Mike Palm stories, Page 8
Everclear’s Art Alexakis on 30th anniversary of ‘Sparkle and Fade’ and more ahead of Pittsburgh showVideo
Although Everclear frontman Art Alexakis shot to fame with the song “Santa Monica,” he now lives a little further away in Pasadena, Calif. But he’d been out of his house for almost four months after it sustained smoke and water damage during the southern California wildfires earlier this year. The...
Former Pittsburgh drumming stalwart Damon Che returning with new band YesnessVideo
It’s been more than 15 years since Damon Che, the inventive drummer for defunct Pittsburgh instrumental pioneers Don Caballero, played a show in the area. That will change April 26 when Yesness, his new instrumental duo with El Ten Eleven bassist Kristian Dunn, headlines a show at Spirit Lodge in...
Alice Cooper, Judas Priest team up for Star Lake concert this fallVideo
A pair of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame hard rockers are coming to the Pittsburgh area this fall. Shock rocker Alice Cooper and British metal icons Judas Priest will co-headline a show Oct. 1 at the Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, with Corrosion of Conformity opening the show....
Pittsburgh local music spotlight: Dereos Roads & JumbledVideo
The first album collaboration between Pittsburgh’s Dereos Roads and Baltimore’s Jumbled is chock full of samples — all from dollar bin records — from Jackie Cain and Herb Alpert to The Band and Donovan. “I like how this is a true collaboration. For most of the previous projects, when I...
Spiritbox rides the wave of ‘Tsunami Sea’ in sold-out Pittsburgh concertVideo
Spiritbox’s Tsunami Sea tour proved to be aptly named, as the Canadian band unleashed wave after wave of crushing guitar and heavy-hitting metalcore Saturday night. The Grammy-nominated band played their first headline show in Pittsburgh, selling out the UPMC Events Center in Moon, on the strength of their “Tsunami Sea”...
Country rocker Cory Marks returns to Pittsburgh for 1st time since getting engaged hereVideo
Canadian country rocker Cory Marks has never played a show in Pittsburgh, but he’s looking forward to a return visit to the area later this month for sentimental reasons. “Pittsburgh’s got a piece of my heart, for sure,” Marks said in a recent phone call. That’s because Marks got engaged...
John Ondrasik of Five For Fighting discusses songs highlighting Ukraine, Israel and moreVideo
Five For Fighting (aka John Ondrasik) had a pair of platinum records in the early 2000s, on the strength of songs like “100 Years” and “Superman (It’s Not Easy),” with the latter becoming an anthem after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and earning him a spot on the lineup for...
Michigan Rattlers’ Graham Young discusses ‘Waving From A Sea’ album ahead of Pittsburgh showVideo
Back in 2016, Rolling Stone tabbed Michigan Rattlers as one of 10 new country artists to watch, alongside Luke Combs and others. Nine years later, frontman Graham Young certainly doesn’t consider the band country now, if he ever did at all. “No, definitely not. You know, it’s just funny. I...
The Linda Lindas growing up from viral moment, headlining sold-out Pittsburgh showVideo
When The Linda Lindas played in Pittsburgh in September as part of Green Day’s show at PNC Park, drummer Mila de la Garza sported a T-shirt covered with Campbell’s Soup cans. It didn’t come from the nearby Andy Warhol Museum though. “The venue was right next to the museum, too,”...
Pittsburgh local music spotlight: BBGuns
The indie hip-hop duo BBGuns will be launching a residency at Bottlerocket Social Hall in Pittsburgh’s Allentown later this month. “It’s going to be a genre-bending variety show full of big beats, stories, jokes, friends new and old, as well as be a laboratory for new material,” said vocalist JP...
Blues guitarist Chris Cain recalls memorable night in Pittsburgh with April 13 show on the horizonVideo
Blues guitarist Chris Cain can vividly recall a memorable night back in the early 1990s at The Decade, an old club in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. Actually what happened after the show proved to be unforgettable on his end. “At The Decade, they had a good bar,” Cain recalled in a...
Samantha Crain eschews ‘lone wolf’ mindset with ‘Gumshoe’ album, preps for Pittsburgh show
For almost two decades, Samantha Crain has toured more or less as a solo singer-songwriter, and her upcoming album “Gumshoe” explores steps in a different direction. “It’s led me to be a pretty independent person and also somebody that embodies that lone wolf mentality. The thing that I have started...
mssv guitarist Mike Baggetta talks ‘post-genre’ music, new album ahead of Pittsburgh showVideo
The experimental rock group mssv has a sound that defies categorization, but guitarist Mike Baggetta has opted for “post-genre” as a description. “It kind of started as a little tongue-in-cheek joke because people always go, what kind of music do you play? And I’m not gonna sit there and explain...
