Black Pa. country musicians celebrate the Beyoncé effect, invite new listeners to stick around
This story first appeared in PA Local, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA taking a fresh, positive look at the incredible people, beautiful places, and delicious food of Pennsylvania. As Beyoncé’s rootsy new country singles “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ‘Em” usher in a new era for the superstar, other...
Baldwin-bred professional jazz guitarist stokes flames of family’s ‘musical royalty’
Shawn Purcell doesn’t remember the precise moment he decided to become a professional musician. He does know that it was during spring 1989, his senior year at Baldwin High School. Purcell had been accepted to the University of Ohio and planned to major in business and pre-law. Then, a switch...
Jelly Roll bringing Beautifully Broken tour to PittsburghVideo
Grammy Award-nominated country singer Jelly Roll is coming back to Pittsburgh. The multi-genre artist is bringing his Beautifully Broken tour to PPG Paints Arena on Oct. 5. He’ll be joined by Warren Zeiders and Alexandra Kay. With hit songs like “Son of a Sinner,” “Need A Favor” and “Save Me”...
Four Chord Music Fest 10 moves to Pittsburgh for 2024, lineup announced
The Four Chord Music Fest, featuring loads of national and local punk rock, pop punk and indie bands, is moving back to Pittsburgh for its 10th edition. The festival, which started in 2014 at the former Xtaza nightclub in the Strip District, has been at Wild Things Park in Washington...
Beatles to get Fab Four of biopics, a movie each for Paul, John, George, Ringo
NEW YORK — The Beatles are getting the big-screen biopic treatment in not just one film, but a Fab Four of movies that will give each band member their own spotlight — all of which are to be directed by Sam Mendes. For the first time, the Beatles, long among...
James Taylor, Dan + Shay concerts added this summer at Star LakeVideo
The concert lineup at the Pavilion at Star Lake got even more crowded with the addition of two more shows Tuesday. Pop duo Dan + Shay will visit the Burgettstown venue on Aug. 2, while singer-songwriter James Taylor, with his all-star band, will stop on Sept. 7. Taylor, who was...
Welcome to the ‘Hotel California’ case: The trial over handwritten lyrics to an Eagles classic
NEW YORK — In the mid-1970s, the Eagles were working on a spooky, cryptic new song. On a lined yellow pad, Don Henley, with input from band co-founder Glenn Frey, jotted thoughts about “a dark desert highway” and “a lovely place” with a luxurious surface and ominous undertones. And something...
Modern music, personal tragedy inform Carnegie Mellon professor’s classical compositionsVideo
Nancy Galbraith has been publishing her orchestral musical compositions since 1979. But even four-plus decades is a drop in the bucket, compared to the centuries’ worth of classical music written over the years. Galbraith, 72, composition chair and professor at Carnegie Mellon University, said her composing style has come a...
Drake and J. Cole wow old and new fans at PPG Paints Arena
Two legends can co-exist, and they did it Friday night as the Drake with J. Cole: It’s All A Blur Tour-Big As The What? hit the PPG Paints Arena stage for the first of two nights. It might have been snowy and cold outside, but Drake and J. Cole brought...
Jennifer Lopez making Pittsburgh concert debut in JulyVideo
Jennifer Lopez will make her Pittsburgh concert debut later this summer. The actress/singer’s This is Me … Now tour will stop at PPG Paints Arena on July 30. Her new album, “This is Me … Now,” comes out Friday and is accompanied by an Amazon Prime Video special, “This is...
Rising Pittsburgh artist Gloria Nyambura Mwarage talks about her love of music
It is a surprisingly warm afternoon in late January when Gloria Nyambura Mwarage, also known by her stage name GNM, walks into Field Day cafe in Lawrenceville. Mwarage’s peaceful aura complements the nature-esque atmosphere of the café, complete with monstera leaves and other plants in the space. Her voice flows...
Robert Plant, Alison Krauss bringing Can’t Let Go tour to PittsburghVideo
It’s been a long time since Robert Plant rock and rolled in Pittsburgh, but fans won’t have to wait “Evermore” — just until June. Plant, the former lead singer of Led Zeppelin, will reunite with Alison Krauss for the Can’t Let Go tour, with a stop June 15 at the...
