Pittsburgh local band spotlight: Mégane
The indie rock band Mégane — “drawing inspiration from ’70s pop melodies, ’80s post-punk soundscapes and ’90s aesthetics,” according to guitarist Justin Crookston — will release their debut EP “St. Clair” on March 21. The band, which started in Greensburg, will play a show to celebrate the EP release the...
Here are 5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: March 14-16
If turning out for the St. Patrick’s Day parade isn’t your thing, there are lots of other events happening around the city this weekend — and even some non-green-beer-related holidays to celebrate. Check out some ideas here. Shamrock and Roll Time for weekend two of Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s new festival,...
John Lennon gets honored on U.K. coin collection in what would have been his 85th year
LONDON — John Lennon is being honored in a specially minted British coin collection to mark the year the Beatles great and peace advocate would have turned 85, the Royal Mint said Friday. The coin, which will go on sale on Monday, features a portrait of Lennon that is based...
Metal star Poppy on taking risks, Grammy interview and ‘Improbably Poppy’ ahead of Pittsburgh showVideo
As Poppy’s star continues to rise in the world of heavy metal, the genre-blurring singer isn’t abandoning her past as a subversive performance artist. Far from it, actually. After gaining cult status with Andy Warhol-esque YouTube videos like “Poppy Eats Cotton Candy” in 2014, the 30-year-old has released a half...
Live Nation sets the stage for new concert venue in Pittsburgh’s Lower Hill
Live Nation is turning up the volume in Pittsburgh. The global entertainment giant broke ground Thursday on its new concert venue, Citizens Live at the Wylie, set to energize the Lower Hill District. Community leaders, elected officials and representatives of Citizens Financial Group, Live Nation and the Pittsburgh Penguins gathered...
Billy Joel postpones tour due to medical condition, but 1st date back is in Pittsburgh
LOS ANGELES — The Piano Man will take a break from touring to focus on something other than his music: his health. Grammy winner Billy Joel announced Tuesday that he will postpone his latest tour for four months because of a “medical condition.” A statement via the “Piano Man” and...
Interview: Folk rockers Palmyra opening Restless tour in PittsburghVideo
It’s looking like a significant couple of weeks for the folk rock trio Palmyra as it gears up to head out on its first headline tour. The jam-packed days for the queer band from Virginia start Wednesday with five shows at the South by Southwest musical festival. Their Restless tour...
Security video shows fiancee of glam metal singer jumped off cruise ship
Security video reportedly shows that Kimberly Burch, the fiancee of Faster Pussycat singer Taime Downe, jumped overboard from a Royal Caribbean ship cruise ship, Nassau police cleared Downe of any wrongdoing, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas ship is registered in the Bahamas, so...
Pittsburgh local band spotlight: Chip & the Charge Ups
Pittsburgh hard rockers Chip & the Charge Ups will be back for the third iteration of Beasts of the ‘Burgh, a showcase spotlighting four local bands. “Most local and national concerts feature one great headlining band and one or more bands of lesser caliber as openers,” Chip Dominick said. “In...
Kraftwerk’s ’70s electropop still sounds as modern as ever
Stepping into Stage AE on the North Shore on Friday night felt like taking a time machine back to the 1970s — just with way better sound and cooler visuals. Kraftwerk has been playing their revolutionary electronic music for more than five decades, and they’re probably the most influential band...
Tracii Guns on L.A. Guns’ new ‘Leopard Skin’ album: ‘It’s definitely not a metal record’Video
Asked to take a 10,000-foot view of L.A. Guns’ 40-plus-year career, guitarist/founder Tracii Guns offered a succinct description: “What a cluster(expletive),” he said with a laugh. Founded in 1983, the sleaze rock band has seen dozens of members (including Axl Rose), dueling lineups at times and a lifetime of drama....
Coldplay working with FIFA to produce first-ever World Cup final halftime show for 2026
DALLAS — Coldplay vocalist Chris Martin is working with FIFA to curate the first Super Bowl-style halftime show at the World Cup final next year. The MetLife Stadium in New Jersey — to be known as New York New Jersey Stadium for the World Cup — will host the final...
Joey Molland, a guitarist with 1970s Welsh pop-rock band Badfinger, dies at 77
EDINA, Minn. — Joey Molland, a guitarist with the Welsh pop-rock band Badfinger that was known for such 1970s hits as “No Matter What” and “Day After Day,” has died at age 77. Molland was the last to join and had been the last survivor from the most famous lineup...
