Suzanne Vega talks ‘Tom’s Diner,’ ‘Luka,’ ‘Lover Beloved’ and playing in OakmontVideo
Suzanne Vega recalls sitting backstage at “The Arsenio Hall Show” in 1990 when her manager told her, “I need to play this thing for you.” The “thing” was an unauthorized remix of her a cappella song “Tom’s Diner.” Her record label, A&M, wanted to sue the two British electronic music...
Local music legend Bill Deasy returns for show at The Oaks, with new album online for free
Bill Deasy wasn’t planning on making his new album, “If the Creek Don’t Rise.” Nor was he planning on playing a show featuring his new and favorite songs at The Oaks on April 22. But Deasy — the longtime singer, songwriter, solo artist and front man of The Gathering Field...
Bluesman Kenny Wayne Shepherd brings 25 years of ‘Trouble’ to GreensburgVideo
The Palace Theatre is in the sweet spot of venues where blues guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd likes to play. “There’s something to be said for playing to 20-, 30-, 50,000 people that is an experience unto itself, but there’s something to be said for playing the more intimate venues,” Shepherd...
Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band returns to Pittsburgh in JuneVideo
Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band will play PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on June 18, as part of the second leg of tour dates initially planned for 2020. The former Beatle and his supergroup originally were scheduled for a June 20, 2020, date in Pittsburgh that was canceled because...
‘Year of the Cat’ singer-songwriter Al Stewart performs Saturday at the Palace Theatre
Folk rock singer and guitarist Al Stewart remembers driving down Sunset Strip decades ago in the bright sunshine of West Hollywood, Calif., in a yellow Karmann Ghia. The year was 1976 and Stewart had a hit song called “Year of the Cat” — but he wasn’t fully aware of just...
Philly’s Boat House Row brings ‘yacht rock’ to Irwin’s Lamp TheatreVideo
Put on your Sperrys and Ray-Bans and sail away to the smooth sounds of yacht rock. Boat House Row will cruise from Philadelphia to The Lamp Theatre in Irwin for a show at 8 p.m. April 15, celebrating the soft rock that filled the airwaves in the late 1970s and...
Pink Floyd members reunite to record song for Ukraine
LONDON — Pink Floyd is releasing its first new music in almost three decades to raise money for the people of Ukraine, the band announced Thursday. “Hey Hey Rise Up” features Pink Floyd members David Gilmour and Nick Mason, with vocals from Ukrainian singer Andriy Khlyvnyuk of the band BoomBox....
Jazz musician Bill Heid to perform at Joey’s in ExportVideo
Bill Heid can remember being in his father’s studio, George Heid Productions, and seeing famous musicians like Billy Strayhorn, Henry Mancini and George Benson walk through its doors to record. “A lot of the Pittsburgh jazz greats recorded their first demo at my dad’s studio,” said Heid, who has been...
Ed Sheeran wins copyright case over 2017 hit ‘Shape of You’Video
LONDON — Grammy Award-winning songwriter Ed Sheeran won a U.K. copyright battle over his 2017 hit “Shape of You” on Wednesday, then slammed what he described as a “culture” of baseless lawsuits intended to squeeze money out of artists eager to avoid the expense of a trial. The British pop...
Jon Batiste tops Grammy Awards, winning 5 trophies
LAS VEGAS — Jon Batiste won album of the year honors for “We Are” at the Grammy Awards on Sunday, giving him five trophies on a night that saw the ’70s funk of Silk Sonic take record of the year and song of the year and newcomer Olivia Rodrigo take...
Pandemic isolation helps shape Greensburg family band’s new albumVideo
On “Lonely Telephone,” an EP released by Greensburg band Essential Machine about a decade ago, acoustic-based tunes bubble and float, underpinned by quirky xylophone pings and an indie-folk-music aesthetic. As the band — husband and wife R.J. and Karen Dietrich and their son, 20-year-old Robert — prepares to release its...
Grammy-nominated Rhonda Vincent brings bluegrass to the Lamp TheatreVideo
Rhonda Vincent learned to play the drums at age 6, the mandolin at 8, and the fiddle all before reaching her teenage years. She’s been recording bluegrass music since she was 5, with her family on “The Sally Mountain Show.” She is the fifth generation of her Missouri family to...