Beyoncé acknowledges country music roots with 2 singles, upcoming album
During the Super Bowl, Beyoncé used a commercial to announce her next album — a country-themed follow-up to “Renaissance” being referred to as “Act II.” The new album will drop March 29, according to her website, which updated after the Verizon ad played shortly after halftime, saying “Drop the new...
Guitarist Selwyn Birchwood, nominated for 4 Blues Music Awards, heading to PittsburghVideo
Guitarist Selwyn Birchwood said he felt like calling his music blues wasn’t specific enough, so he invented the description of “electric swamp funkin’ blues” instead. “I think if you just say blues it doesn’t quite cover it,” Birchwood said earlier this month from St. Augustine, Florida. “But we do a...
Records show Usher and longtime partner Jenn Goicoechea got married after Super Bowl
LAS VEGAS — Usher and longtime partner Jenn Goicoechea married in Las Vegas just hours after the R&B superstar’s headline appearance at the Super Bowl halftime show, according to officials and documents. The officiant who wed the pair is known to dress as an Elvis Presley impersonator. The couple married...
Taylor Swift chugs beer, cuddles Blake Lively and gets mobbed as Chiefs beat 49ers in Super Bowl
LAS VEGAS — With t he run she’s having, how could Taylor Swift be on anything other than the winning side? Swift was smothered by her celebrity suite-mates at Allegiant Stadium when her significant other Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs c linched an overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers....
Looking for a logistical nightmare? Try to get rid of a piano
Getting into the piano business is a heavy decision. While that’s a bit of a bad pun, it’s also the truth. Piano dealers mostly have their own infrastructure in place to deal with one of the world’s heaviest instruments. But for people who have a piano and don’t want it...
Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Cher, Sade, Oasis, Ozzy Osbourne among Rock Hall nominees for ’24
NEW YORK — Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Cher, Lenny Kravitz, the late Sinéad O’Connor and heavy metal’s Prince of Darkness are some the 2024 nominees for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a wide musical net that also includes the pop-soul of Sade and Britpoppers Oasis....
Taylor Swift fans in region gear up for Swiftie-themed Super Bowl parties
Bianca Bodde plans a Swiftie twist to her Super Bowl party decorations this weekend. Fans of Taylor Swift — Swifties for short — are prepared to show up in full force with themed gatherings to watch the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers this Super Bowl Sunday....
Westmoreland student musicians to perform at annual Young Artists Competition recital
Franklin Regional student musicians had a strong showing in the annual Young Artists Competition, hosted by the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra and Seton Hill University. Panther students swept the competition’s Level I instrumental category, and earned nine spots on the winners’ list. Winners will take part in a recital Sunday at...
Justin Timberlake extends Forget Tomorrow tour, including Pittsburgh concertVideo
Justin Timberlake added 15 more concerts to his Forget Tomorrow tour, including a Pittsburgh date. The “My Love” and “SexyBack” singer will visit PPG Paints Arena on Dec. 14. For his first tour in five years, he will be out in support of his upcoming album, “Everything I Thought It...
Usher says it’s been a challenge to squeeze 30-year career into 13-minute Super Bowl halftime showVideo
LAS VEGAS — Usher found fitting a successful three decades of music into a super-short Super Bowl halftime show a challenge, but the multiple Grammy winner decided to concentrate on past hits, moments from his popular Las Vegas residency and possibly draw from his new album. “I was very mindful...
Review: ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ doesn’t stirVideo
Bob Marley was born in 1945, the son of an 18-year-old mother and a much older white man who had nothing to do with his son. As a boy raised in poverty, he often slept on the cold ground. Five years after moving to Kingston’s Trench Town, he made his...
‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’ coming to Disney+ in March
LOS ANGELES — The blockbuster “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert movie will join the Disney+ streaming service March 15. Walt Disney Co. announced Wednesday that it secured streaming rights to last year’s smash hit film in a deal that demonstrated, once again, the enormous appeal — and economic prowess...
Review: Dynamic guitar work shows Extreme is ‘More Than Words’ in Pittsburgh concert
Extreme may be best known for their two radio hits from the 1990s, “More Than Words” and “Hole Hearted.” But the hard rock band out of Boston showed they’re much, much more than power ballads in an electric performance as part of their Thicker Than Blood tour Tuesday night at...
