Jon Batiste tops Grammy Awards, winning 5 trophies
LAS VEGAS — Jon Batiste won album of the year honors for “We Are” at the Grammy Awards on Sunday, giving him five trophies on a night that saw the ’70s funk of Silk Sonic take record of the year and song of the year and newcomer Olivia Rodrigo take...
Pandemic isolation helps shape Greensburg family band’s new albumVideo
On “Lonely Telephone,” an EP released by Greensburg band Essential Machine about a decade ago, acoustic-based tunes bubble and float, underpinned by quirky xylophone pings and an indie-folk-music aesthetic. As the band — husband and wife R.J. and Karen Dietrich and their son, 20-year-old Robert — prepares to release its...
Grammy-nominated Rhonda Vincent brings bluegrass to the Lamp TheatreVideo
Rhonda Vincent learned to play the drums at age 6, the mandolin at 8, and the fiddle all before reaching her teenage years. She’s been recording bluegrass music since she was 5, with her family on “The Sally Mountain Show.” She is the fifth generation of her Missouri family to...
Unity’s Victory Brinker earns Guinness Record as youngest opera diva
Among pint-sized opera singer Victory Brinker’s early public appearances were the openings of the two Westmoreland Art Nationals exhibitions in spring 2019. “Her dad got in touch with us and asked if she could perform,” said Diane Shrader, executive director of the Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival, which sponsors the...
Maple House Music + Arts Festival to debut in Hartwood Acres Park
Entertainment manager Da’Lyn Bauman was meeting with Ghost Hounds, a Pittsburgh rock and blues band she manages. Music brought a harmony between them. “We quickly learned how drastically different our musical experiences had been, but the through-line that tied us all together was a deep love for storytelling and timeless...
Harmar guitarist’s band earns multiple Iron City Rocks awards
When he was teaching himself to play guitar at 12 years old, Matthew Kamenicky imagined being in a rock ’n’ roll band someday. What he couldn’t have imagined was that, not long after forming the rock group Steel Mill Rising, he’d be getting a call from an ESPN official asking...
Grammy predictions: AP writers debate who’ll triumph Sunday
The number of nominees for the Grammys’ top awards keeps growing, up to 10 this year, making the competition stronger, but predictions a lot trickier. Are too many pop artists going to split the vote, making an upset more likely? Can we even count on past wins as a guide?...
Foo Fighters cancel tour in light of drummer Taylor Hawkins’ death
Foo Fighters on Tuesday announced the cancellation of all remaining tour dates, including a scheduled stop in Western Pennsylvania later this spring. The announcement comes days after drummer Taylor Hawkins died while the band was on tour in Colombia. In a statement to fans, the band called the loss of...
Pittsburgh Symphony, United Way plan free benefit concert for Ukrainian refugees
Pittsburghers pull together in tough times, said Bobbi Watt Geer, president and CEO of United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania. She’s seen it happening as the United Way and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra prepare for a concert in support of humanitarian relief for the people of Ukraine. “In true Pittsburgh fashion, all...
Eagles soar with ‘Hotel California’ concert at PPG Paints Arena
Just as most Eagles fans will probably never forget where they were the first time they heard the song “Hotel California,” those at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday night won’t soon forget hearing the live version of the song that kicked off an in-concert performance of the entire “Hotel California”...
Pittsburgh’s Girl Talk to release full-length album with Wiz Khalifa, Smoke DZA, Big K.R.I.T.
Pittsburgh music producer Gregg Gillis made an international name for himself mashing things together — the Spencer Davis Group and Texas rappers Underground Kingz. Procol Harum and Lil’ Jon. Black Sabbath and Ludacris. On April 8, Gillis — better known as Girl Talk — will debut his latest effort, but...
Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins dead at 50
LOS ANGELES — Taylor Hawkins, for 25 years the drummer for Foo Fighters and best friend of frontman Dave Grohl, has died during a South American tour with the rock band. He was 50. There were no immediate details on how Hawkins died, although the band said in a statement...
