A Happy Man” and “Marry Me” singer will visit the Pavilion at Star Lake on June 13, 2025, with Tucker Wetmore opening the show. Rhett’s most recent album, “About a...
Victoria Canal talks new album ‘Slowly, It Dawns,’ flying in a helicopter with Tom Cruise and moreVideo
Singer-songwriter Victoria Canal calls her upcoming album, “Slowly, It Dawns,” her most ambitious work to date, with the record reflecting her artistic journey and life. “That’s the only way I know how to write really,” Canal said in a recent Zoom call from East London. “It mirrors my mid 20s,...
Blues singer Shemekia Copeland talks ahead of Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival appearanceVideo
With an album just released a few weeks ago, blues singer Shemekia Copeland can’t wait to play some of those songs live as part of the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival. “We’ve been doing lots of songs from the record,” Copeland said Wednesday in a call from California. “I’m very excited...
Country artist Brent Cobb latest to play Sheetz parking lot concert
Sheetz is serving up more than just made-to-order sandwiches and coffees, with pop-up parking lot concerts on their menu now. Country artist Brent Cobb became the second of the convenience store chain’s Truck Bed Sessionz with a show Wednesday in McKees Rocks. Cobb played an hour-long set, including his hits...
Megadeth bassist James LoMenzo discusses career-spanning shows, band’s current lineup ahead of Pittsburgh showVideo
Back in the 1980s, the L’Amour club served as the “rock capital of Brooklyn,” drawing metal bands of the era to either play or just hang out. Glam metal band White Lion grew out of that scene, and their bassist James LoMenzo recalled Megadeth’s “In My Darkest Hour” being used...
Interview: Gwar singer Blöthar the Berserker on entitlement, blood, Lzzy Hale and moreVideo
For the uninitiated, a Gwar concert could be considered an otherworldly experience, appropriate for the shock rock band whose mythology includes intergalactic warriors. With band members named Sawborg Destructo, Grodius Maximus and Bonesnapper, just to name a few, Gwar features over-the-top costumes, geysers of (fake) blood and mock executions accompanied...
Atlanta Rhythm Section’s Rodney Justo on rejoining after 40 years, maintaining band’s legacyVideo
When Rodney Justo, the original lead singer of Atlanta Rhythm Section, left the music business in the 1980s, he did more than retire. He “over-quit.” “I didn’t sing a note, I didn’t listen to music,” Justo said in a recent call from his home in Tampa, Fla. “For a guy...
Randy Bachman talks The Guess Who lawsuit resolution, Bachman-Turner Overdrive and ‘better days’
After years of legal wranglings over The Guess Who name, Randy Bachman is thrilled that it’s finally been resolved. The saga pitted Bachman and Burton Cummings, the band’s principal songwriters, against drummer Garry Peterson and bassist Jim Kale. It’s a complicated tale involving trademarks, accusations of tainting the group’s legacy,...
Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper deliver horror-infused rock in Pittsburgh showVideo
Every night could be Halloween on the Freaks on Parade tour, co-headlined by Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper. Zombie, who also writes and directs horror movies besides his musical career, and Cooper, the godfather of shock rock, brought their unique but complementary versions of horror business Tuesday night to the...
Staind guitarist Mike Mushok dishes on Pittsburgh anecdotes, new album and tour
Back in 1999, Staind hit the road for a weekend of festival appearances, starting with a Pittsburgh show at the WXDX X-Fest at Star Lake. After playing on the secondary stage, they went to check out some of the main-stage acts, and that’s when Staind guitarist Mike Mushok became, ahem,...
Green Day mash punk, arena rock together for Pittsburgh extravaganza
The music setting the mood for Green Day’s concert Sunday night couldn’t have been more fitting. First came “Bohemian Rhapsody” from arena rock heavyweights Queen, followed by the punk anthem “Blitzkrieg Bop” by the Ramones and then a mix of “The Imperial March,” “We Will Rock You” and “I Love...
Actor/singer Charles Esten on growing up in Pittsburgh, new album, making connectionsVideo
Charles Esten came oh so close to having a perfect weekend in his hometown. Esten, who starred in ABC’s “Nashville” and Netflix’s “Outer Banks,” is also a musician, with a show on Sept. 7 at City Winery Pittsburgh. And his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers open the season on Sept. 8 —...
Jack White tears through heavy, ripping set in intimate Pittsburgh showVideo
Jack White blasted through a 90-minute set of raw blues/punk Thursday night at Mr. Smalls Theatre in Millvale. Just announced on Tuesday, the show sold out in minutes on Wednesday afternoon, leading to a long, winding line at the ticket gate, with fans who struck out offering anywhere from $250...
Green Day, Outlaw Music Fest, Luke Bryan highlight September’s top Pittsburgh area concerts
A stadium show, a bill with three music icons and a country concert at a Westmoreland County farm highlight the top shows coming in September to Western Pennsylvania. Top concerts Sept. 1: Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid, The Linda Lindas at PNC Park The veteran punk rockers Green Day are...
Jack White announces Pittsburgh show with just 2 days’ noticeVideo
Jack White is coming to Pittsburgh for an intimate show … on Thursday. Known for his work in the White Stripes, the Raconteurs and his solo projects, the veteran Detroit rocker announced on social media Tuesday that he’ll playing a trio of new shows. The first of the three shows...
Singer-songwriter Sarah Jarosz discusses ‘Polaroid Lovers’ album, co-writing and more ahead of Pittsburgh show
As singer-songwriter Sarah Jarosz pondered album titles for her most recent release, she wound up selecting “Polaroid Lovers,” enjoying the way it sounded and rolled off her tongue, as well as its multiple meanings. “There’s the very literal meaning of two lovers, two people in a Polaroid photograph, which is...
Singer Taylor Acorn talks about her ties to Pittsburgh, new album and ‘People Watching’ videoVideo
Pop-punk singer Taylor Acorn is originally from Wellsboro in north-central Pennsylvania and is currently living in Nashville. But she feels like she’s going to wind up in Pittsburgh someday, since her partner of five years grew up in Johnstown and his family now lives in Cranberry. “So every Christmas, birthday,...
Melissa Etheridge embraces hope ahead of headlining Women Who Rock benefit in PittsburghVideo
When Melissa Etheridge started making a name for herself in the music business in the late 1980s and early 1990s, she came in with a wave of other women, citing Tracy Chapman, Jewel, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow and Indigo Girls. “We all kind of showed up around the same four-,...
Australian singer Angie McMahon discusses new ‘Light Sides’ EP, songwriting, vulnerability ahead of Pittsburgh showVideo
Australian singer/songwriter Angie McMahon has discovered joy in the little things of being on the road in the United States, whether it’s the novelty of the different snacks available at gas stations, good Mexican food or even experiencing snow here earlier this year. “It’s pretty special. And it’s just so...
Interview: Fantastic Cat’s Anthony D’Amato talks ‘indie supergroup,’ switching instruments, Adam DuritzVideo
The indie folk/rock band Fantastic Cat definitely doesn’t take itself too seriously. From their truth-stretching band bio to the cheeky slogan on their top-selling T-shirt to the giant cat heads appearing on their album covers, the self-dubbed “supergroup” started as a fun little project and has grown into something more....
