Grand Funk Railroad co-founder Mark Farner bringing ‘explosion of love’ for Pittsburgh area showVideo
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...
Pittsburgh singer Lou Christie dies at age 82
Native Pittsburgh singer Lou Christie, who scored No. 1 Billboard hit with “Lightnin’ Strikes” in 1966, has died. He was 82 years old. His wife, Francesca, told the Hollywood Reporter that Christie died at home in Pittsburgh after an undisclosed illness. In an Instagram post on Wednesday, the Sacco family...
Q&A: Avril Lavigne celebrating pop-punk glory days (and more) in Greatest Hits tourVideo
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...
Pittsburgh local music spotlight: 9sundaysVideo
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...
Rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, briefly shows up to support Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs at trial
NEW YORK — Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, briefly showed up to the New York sex trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs on Friday to support the hip-hop mogul, a longtime friend. Ye, dressed in white, arrived at Manhattan federal court before noon while the trial was...
Hempfield brings back annual summer concert series with CCR tribute
The 1960s and ’70s hits of American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival will echo throughout the amphitheater in Hempfield Park on Sunday, as the township’s annual summer concert series returns. The “Amp Up Your Summer” concert series was launched in 2019 to expand on the township’s annual Community Days, a...
A Grammy category is created for album covers just as Sabrina Carpenter’s takes the spotlight
The Recording Academy has tweaked some of its rules for the 2026 Grammy Awards, including carving out a stand-alone category for best album cover — a day after Sabrina Carpenter sparked considerable discourse unveiling what is believed to be the cover for her next album. The academy on Thursday announced...
Here are 5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: June 13-15
Even if you’re tired of the U.S. Open and avoiding the area as best you can, there are still fun events to check out this weekend throughout the Pittsburgh area. Here are a few ideas. Babesburgh Bash Women of Western Pennsylvania, it’s time to celebrate with the second annual Babesburgh...
Atlanta rapper Silentó gets 30 years after pleading guilty to killing his cousin
Silentó, the Atlanta rapper known for his hit song “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” pleaded guilty but mentally ill Wednesday to voluntary manslaughter and other charges in the 2021 shooting death of his 34-year-old cousin. The 27-year-old rapper, whose legal name is Ricky Lamar Hawk, was sentenced to 30 years in...
Brian Wilson, Beach Boys visionary leader and summer’s poet laureate, dies at 82
Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys’ visionary and fragile leader whose genius for melody, arrangements and wide-eyed self-expression inspired “Good Vibrations,” “California Girls” and other summertime anthems and made him one of the world’s most influential recording artists, has died at 82. Wilson’s family posted news of his death to his...
Allegheny RiverTrail Park summer concert series returns
Good music, tasty food, and a beautiful view can make any summer night perfect. This year, Allegheny RiverTrail Park will once again offer all three with its free summer concert series. On the second Friday of June, July, August and September, music lovers will gather at the park to watch...
David Byrne announces Pittsburgh showVideo
David Byrne, the innovative musician and founding singer of the Talking Heads, announced a new album and world tour Tuesday — with a stop in Pittsburgh. His new album, “Who Is The Sky?”, will be released Sept. 5, and Byrne will perform at the Benedum Center on Sept. 16. It...
John Lennon’s onetime companion May Pang brings photo exhibit to Sharpsburg
Musician John Lennon has reached mythical status over the years, first as a member of the industry-changing group The Beatles and then as an enigmatic artist and figure in his own right before his assassination in 1980. Now, with a new exhibition by onetime companion May Pang, fans are getting...
Sly Stone, leader of funk revolutionaries Sly and the Family Stone, dies at 82
NEW YORK — Sly Stone, the revolutionary musician and dynamic showman whose Sly and the Family Stone transformed popular music in the 1960s and ’70s and beyond with such hits as “Everyday People,” “Stand!” and “Family Affair,” has died. He was 82 Stone, born Sylvester Stewart, had been in poor...
Lisa Loeb, Suzanne Vega rock Three Rivers Arts Festival despite the weather
The longstanding Three Rivers Arts Festival always attracts top-tier musical talent, and another year is in the books after this weekend. That being said, next year’s festival organizers might consider some kind of prayer circle or ritual to appease whatever weather god cursed this event long ago. As is tradition,...
Pittsburgh local music spotlight: New KinkVideo
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...
Tony Awards laud android rom-com ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ and history-making ‘Purpose’
NEW YORK — “Maybe Happy Ending,” a rom-com about androids that crackles with humanity, had a definite happy ending at Sunday’s Tony Awards. It won best new musical on a night when Kara Young made history as the first Black person to win two Tonys consecutively for “Purpose,” which also...
SummerSounds opens season with The Seven Wonders
The Seven Wonders, a Fleetwood Mac tribute band, opened the SummerSounds concert series in Greensburg’s St. Clair Park. The concert series amassed a combined attendance of 28,500 people and drew more than $1 million in economic impact to Greensburg last season, co-founder Gene James said. SummerSounds has focused on best...
Talking Heads video stars Saoirse Ronan, illustrates surreal daily existence
Saoirse Ronan embodies the je ne sais quoi that is 50 years of Talking Heads music in a video for the venerable art rockers’ “Psycho Killer” that dropped this week. Ronan captures the ennui of everyday existence and how masses of humanity lead lives of quiet exasperation. The video also...
Fishbone guitarist Tracey Singleton talks about his surprise return after 22 yearsVideo
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...
Here are 5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: June 6-8
If you’re in search of a more lowkey day out and want to avoid the Arts Festival crowds, there’s still plenty to do around town this weekend. Here are five events to check out instead. ‘The Shark is Broken’ at barebones productions “Jaws” was the original blockbuster film in the...
2 Western Pa. recovery nonprofits seek donations to continue sober space at Stage AE
Janice Olson considers herself living proof that it’s possible to have fun at a concert while sober. But for people in substance-use-disorder recovery, the heavy presence of drugs and alcohol can take the focus away from enjoying performances by a favorite musician. Olson, director of operations at Hempfield-based recovery nonprofit...
Pittsburgh local music spotlight: Nowhere WolvesVideo
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...
George Strait and Chris Stapleton put on a Texas-sized show at Acrisure Stadium
First and foremost, I have a bone to pick with Mother Nature. As one very talented man asked onstage at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday night, “Why you gotta be so cold?” This often being the time of year when the region’s country fans flock to the North Shore for a...
Q&A: New Stanton musician sounds taps at great-great-grandfather’s grave
Josiah Inghram joined the 130th Pennsylvania Regiment in the fall of 1862, at the age of 17. He trained in Harrisburg under Col. Henry Zinn and was quickly ordered to Antietam, where his regiment saw its first combat during the Civil War. More than 160 years later, his great-great-grandson Jay...