New Orleans school board reverses little known ban on jazz
NEW ORLEANS — With its president saying it had racist origins, the New Orleans school board has unanimously reversed a little known but century-old ban on jazz in schools in a city that had a huge role in developing jazz and where it is still played nightly at various venues....
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra to play Beethoven symphonies in iconic local settings
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will break new ground — and cover new ground, too — with upcoming performances included in an extensive Beethoven in Your Neighborhood project. Under the baton of Music Director Manfred Honeck, the symphony will present all nine Beethoven symphonies in one week at iconic locations around...
Indie-pop violinist Kishi Bashi coming to Lawrenceville music hall
Audiophiles who were intrigued by “151a” — the trippy, melodic debut album by violinist/singer/songwriter Kishi Bashi — are in luck. The classically trained artist is in the midst of a tour celebrating the 10th anniversary of its release. The tour comes to the Thunderbird Cafe and Music Hall in Lawrenceville...
Violinist Chee-Yun reunites with Westmoreland Symphony for ‘Nuevo Tango’
Violinist Chee-Yun will return to the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra to perform Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla’s tango masterpiece, “The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.” The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in The Palace Theatre in downtown Greensburg. The whole program has a Latin inspiration,” said artistic director Daniel Meyer,...
Audacy reaches agreement to acquire WAMO format
One of Pittsburgh’s biggest radio conglomerates just got bigger. And more diverse. Audacy, Inc., owners of KDKA news radio, 93.7 The Fan, Y108, and 100.7 Star, announced Tuesday it has acquired WAMO Pittsburgh’s intellectual property and format from Martz Communications Group. WAMO is considered the only urban, hip-hop station in...
Machine Gun Kelly coming to Pittsburgh in August
Musician and actor Colson Baker, known professionally as Machine Gun Kelly (MGK), will play PPG Paints Arena on Aug, 2 in Pittsburgh as part of a North America and European tour. Produced by Live Nation, the tour features special guests Avril Lavigne and Travis Barker among others. It’s the first...
Ye no longer performing at Grammys
NEW YORK — Ye will not be performing at the Grammys this year. A report published in The Blast said that the musician was told Friday that his act had been pulled from the show, which is set to take place on April 3. A representative for Ye, who changed...
Johnnie Taylor among newest Blues Hall of Fame members
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Five people, an album, five singles and a book have been chosen to join this year’s Blues Hall of Fame class. The Memphis, Tennessee-based Blues Foundation said the 12 newest honorees of the Blues Hall of Fame will be celebrated at an event on May 4. Singers...
Quantum Theatre, Chatham Baroque celebrate 3 decades with ‘Idaspe’
Sharing the same anniversary year is reason to celebrate together. Pittsburgh’s Quantum Theatre and Chatham Baroque — both established in 1990 — are collaborating for “Idaspe” by Riccardo Broschi at the Byham Theater, Downtown from Oct. 7-15. The opera is directed by London composer and writer Claire van Kampen. “The...
Herman’s Hermits, Buckinghams bringing something good to The PalaceVideo
Peter Noone has been into something good since he was 15 in 1963, when he became the face and voice of the British Invasion band Herman’s Hermits. For Carl Giammarese, the same thing happened in 1965, when he joined the pop group The Buckinghams at age 18. A lot has...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: March 18-20
March Madness arrives in Pittsburgh weekend. Here are some ways to spend it between games. Penguin Palooza The National Aviary on the North Side is hosting Penguin Palooza from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Learn what makes penguins unique through interactive activities and special talks and trivia....
Mural of Pittsburgh rapper Frzy in Braddock is more than an image
When Pittsburgh rapper Harvey “Frzy” Daniels saw the mural of his likeness, he was in tears. “I was posting a video on Instagram, and I got to feeling emotional,” said Frzy, an East Liberty native and Emmy award-winning artist known for his record 31 consecutive hours for the longest freestyle...
Chicago blues, rock ‘n’ roll landmark easily overlooked
CHICAGO — As we make our way up the narrow, windowless, wooden stairway, we hear the jangly opening beats of The Rolling Stones’ “2120 South Michigan Avenue” playing from a portable speaker behind us. Our tour guide encourages us to “rub a little mojo” from the banister as we make...
