Kelsea Ballerini’s PPG Paints show was worth the wait
Country star Kelsea Ballerini postponed her February show in Pittsburgh after contracting the flu, to the disappointment of fans. After the rescheduled show at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday night, those patient fans left grinning — and the most infectious thing was the joy that she spread from the stage....
Spiritbox rides the wave of ‘Tsunami Sea’ in sold-out Pittsburgh concertVideo
Spiritbox’s Tsunami Sea tour proved to be aptly named, as the Canadian band unleashed wave after wave of crushing guitar and heavy-hitting metalcore Saturday night. The Grammy-nominated band played their first headline show in Pittsburgh, selling out the UPMC Events Center in Moon, on the strength of their “Tsunami Sea”...
Country rocker Cory Marks returns to Pittsburgh for 1st time since getting engaged hereVideo
Canadian country rocker Cory Marks has never played a show in Pittsburgh, but he’s looking forward to a return visit to the area later this month for sentimental reasons. “Pittsburgh’s got a piece of my heart, for sure,” Marks said in a recent phone call. That’s because Marks got engaged...
John Ondrasik of Five For Fighting discusses songs highlighting Ukraine, Israel and moreVideo
Five For Fighting (aka John Ondrasik) had a pair of platinum records in the early 2000s, on the strength of songs like “100 Years” and “Superman (It’s Not Easy),” with the latter becoming an anthem after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and earning him a spot on the lineup for...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: April 11-13
It’s a great weekend to love animals, music and the city we live in. Celebrate Pittsburgh — and yourself! — with these five events around town rocking all weekend long. 412 Day Block Party 412 Food Rescue will be celebrating 10 years of supporting the community on Saturday, 4/12. Included...
The 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards are coming up. Here’s who’s nominated and how to watch
NEW YORK — Excuse me, you look like you might want to see the next generation of country music acts clean up at the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards. Fans of the genre have long committed Ella Langley and Riley Green’s throwback duet, “You Look Like You Love Me”...
Michigan Rattlers’ Graham Young discusses ‘Waving From A Sea’ album ahead of Pittsburgh showVideo
Back in 2016, Rolling Stone tabbed Michigan Rattlers as one of 10 new country artists to watch, alongside Luke Combs and others. Nine years later, frontman Graham Young certainly doesn’t consider the band country now, if he ever did at all. “No, definitely not. You know, it’s just funny. I...
Clem Burke, multifaceted drummer of iconic rock group Blondie, has diedVideo
Clem Burke, whose versatile drumming propelled the iconic rock group Blondie during its decades performing everything from new-wave punk to disco-infused tunes, has died. He was 70. The band said in a statement on its website Monday that he died from cancer but no additional details were provided. “Clem was...
The Linda Lindas growing up from viral moment, headlining sold-out Pittsburgh showVideo
When The Linda Lindas played in Pittsburgh in September as part of Green Day’s show at PNC Park, drummer Mila de la Garza sported a T-shirt covered with Campbell’s Soup cans. It didn’t come from the nearby Andy Warhol Museum though. “The venue was right next to the museum, too,”...
Pittsburgh local music spotlight: BBGuns
The indie hip-hop duo BBGuns will be launching a residency at Bottlerocket Social Hall in Pittsburgh’s Allentown later this month. “It’s going to be a genre-bending variety show full of big beats, stories, jokes, friends new and old, as well as be a laboratory for new material,” said vocalist JP...
Disturbed was on fire at celebratory PPG Paints Arena show
For a few strange years in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a novel phenomenon hung around the Billboard charts. It was called “nu metal,” a dark infusion of alt-rock, hip-hop and heavy metal that made stars of acts like Limp Bizkit and Korn, at least for a while. Many...
Blues guitarist Chris Cain recalls memorable night in Pittsburgh with April 13 show on the horizonVideo
Blues guitarist Chris Cain can vividly recall a memorable night back in the early 1990s at The Decade, an old club in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. Actually what happened after the show proved to be unforgettable on his end. “At The Decade, they had a good bar,” Cain recalled in a...
Here are 5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: April 4-6
With rain in the forecast, it may be tempting to stay inside and scroll on your phone all weekend. But why do that when there are heaps of (indoor) events to enjoy instead? Here’s a few ideas. Steel City Con If you’re a big pop culture fan, there’s nowhere better...