Daisy the Great discuss touring, new ‘The Rubber Teeth Talk’ album ahead of New Kensington showVideo
When Daisy the Great closed out their tour last April at Preserving Underground in New Kensington, the indie pop/rock duo didn’t take a ton of time off, getting to work almost immediately on new music. “In the year since we last talked, we made a record, which was really exciting....
Pittsburgh local band spotlight: XDBVideo
Xander Demos has toured with Ripper Owens, the former lead singer of Judas Priest, and opened for bands like Nelson, Winger and Steelheart locally, “but I am hoping that the best is yet to come.” Demos’ band, XDB, will be releasing a new single “When the Love Is Gone” on...
Mumford & Sons heading to Pittsburgh this fallVideo
The folksy British group Mumford & Sons on Friday released a new album and announced a tour, which includes a stop in Pittsburgh. The group known for banjo-infused songs like “I Will Wait” and “Hopeless Wanderer” will hit PPG Paints Arena on Oct. 19, with Michael Kiwanuka opening. Mumford &...
Spiritbox, Kelsea Ballerini, Bob Dylan among top April concerts in Pittsburgh
April’s concert schedule for Pittsburgh is filling up, with a rising metal band, a multimedia country star and one of the top songwriters of all time, not to mention a host of sold-out shows. Here’s a look at the top shows coming to the region in April: Top shows April...
Country singer Justin Fabus, a Dormont native, heading to London for a pair of shows
As of early April, Justin Fabus will be able to consider himself an international country artist. The Dormont native, currently based in Atlanta, will be making his first trip out of the country to play a pair of shows April 4 and 5 at the Lil’ Nashville Country Bar in...
Blink-182, Jimmy Eat World, AFI, Jawbreaker headlining this year’s Four Chord Music FestivalVideo
The Four Chord Music Festival is moving back to EQT Park — the baseball stadium for the Washington Wild Things — and this year’s lineup, fittingly, looks like a home run. Four Chord Music Fest 11 is set for Sept. 13-14, with Blink-182 and Jimmy Eat World headlining the first...
Disturbed guitarist Dan Donegan on ‘The Sickness’ 25th anniversary, new song and more ahead of Pittsburgh concertVideo
In 2020, Disturbed had been set to do a 20th anniversary tour to celebrate their 2000 album “The Sickness” before that got shelved by the covid-19 pandemic. Now five years later, they’re marking their landmark album with a 25th anniversary tour instead. “We’re excited to get back out and play...
Fust frontman Aaron Dowdy on ‘Spangled’ single, ‘Big Ugly’ album and songwriting ahead of Pittsburgh concertVideo
For Aaron Dowdy, the frontman for North Carolina’s Fust, choosing “Spangled” as the alt country band’s lead single seemed natural on a number of fronts. “’Spangled’ felt like a culmination of everything we had done so far, but also a bit of a leap. You hear the whole band in...
Jonas Brothers, JoJo Siwa announce Pittsburgh showsVideo
A pair of acts that shot to fame as teenagers will be playing shows in the Pittsburgh area later this year. The Jonas Brothers will be celebrating their 20th anniversary with their Jonas20: Living the Dream tour, which hits PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Nov. 12. And JoJo Siwa...
Pittsburgh local band spotlight: Rattle BonesVideo
“Silver Bullets,” the debut album from Rattle Bones, is “chock full of isolation blues, riff-happy rave-ups, guitar noir, three-part harmonies, bittersweet melodies, and a bitchin’ backbeat,” according to singer/guitarist Gary Martin. Or, in other words: “This record could be the soundtrack to your Saturday night excess or to your Sunday...
Poppy’s musical evolution continues in Pittsburgh concertVideo
The evolution of the musical artist known as Poppy continues, with Pittsburgh getting to see the latest iteration Saturday night. Poppy’s They’re All Around Us tour proved aptly named, as the lower floor at the Roxian Theatre in McKees Rocks felt tightly packed, with the rest of the venue crowded,...
Pittsburgh’s Old Neon releases new single ‘Nobody’s Burden’ from upcoming ‘Resolution’ EPVideo
In the early days of Pittsburgh’s Old Neon, the pop punk group aimed to put out a song every month. “It was also something to push us too, to try and create more to try to figure out, what kind of band are we?” guitarist Mike McInnes said. “What is...