Pittsburgh local band spotlight: Aliquid Novi
For Adam Levine, his new project, Aliquid Novi, allows him to channel vulnerability into stories told through songs, reinforcing positive feelings and providing an outlet for negative ones. His new album “HEAT” comes out on March 20, with a release party that night at the Funhouse at Mr. Smalls in...
Interview: Solas’ Seamus Egan on ending the Celtic band’s hiatus, timely covers ahead of Pittsburgh showVideo
After an eight-year break, the Celtic ensemble Solas is marking its 30th anniversary with a tour, but it took a little bit of time to get back into shape, according to multi-instrumentalist Seamus Egan. “This run for us is about five weeks which, having not been touring for so long,...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Feb. 28-March 2
We’re all ready to put winter in the rear view, and there’s some hope now that March is here. But there’s still a chill in the air, so here are some fun things to do on (hopefully) one of the last winter weekends for a while. Jurassic Quest For the...
Dormont musician to celebrate new record and the label that released it with VFW show
On March 15, Josh Oswald is set to take the stage, Roland-style drum machine and his trusty black-and-white Fender Jazzmaster guitar in tow, to make some noise at Dormont’s Veterans of Foreign Wars lodge. The live set will celebrate the area musician’s latest adventure under the nom de guerre Spacebastard,...
Kraftwerk, Donnie Iris, Tyler, the Creator among top March concerts in Pittsburgh
A Pittsburgh icon, electronic music pioneers and an enigmatic rapper are among the top concerts coming to the region in March: Top concerts March 1 and 15: Donnie Iris and the Cruisers at the Palace Theatre Pittsburgh rock luminary Donnie Iris will hit the stage at the Palace Theatre in...
Summer concert, car show set for Westmoreland Fairgrounds
Music fans, motorcycle lovers and car cruise enthusiasts are the target audience for a three-day extravaganza, June 27 to 29 at the Westmoreland Fairgrounds near Mutual. Eleven bands are scheduled to perform at the Whiskey Throttle Fair, which also will feature tattoo artists and food trucks, said Michael Morelli, 31,...
Sabrina Carpenter bringing Short N’ Sweet tour to Pittsburgh for 2 nightsVideo
Fresh off a pair of wins at the Grammys, pop singer Sabrina Carpenter will be giving Pittsburgh two chances to see her. The “Espresso” and “Please Please Please” singer announced a pair of shows, Oct. 23 and 24, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, kicking off the new leg of...
Shaggy with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra? More natural than you’d think
Yes, that Shaggy. Mr. Boombastic himself. The reggae musician of the 1990s and 2000s who advised anyone caught cheating red-handed to declare “it wasn’t me.” Probably the last musician you’d expect to get onstage in front of a whole symphony orchestra and perform for 90 minutes. Well, he did it....
Interview: Singer-songwriter Ron Pope talks about his ‘American Man, American Music’ album ahead of Pittsburgh showVideo
Singer-songwriter Ron Pope will be back in Pittsburgh on Saturday, and it should be a more pleasant time than his most recent, albeit unintentional, stay. Pope joined several artists on Feb. 16 in Morgantown, W.Va., to record an episode of “Mountain Stage” for NPR radio stations, but weather conditions axed...
Tommy Castro and the Painkillers, touring in support of ‘lowdown blues’ album, heading to PittsburghVideo
Tommy Castro and the Painkillers might be more of a contemporary blues band with their original songs, but Castro really wanted to make an album that channeled his influences like Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Elmore James and Muddy Waters. “I love all that old funky stuff, and we kind of...
Roberta Flack, Grammy-winning singer with an intimate style, dies at 88
NEW YORK — Roberta Flack, the Grammy-winning singer and pianist whose intimate vocal and musical style on “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and other hits made her one of the top recordings artists of the 1970s and an influential performer long...
Pantera opening tour with show at Pavilion at Star LakeVideo
Heavy metal veterans Pantera will open their U.S. summer tour with a date in the Pittsburgh area. Touted as “the heaviest tour of the summer,” Pantera will be joined by Swedish metal stalwarts Amon Amarth for a July 15 show at the Pavilion at Star Lake, with another opener still...
