Reunited Blink-182 returning to Pittsburgh in May
Reunited and it feels so good for Blink-182 fans. Multiplatinum, award-winning pop-punk rockers Blink-182 are embarking on an extensive tour next spring that will bring the group to PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on May 17. The show will feature Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker reuniting for the...
Graham Nash on longevity, ‘new’ album with David Crosby, and smoking pot at 80: ‘It doesn’t affect my voice’
Graham Nash was 25 when he wrote his classic 1968 song, “Teach Your Children.” He recorded it a year later on the debut album by the then-budding supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash, which teamed him with David Crosby and Stephen Stills. Had anyone told Nash then that he would still...
Making the radical case for Sinéad O’Connor: She was right all alongVideo
Thirty years ago this month, Sinéad O’Connor tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II on “Saturday Night Live,” effectively destroying her mainstream career with a single act of protest against the Catholic Church. Then 25, the Grammy-winning Irish singer was an unlikely pop star. Known for the raw,...
Allman Brothers Band to release live recording of 1971 Pittsburgh debut
Many a classic rock fan made the trip to Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood to see plenty of now-legendary bands perform at the former Syria Mosque. The 1916 building, with its multicolored facade and sphinx statues out front, hosted everyone from Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry to Bob Dylan and Simon &...
In Loretta Lynn’s voice, the unflinching truth about love, motherhood and women’s livesVideo
Loretta Lynn had a voice made for telling the truth. High and flinty, with a bone-deep coal-country drawl that refused to fade even as she ascended to a queenly position in the Nashville star system, her singing sliced through polished arrangements like a sharpened blade. It could embody both the...
‘Health issues’ prompt postponement of Alan Jackson concert at PPG Paints Arena
The Alan Jackson concert scheduled for Saturday at PPG Paints Arena has been postponed. According to a statement from show organizers, the country music star has been dealing with “health issues” stemming from Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease for the past decade. The genetic condition causes nerve damage and has affected Jackson’s balance...
Depeche Mode announces 1st album, tour since Andy Fletcher’s death
LOS ANGELES — Depeche Mode will return next year with a new album, “Memento Mori,” and an accompanying tour of North America and Europe. The announcement comes only a few months after the group’s co-founder and keyboardist Andy Fletcher died at 60 in May. The album will be Depeche Mode’s...
Loretta Lynn, coal miner’s daughter and country queen, dies at 90Video
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Loretta Lynn, the Kentucky coal miner’s daughter whose frank songs about life and love as a woman in Appalachia pulled her out of poverty and made her a pillar of country music, has died. She was 90. In a statement provided to the Associated Press, Lynn’s family...
Ed Sheeran bringing Mathematics Tour to Acrisure Stadium next summer
Pop star Ed Sheeran will bring his “+ - = ÷ x Tour” (pronounced “The Mathematics Tour”) to Acrisure Stadium on July 8 with special guests Khalid and Rosa Linn. This will be Sheeran’s first show at the newly renamed stadium, but he’s played Heinz Field as opener for Taylor...
Hempfield church will mark 250th anniversary with organ concert
When organist Robert Copeland is practicing for the concert he’ll play Sunday at St. John’s Harrold Reformed United Church of Christ’s 250th anniversary, he won’t need to travel far to practice. That’s because Copeland, owner of the Robert Copeland Pipe Organ Co. of Jeannette, has a full pipe organ installed...
Genesis sells music catalog for $300M, report says
Genesis is selling its song catalog for a reported $300 million. A deal is expected to be announced soon between the band and the Concord music group, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. That arrangement will reportedly see Genesis and its star Phil Collins part ways with their recordings and...
‘Warriors Rock’ honors veterans, first responders with Irwin concert
Gary Racan and the studio e band will present “Warriors Rock,” a concert to honor veterans and first responders, at 6 p.m. Sunday in Irwin Park. Incorporated into the concert will be videos of eight area veterans, who will tell their stories and share a song that reminded them of...
Polka music lives on, thanks to the musicians of tomorrowVideo
Joe Grkman Jr. can recall his father playing the accordion as far back as he can remember. “He’d have a friend come over to play guitar along with him,” said Grkman, 70, a Westmoreland County native living in Venetia. Joe Sr. and his friend would play polka tunes, and, in...
