Western Pennsylvania's trusted news source
Top Pittsburgh concerts for October: Lorde, Tate McRae, Sabrina Carpenter and more | TribLIVE.com
Music

Top Pittsburgh concerts for October: Lorde, Tate McRae, Sabrina Carpenter and more

Mike Palm
8906818_web1_ptr-Lorde-092925
Invision/AP
Lorde performs during the Glastonbury Festival in Worthy Farm, Somerset, England, on June 27, 2025.
8906818_web1_ptr-TateMcRae-093025
Invision/AP
Tate McRae performs “Sports Car” during the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 7, 2025, at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y.
8906818_web1_ptr-SabrinaCarpenter-093025
Invision/AP
Sabrina Carpenter performs “Tears” during the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 7, 2025, at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y.

A trio of women, all with sold-out arena shows, headline the top Pittsburgh concerts in October.

Top concerts

Oct. 3: Lorde, The Japanese House, Chanel Beads at Petersen Events Center

Lorde, the unconventional pop star from New Zealand, brings her Ultrasound world tour in her first show in Pittsburgh.

Known for early hits like “Royals” and “Team,” Lorde dropped her fourth studio album, “Virgin,” on June 27.

”You can tell by listening to the album that I’m not perfect,” she said in an interview with Dazed. “I’ve constantly (messed) up since I was a teenager. But there was something ascribed to me — a kind of distance, or mystery. Something not very fleshy and mortal. And I needed to bring that in a little bit.”

Read more: Lorde: ‘This is me: All the gore and (expletive-ups)’

Oct. 15: Tate McRae, Alessi Rose at PPG Paints Arena

Canadian pop singer Tate McRae brings her Miss Possessive arena tour to Pittsburgh in a show that should be laced with high-energy dance routines.

The 22-year-old McRae, who recently performed at the MTV VMAs, released her latest album, “So Close to What,” in February.

“Even though it’s work, writing feels like my safe space,” she told Rolling Stone. “The stable part of my life is when I’m able to talk about my feelings. So, I feel like amidst how crazy the year was on tour, it actually was nice to come home and keep writing about my perspective on where I was at in life.”

Read more: Hear Tate McRae take control on single ‘Tit For Tat’

Oct. 23-24: Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Dean, Amber Mark at PPG Paints Arena

Pop singer Sabrina Carpenter will headline two nights in Pittsburgh on her Short N’ Sweet tour.

Carpenter, who has had hits like “Espresso,” “Please Please Please” and “Manchild,” is riding high after the release of her latest album, “Man’s Best Friend,” in August. The Pennsylvania native also will host “Saturday Night Live” later this month.

“I do think that men have been a super entertaining species to watch … in positive and negative ways,” Carpenter told Vogue Italy, according to People. “I feel really adored and inspired and loved by some of them … and really confused and attacked and ridiculed by others.”

Read more: Sabrina Carpenter says men are a ‘super entertaining species to watch … in positive and negative ways’ — here’s why

Sold-out shows

Oct. 4: Bela Fleck, Edmar Castaneda and Antonio Sanchez at MCG Jazz Music Hall

Banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck, an 18-time Grammy winner, will be joined by harpist Edmar Castaneda and drummer Antonio Sanchez.

Oct. 5: Sombr, Devon Gabriella at Petersen Events Center

Indie pop rocker Sombr, who released his debut album “I Barely Know Her” in August, had his show bumped up from Thunderbird Music Hall to the Roxian Theatre to the Petersen Events Center because of demand.

Oct. 18: Jesse McCartney, Ana Sky at Roxian Theatre

Jesse McCartney rose to fame as a teen pop sensation in the early 200s with his solo album (and song) “Beautiful Soul” after spending time in boy group Dream Street.

Other notable shows

Oct. 1: Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, Corrosion of Conformity at the Pavilion at Star Lake (Q&A: Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner discusses latest album with Pittsburgh show on the horizon)

Oct. 1: Toad the Wet Sprocket, Vertical Horizon at Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall

Oct. 3: Biohazard, Onyx, Baywall, Swollen Teeth at Preserving (Q&A: Biohazard guitarist Billy Graziadei on reunion of classic lineup ahead of tour opener in New Kensington)

Oct. 3: Feeble Little Horse, Kassie Krut, Forty Winks at Mr. Smalls Theatre

Oct. 3: Geoff Tate’s Operation: Mindcrime at the Palace Theatre

Oct. 5: Brent Cobb & the Fixin’s, Gold Star at Thunderbird Music Hall (Q&A: Brent Cobb on adding a little more rock to his country with ‘Ain’t Rocked in a While,’ Pittsburgh show)

Oct. 7: T-Pain, Earthgang, Armani White at Stage AE

Oct. 8: The Psychedelic Furs, Gary Numan at Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland

Oct. 9: Crowder, Passion Music, Louie Giglio, Kari Jobe Carnes & Cody Carnes at Petersen Events Center

Oct. 10: Jeff Daniels at City Winery Pittsburgh

Oct. 10: Peach Pit at Roxian Theatre

Oct. 14: Aly & AJ, Amanda Shires at Stage AE

Oct. 14: David Archuleta at Thunderbird Music Hall

Oct. 15: Violent Femmes at Stage AE

Oct. 18: Cody Johnson, Clint Black, Walker Montgomery at PPG Paints Arena

Oct. 19: Mumford & Sons, Michael Kiwanuka at PPG Paints Arena

Oct. 19: Kings of Thrash, Red Devil Vortex, Seizure at Crafthouse

Oct. 23: Patty Griffin, Rickie Lee Jones at Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland

Oct. 28: Andy Bell of Erasure at Roxian Theatre

Oct. 31: Cameron Whitcomb, Ben Cottrill at Roxian Theatre

Mike Palm is a TribLive digital producer who also writes music reviews and features. A Westmoreland County native, he joined the Trib in 2001, where he spent years on the sports copy desk, including serving as night sports editor. He has been with the multimedia staff since 2013. He can be reached at mpalm@triblive.com.

Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.

Get Ad-Free >

Categories: AandE | Editor's Picks | Music
Content you may have missed