The Palace Theatre’s mid-September lineup has string of big names
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For singer Amy Grant, there’s always a risk in performing live — and it has nothing to do with covid conditions.
“The risk of live music is that you can’t do it over, but that’s the beauty of it, too,” said Grant, who has a Sept. 17 show at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg. “It’s like a figure eight, an infinite back-and-forth with the audience that inspires us to dig deeper.
“Nothing stays the same night after night, so we’re not just dialing it in,” she said. “We work really hard to make it an evening each one of us would love to attend.”
Grant’s appearance is just one in a string of big names coming in mid-September to Greensburg’s premiere entertainment venue.
Her current tour is a 30th-anniversary celebration of “Heart in Motion,” her 1991 album that included the five-times-platinum hit, “Baby Baby,” along with what she called “a walk-through of four decades of music.”
Grant started her career as a contemporary Christian music artist and has also been successful crossing over into pop.
Her show at The Palace begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $38-$98.
If Grant can pull from four decades of music, Tommy James can go one better with five-plus decades of hits.
He and The Shondells will return to The Palace for a show at 6 p.m. Sept. 19. Tickets are $48-$90.
“I always love coming back to where it all started for me,” James said. “Pittsburgh-area fans know how to rock, and we owe them a great deal.”
The original Shondells were a band James saw playing his first hit, “Hanky Panky,” in a Greensburg nightclub when he came through the area on an early tour.
These days, he’s backed by a different iteration of the group, but they’ll be playing “as many of those old hits as we can cram into the time we have on stage,” he said. They’ll also delve into songs from 2019’s “Alive,” their first studio album in 10 years.
James stayed busy during the pandemic with his Sirius radio podcast and working on getting his autobiography, “Me, the Mob, and the Music,” into production as both a movie and a musical. Still, he said, there’s nothing like being live on stage.
“You don’t realize how much you miss the music until you can’t do it,” he said. “(The Palace) will be our fourth show back, so we’re still ramping up.
“Like an athlete, you have to build up your stamina,” he said. “So if I forget the words to ‘Hanky Panky,’ they’ll have to forgive me — and there’s only six of them.”
Steady ticket prices
Concert-goers will find no significant difference in pre-pandemic ticket prices, said Jennifer Benford, director of marketing and development for Westmoreland Cultural Trust, which operates the theater.
“We haven’t noticed any significant increases in pricing. Some of the shows are the rescheduled dates, so the prices were set pre-covid,” she said. “For shows that were booked after covid, the prices seem to be in line with what we would expect in typical years — similar or a slight increase in price from the previous year or two that they performed here.
“Prices are generally set by the promoter after taking into account all the expenses, including artist fees, venue rentals, personnel, equipment, etc.,” she said. “Depending on the contract, the artist’s management may request final approval of the prices. They may also request a (maximum) price for tickets.”
“This fall is the busiest we have ever seen,” said Trust CEO April Kopas. “With nearly 50 shows remaining in 2021, there are plenty of chances to take in a live performance. We are hopeful that this is a harbinger of things to come in 2022.”
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In addition to James and Grant, the September run of big names at The Palace includes:
• Jamey Johnson, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 9 — The much-lauded country singer/songwriter has song of the year awards from both the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music, along with 11 Grammy Award nominations. His 2012 Grammy-nominated album, “Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran,” featured Willie Nelson, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Ray Price, Elvis Costello, George Strait, Vince Gill and Merle Haggard.
Tickets: $50.75-$70.75, and an additional $4.25 with purchase at the door
• Ani DiFranco, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 14 — Singer/songwriter whose music is often labeled as folk rock and alternative rock, with punk, funk, hip hop and jazz influences. Her best-known songs include “Both Hands,” “Shy,” “Untouchable Face” and “Dilate.” DiFranco’s 22nd studio album, “Revolutionary Love,” was released in January.
Tickets: $39.75-$49.75
• Squeeze, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 16 — Hits from the English new wave band include “Tempted,” “Black Coffee in Bed” and “Pulling Mussels.” The band’s current iteration is fronted by original members and award-winning songwriting duo, Chris Difford and Glenn Tillbrook. Special guests will be Fastball, nominated for a 1999 Grammy Award for “The Way.”
Tickets: $49.77-$69.75, additional fee with purchase at the door
• The Guess Who, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 18 — The Canadian rockers conquered the U.S. airwaves during the 1970’s with Top 40 hits like “These Eyes,” “Hand Me Down World,” “No Time,” “Share the Land,” “American Woman,” “No Sugar Tonight,” “Laughing” and “Undun.” The current lineup is fronted by founding member and original drummer, Garry Peterson.
Tickets: $48-$118
• Lou Christie and Gary Lewis and The Playboys, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 29 — Christie, born Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco in Allegheny County, topped the late-1960’s pop charts with his falsetto-voiced hits, “Lightnin’ Strikes” and “I’m Gonna Make You Mine.” He made news in 1966, when his “Rhapsody in the Rain” was banned on many radio stations due to its suggestive lyrics.
Gary Lewis and The Playboys went straight to number one in 1964 with their first single, “This Diamond Ring.” Hits like “Count Me In,” “Save Your Heart For Me,” “Everybody Loves A Clown,” “She’s Just My Style” and “Sure Gonna Miss Her” followed. Showbiz trivia: Lewis is the son of the late actor/comedian Jerry Lewis.
Tickets: $43-$75
And more …
Coming in October are more musical headliners, such as Clay Walker, David Foster, Little River Band, Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson, Sebastian Bach, Loverboy and The Monkees farewell tour.
The November schedule includes The Lettermen, Cheap Trick, Al Di Meola, Gary Puckett and The Union Gap, Chuck Blasko’s Vogues and Cahal Dunne.
Finishing out 2021 will be a December evening with Cornell Gunter’s Coasters, The Drifters and The Platters and two nights with REO Speedwagon.
Some shows have been rescheduled from their original pre-pandemic dates. Tickets for the original dates will be honored.
A Sept. 15 appearance by Al Stewart and The Empty Pockets has been rescheduled for April 16, 2022, due to the artist’s age and concerns about the coronavirus delta variant.
For information and tickets, call 724-836-8000 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays or visit thepalacetheatre.org.