Unity’s Victory Brinker earns Guinness Record as youngest opera diva
Among pint-sized opera singer Victory Brinker’s early public appearances were the openings of the two Westmoreland Art Nationals exhibitions in spring 2019. “Her dad got in touch with us and asked if she could perform,” said Diane Shrader, executive director of the Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival, which sponsors the...
Maple House Music + Arts Festival to debut in Hartwood Acres Park
Entertainment manager Da’Lyn Bauman was meeting with Ghost Hounds, a Pittsburgh rock and blues band she manages. Music brought a harmony between them. “We quickly learned how drastically different our musical experiences had been, but the through-line that tied us all together was a deep love for storytelling and timeless...
Harmar guitarist’s band earns multiple Iron City Rocks awards
When he was teaching himself to play guitar at 12 years old, Matthew Kamenicky imagined being in a rock ’n’ roll band someday. What he couldn’t have imagined was that, not long after forming the rock group Steel Mill Rising, he’d be getting a call from an ESPN official asking...
Grammy predictions: AP writers debate who’ll triumph Sunday
The number of nominees for the Grammys’ top awards keeps growing, up to 10 this year, making the competition stronger, but predictions a lot trickier. Are too many pop artists going to split the vote, making an upset more likely? Can we even count on past wins as a guide?...
Foo Fighters cancel tour in light of drummer Taylor Hawkins’ death
Foo Fighters on Tuesday announced the cancellation of all remaining tour dates, including a scheduled stop in Western Pennsylvania later this spring. The announcement comes days after drummer Taylor Hawkins died while the band was on tour in Colombia. In a statement to fans, the band called the loss of...
Pittsburgh Symphony, United Way plan free benefit concert for Ukrainian refugees
Pittsburghers pull together in tough times, said Bobbi Watt Geer, president and CEO of United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania. She’s seen it happening as the United Way and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra prepare for a concert in support of humanitarian relief for the people of Ukraine. “In true Pittsburgh fashion, all...
Eagles soar with ‘Hotel California’ concert at PPG Paints Arena
Just as most Eagles fans will probably never forget where they were the first time they heard the song “Hotel California,” those at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday night won’t soon forget hearing the live version of the song that kicked off an in-concert performance of the entire “Hotel California”...
Pittsburgh’s Girl Talk to release full-length album with Wiz Khalifa, Smoke DZA, Big K.R.I.T.
Pittsburgh music producer Gregg Gillis made an international name for himself mashing things together — the Spencer Davis Group and Texas rappers Underground Kingz. Procol Harum and Lil’ Jon. Black Sabbath and Ludacris. On April 8, Gillis — better known as Girl Talk — will debut his latest effort, but...
Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins dead at 50
LOS ANGELES — Taylor Hawkins, for 25 years the drummer for Foo Fighters and best friend of frontman Dave Grohl, has died during a South American tour with the rock band. He was 50. There were no immediate details on how Hawkins died, although the band said in a statement...
New Orleans school board reverses little known ban on jazz
NEW ORLEANS — With its president saying it had racist origins, the New Orleans school board has unanimously reversed a little known but century-old ban on jazz in schools in a city that had a huge role in developing jazz and where it is still played nightly at various venues....
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra to play Beethoven symphonies in iconic local settings
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will break new ground — and cover new ground, too — with upcoming performances included in an extensive Beethoven in Your Neighborhood project. Under the baton of Music Director Manfred Honeck, the symphony will present all nine Beethoven symphonies in one week at iconic locations around...
Indie-pop violinist Kishi Bashi coming to Lawrenceville music hall
Audiophiles who were intrigued by “151a” — the trippy, melodic debut album by violinist/singer/songwriter Kishi Bashi — are in luck. The classically trained artist is in the midst of a tour celebrating the 10th anniversary of its release. The tour comes to the Thunderbird Cafe and Music Hall in Lawrenceville...
Violinist Chee-Yun reunites with Westmoreland Symphony for ‘Nuevo Tango’
Violinist Chee-Yun will return to the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra to perform Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla’s tango masterpiece, “The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.” The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in The Palace Theatre in downtown Greensburg. The whole program has a Latin inspiration,” said artistic director Daniel Meyer,...