Bruce Springsteen takes on Temptations, Supremes, Four Tops
NEW YORK — Bruce Springsteen takes on the Four Tops, Temptations, Supremes, Frankie Wilson, Jimmy Ruffin and other soul legends in an album of cover songs due out next month. The disc “Only the Strong Survive” is named for the Jimmy Butler song, among the 15 other cover songs, which...
Rich Engler documentary looks back at a storied concert career
Anyone who grew up going to rock concerts in the Pittsburgh area after 1970 probably has some idea who Rich Engler is. Engler — on his own and also as a member of the powerhouse promotions duo DiCesare Engler Productions with partner Pat DiCesare — promoted most of the major...
Jimmy Buffett postpones fall tour after ‘brief hospitalization’
Citing unspecified “health issues,” Jimmy Buffett has canceled two of his upcoming fall tour dates and postponed three others, including his Oct. 22 concert at San Diego State University’s new Snapdragon Stadium. In an announcement made Tuesday morning, the veteran singer-songwriter’s representatives stated that “on doctor’s orders,” Buffett “must take...
Big summer concerts at PNC Park generated $40.9M in spending
If you went to one of the big concerts at PNC Park in Pittsburgh this summer, you contributed to the city’s economy — in a big way, according to new numbers released by VisitPittsburgh on Tuesday. According to the city’s official tourism agency, the four shows drew 160,150 visitors to...
After years of hustle, Blxst is leading the new wave of LA hip-hop
LOS ANGELES — On a suffocating afternoon in early September, the cavernous Hollywood Palladium was unnaturally empty. Inside, the South-Central hip-hop artist Blxst (pronounced “Blast”) ran through a soundcheck before his second sold-out show at the 4,000 capacity venue. Midway through, he and his band rehearsed their rendition of “Die...
Saint Vincent offers mid-day acoustic guitar concert
Saint Vincent College will present an acoustic guitar performance on Thursday afternoon on its campus in Unity. Joseph Materkowsk, a singer songwriter and professor in the college’s fine arts department, will play cover songs from the 1950s to today as well as original compositions as part of the Music at...
Rihanna to headline the next Super Bowl halftime show
NEW YORK — Rihanna will take center stage at February’s Super Bowl halftime show. The singer, who declined to perform in the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show out of solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, will headline the 2023 Super Bowl, the NFL announced Sunday along with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and Apple...
Elton John plays White House lawn as part of farewell tour
WASHINGTON — Elton John said Friday that he’d played in some beautiful venues, but the stage in front of the White House, beneath a massive tent on a perfect autumn night, was “probably the icing on the cake.” Then he kicked off the show with “Your Song,” his first big...
‘Revolutionary But Gorgeous’ captures Pittsburgh activist, rapper’s emotional turmoilVideo
As Pittsburgh activist, podcast host and rapper Farooq Al-Saïd was writing what became his new record, “Revolutionary But Gorgeous,” he was going through a dark period in his life. “I had come to a point where I’d cry as part of my workout and keep moving, but I didn’t feel...
Ari Lennox’s ‘age/sex/location’ revels in infatuationVideo
NEW YORK — Writer’s block confined Ari Lennox during the creation of her latest album, “age/sex/location,” but her label head and friend, rap superstar J. Cole, suggested she begin journaling to unlock her creativity. “He was like, ‘I just want you to write and just don’t stop for a certain...
Goo Goo Dolls at top of their game in stunning Stage AE showVideo
When one thinks of great bands from the 1990s, the Goo Goo Dolls may not be among the first ones that come to mind. But Thursday evening at Stage AE on the North Shore, the band with one of rock ‘n’ roll’s strangest names emptied its large sack of hit...
Donnie Iris to celebrate 80th birthday with UPMC Events Center bash
First it was Paul McCartney, who turned 80 last June. Now it’s “King Cool” Donnie Iris’ turn to celebrate eight decades on the planet. Iris announced plans Tuesday for an 80th birthday bash on March 11, 2023, at the UPMC Events Center at Robert Morris University in Moon with special...