Bruce Springsteen to release 7 albums of unreleased songs, ‘Tracks ll: The Lost Albums’
NEW YORK — Bruce Springsteen knows what Bruce Springsteen fans want. And that’s more Bruce Springsteen. The Boss will release seven new studio albums, titled “Tracks II: The Lost Albums,” on June 27. It will contain material written and re-recorded between 1983 and 2018. The news arrived Thursday morning via...
Podcast: What’s really driving up concert tickets?
Spring is here, bringing the start of concert season to Pittsburgh. With ticket prices soaring, affordability has become a key topic among concertgoers. Ticket prices are influenced by various factors, such as free-market resale and the dynamic pricing strategies used by major ticket vendors like Ticketmaster. TribLive reporter and reviewer...
Samantha Crain eschews ‘lone wolf’ mindset with ‘Gumshoe’ album, preps for Pittsburgh show
For almost two decades, Samantha Crain has toured more or less as a solo singer-songwriter, and her upcoming album “Gumshoe” explores steps in a different direction. “It’s led me to be a pretty independent person and also somebody that embodies that lone wolf mentality. The thing that I have started...
Free community band festival will take place in Murrysville
The 19th annual Three Rivers Community Band Festival will be held 2-5 p.m. Saturday at Franklin Regional Senior High School in Murrysville. The East Winds Symphonic Band, which founded the festival and is comprised of players from Pittsburgh and its eastern suburbs, will be joined by the Community Band South...
mssv guitarist Mike Baggetta talks ‘post-genre’ music, new album ahead of Pittsburgh showVideo
The experimental rock group mssv has a sound that defies categorization, but guitarist Mike Baggetta has opted for “post-genre” as a description. “It kind of started as a little tongue-in-cheek joke because people always go, what kind of music do you play? And I’m not gonna sit there and explain...
Daisy the Great discuss touring, new ‘The Rubber Teeth Talk’ album ahead of New Kensington showVideo
When Daisy the Great closed out their tour last April at Preserving Underground in New Kensington, the indie pop/rock duo didn’t take a ton of time off, getting to work almost immediately on new music. “In the year since we last talked, we made a record, which was really exciting....
Pittsburgh local band spotlight: XDBVideo
Xander Demos has toured with Ripper Owens, the former lead singer of Judas Priest, and opened for bands like Nelson, Winger and Steelheart locally, “but I am hoping that the best is yet to come.” Demos’ band, XDB, will be releasing a new single “When the Love Is Gone” on...
From Elvis to Taylor Swift: How concert ticket prices became a luxury expense
It cost $1.50 in advance to see Elvis Presley in 1956; $5.90 to see the Beatles in 1964; $17 to see Nirvana in 1993 (and Kurt Cobain was shocked that artists would charge $50 at the time). Even adjusted for inflation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI...
Mumford & Sons heading to Pittsburgh this fallVideo
The folksy British group Mumford & Sons on Friday released a new album and announced a tour, which includes a stop in Pittsburgh. The group known for banjo-infused songs like “I Will Wait” and “Hopeless Wanderer” will hit PPG Paints Arena on Oct. 19, with Michael Kiwanuka opening. Mumford &...
The Sex Pistols announce 1st North American tour in 2 decades
NEW YORK — It wasn’t the night punk broke, but it was close. Nearly 50 years ago, the Sex Pistols — then made up of vocalist Johnny Rotten, guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook and bassist Glen Matlock — performed at the 100 Club Punk Special in London, a 140-capacity...
Spiritbox, Kelsea Ballerini, Bob Dylan among top April concerts in Pittsburgh
April’s concert schedule for Pittsburgh is filling up, with a rising metal band, a multimedia country star and one of the top songwriters of all time, not to mention a host of sold-out shows. Here’s a look at the top shows coming to the region in April: Top shows April...
Here are 5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: March 28-30
It’s an artsy, tasty, dance-y, rocking weekend in Pittsburgh and with so many unmissable events, there’s no way you’ll run out of things to do. Get dressed up, grab some friends and enjoy! ‘Madama Butterfly’ Pittsburgh Opera will mount this groundbreaking new production of a Puccini classic this weekend (and...
