Mike Palm stories, Page 3

The Cheats, a veteran punk band from Pittsburgh, released their latest album, “Old Rats on a New Ship,” on Friday, but it was actually the second album of originals they put together since 2020’s “Cussin’, Crying ‘N’ Carrying On.” “We actually had a whole record done with another member, but...

Benefits’ first full-length album, “Burnout,” presents the songs in the order they were written, based on events ripped from the headlines from 2020-23. “The words and imagery in these songs really are faithfully harvested from the events that were happening and reported in the news over those years,” said Bill...

It’s been more than three months since Mark Farner’s American Band played a concert, so he’s amped for the next show on his calendar, a June 26 stop at Jergel’s Rhythm Grille in Warrendale. “When we hit the stage, man, it’s like this big explosion,” said Farner, the original singer/guitarist...

Pop-punk music is still going strong, and look no further than Avril Lavigne’s Greatest Hits tour for proof. The Canadian singer, who broke out as a teenager in 2002 with songs like “Complicated” and “Sk8er Boi,” sold out New York’s Madison Square Garden last month, with the tour making a...

The Pittsburgh band 9sundays has been around since 2008, with the current lineup together for the past seven years. Their latest album, “Scream,” came out on June 4 and was a five-year effort, with an album release show later this month. ”It was a collaborative effort with everyone in the...

New Kink, a Pittsburgh indie band formed in the past few years, released their debut album, “Canon,” earlier this month. “We’ve put a lot of work into this album and we’re really proud of it,” singer Victoria Susan said. “We set out to create a sound that is something that...

Tracey Singleton’s return to punk-ska-funk pioneers Fishbone in 2024, after a 22-year absence, came about unexpectedly. Singleton, also known as Spacey T, had watched some videos online and sent a message to guitarist Mark Phillips, saying that the lineup sounded great and needed to make a record. (Fishbone’s most recent...

Two bandmates in Pittsburgh’s Nowhere Wolves are organizing the second annual Loud & Proud Music Festival, a grassroots LGBTQ+ music event. The festival, set to run from noon to 8 p.m. June 8 at Allegheny City Brewing, will benefit the Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation, which helps to improve the health...

Forgive New Order fans if they took the lyric “I used to think that the day would never come” from 1987’s “True Faith” and applied it to the chances of the band ever playing Pittsburgh again. It has been almost 38 years and counting since the seminal post-punk/dance rock band...

Dark pop singer Ellise is going out on her first headlining tour this summer, and she couldn’t have been happier when she learned where it would be starting. Her Pretty Evil tour kicks off in Pittsburgh — July 31 at Thunderbird Music Hall in Lawrenceville, to be precise — bringing...

Singer-songwriter Joan Osborne first shot to fame in 1995 with her hit single “One of Us,” so she certainly met her share of famous people, citing Liza Minnelli, Eric Clapton and Luciana Pavarotti as examples. And then there was Bob Dylan, who was (and is) at a different level. “Someone...

Although singer Mia Z is only 26 years old, she said she feels like a veteran of the music business, thanks to an appearance on NBC’s “The Voice” as a teenager. “I don’t even share with people often all that I have gone through in the music business because when...

It’s been six years since Pittsburgh’s The Gotobeds released their last album, with plenty of upheaval in between 2019’s “Debt Begins at 30” and “Masterclass,” which just came out last Friday. In that time, there have been two member changes, a label switch, a year-long mixing delay and the covid-19...

Much like the reds, whites and rosés bottled at his Caduceus Cellars & Merkin Vineyards in Arizona, Maynard James Keenan is aging like a fine wine. The enigmatic singer, who fronts progressive metal giants Tool as well as A Perfect Circle and Puscifer, launched Sessanta — which means 60 in...

Is there any rock band, playing at the arena level, that is more versatile than Pearl Jam? The veteran Seattle rockers – who have moved far beyond their grunge days – continued to make their case in a sold-out show Friday night at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Visiting the...

Baroness frontman John Baizley had always felt a little resistant to the idea of playing older albums in full live. But he gradually warmed up to the concept, with the progressive metal band playing their first two releases, “Red Album” and “Blue Record,” at a pre-holiday show in December. The...

In the early days of Pierce the Veil, the post-hardcore band would throw in fun, unexpected covers — from R&B to hip hop to pop — as a surprise in their sets. It just so worked out that they were doing a Wiz Khalifa song when they hit Pittsburgh’s Stage...

Multiple Grammy-winner Billy Strings expanded his fall tour into Europe and North America, including a pair of shows in Pittsburgh. Strings, who blends traditional bluegrass with folk and jam band music, will play PPG Paints Arena on Nov. 7 and 8. His latest studio album, “Highway Prayers,” debuted in 2024...

The band Broom only started a few years ago, and they don’t take it for granted when a crowd is singing their songs back to them. Much like when they opened for Winger’s Reb Beach at Jergel’s in 2023, playing to a receptive audience. “It was the closest we’ve gotten...

Guitarist Scarlett McKahey had cut back her touring with Australian rockers Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers after a diagnosis of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome in 2023. But the opportunity to open shows for Pearl Jam on their current Dark Matter tour was too good to pass up. “I’ll just...

If Thursday night proved to be AC/DC’s last concert in Pittsburgh, the hard rock legends went out with a bang … or make that a whole lotta bangs. The Australian rockers, making their first Pittsburgh appearance in more than 16 years, played a career-spanning show on their Power Up tour...

With Matt Andersen’s latest album, “The Hammer & The Rose,” producer Josh Van Tassel convinced the veteran Canadian singer-songwriter to try a different approach from his previous effort. “He’d seen me live a bunch, and the moments when we’d chill out on stage a lot, those parts in the show...