Tom Petty guitarist Mike Campbell opens up about life after the Heartbreakers
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Mike Campbell is feeling grateful. “I’ve been blessed to do what I love,” the acclaimed musician says. “And I’m going to keep on doing it — because it’s all that I know how to do, really.” And that’s a big reason for fans to feel grateful...
Morgan Wallen reschedules 2 shows at PNC Park in Pittsburgh
Morgan Wallen’s two concerts this summer at PNC Park in Pittsburgh have been postponed from June to August. The country music star went on social media on May 9 and announced that six weeks worth of shows would need to be postponed because of a vocal injury he suffered over...
Signed in purple ink, Minnesota dedicates highway to Prince
CHANHASSEN, Minn. — The late pop superstar Prince is being honored in Minnesota as the state renames a seven-mile stretch of highway that runs past his Paisley Park recording studios. Minnesota Gov. Tim Waz used purple ink on Tuesday to sign the bill that dedicates the roadway formerly known as...
‘Hamilton’ star Renee Elise Goldsberry has Pittsburgh Symphony datesVideo
Tony Award-winning performer Renee Elise Goldsberry will return to a city filled with fond memories when she appears this weekend with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The actor and singer who originated the role of Angelica Schuyler in the Broadway smash “Hamilton” is a Carnegie Mellon University graduate. She also lived...
Mars Volta’s lead singer broke with Scientology and reunited with the band. His battles with the church aren’t over
LOS ANGELES — In October 2022, the Mars Volta walked onto the stage of a sold-out Hollywood Palladium for their first L.A. show in a decade. For three nights, to nearly 12,000 fans in total, the punk/prog/Latin band — with core members Cedric Bixler-Zavala, 48, and Omar Rodríguez-López, 47 —...
20 years after country music canceled the Chicks, they have no regrets: ‘It set us free’
When the Chicks aren’t working, the three members keep a group text going to stay in touch about band matters and about one another’s families — and to trade jokes, “the more inappropriate the better,” says lead singer Natalie Maines. If people could read what they write, the 48-year-old adds...
Jury finds Ed Sheeran didn’t copy Marvin Gaye classicVideo
NEW YORK — A federal jury in New York concluded Thursday that British singer Ed Sheeran didn’t steal key components of Marvin Gaye’s classic 1970s tune “Let’s Get It On” when he created his hit song “Thinking Out Loud,” prompting Sheeran to joke later that he won’t have to follow...
Violent Femmes’ Gordon Gano revisits band’s debut album as it turns 40
Gordon Gano was still a high school kid when he wrote all the songs on Violent Femmes’ 1983 self-titled debut, an album that captured teen angst with songs such as “Blister In The Sun,” “Add It Up” and “Gone Daddy Gone.” Raging hormones, unrequited love, seething resentment and unsettling anxiety...
Rage Against the Machine, Willie Nelson, George Michael among Rock Hall inductees
NEW YORK — Rage Against the Machine, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Chaka Khan, “Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius and the late George Michael have all been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with Kate Bush also finally reaching the top of that hill. The Cleveland-based institution announced...
Jonas Brothers to play 5 albums in 1 night in Pittsburgh
The Jonas Brothers are heading out on a 35-date stadium and arena tour, with the boys making a fall stop in Pittsburgh. The brothers — Kevin, Nick and Joe — plan a rather ambitious outing by committing to play five albums in one night on “The Tour,” which will stop...
Billy Idol shows no signs of slowing down in Pittsburgh concertVideo
It’s been a while since Billy Idol played Pittsburgh. Almost 22 years, in fact. But it didn’t take very long Monday night to remind the sold-out crowd at UPMC Events Center in Moon Township what they had been missing. Idol ripped through 14 songs (plus an extended guitar solo from...
Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot dies at 84
TORONTO — Gordon Lightfoot, Canada’s legendary folk singer-songwriter known for “If You Could Read My Mind” and “Sundown” and for songs that told tales of Canadian identity, died on Monday. He was 84. Representative Victoria Lord said the musician died at a Toronto hospital. His cause of death was not...
Aerosmith’s farewell tour visits Pittsburgh in September
LOS ANGELES — Aerosmith will be touring a city near you for the last time to celebrate the rock band’s 50-plus years together. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band announced Monday the dates for their farewell tour called “Peace Out” starting Sept. 2 in Philadelphia. The 40-date run...
Luke Combs kicks off summer concert season at Acrisure Stadium
Country star Luke Combs was the first headliner of the concert season at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday. The CMA Entertainer of the Year is known for hits like “Beer Never Broke My Heart” and “Going, Going, Gone.” Brent Cobb, Flatland Cavalry, Lainey Wilson and Riley Green opened for Combs. Combs...
Summer concerts, movies coming to Hartwood Acres, South Park
One sure sign of warmer days ahead is the annual release of Allegheny County’s lineup of summer concerts and movies. On Thursday, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald announced this summer’s slate, which includes concerts, movies and cars cruises — all for free. The summer concert series kicks off June 2...
Ed Sheeran, on guitar, gets musical with a New York jury
NEW YORK — In a packed New York courtroom, Ed Sheeran picked up his guitar Thursday and launched into a tune that has him locked in a copyright dispute over Marvin Gaye’s soul classic “Let’s Get it On” as the only audience that mattered — a jury — looked on....
Grande Hall in North Side hosts singer-songwriter Jeff Black
Recording artist Jeff Black will perform a special show at 7 p.m. April 29 at the Grande Hall at the Priory Hotel, 614 Pressley St., North Side. Black, a singer-songwriter with over a decade of experience, released his 12th album, “A Walk In The Sun,” in January 2020. Produced by...
Lizzo, Blink-182 among top concerts to see around Pittsburgh in May
The concert season is really starting to pick up in the Pittsburgh region as the weather warms up. Here’s a look at the most notable shows coming to the area in May: May’s top shows May 1: Billy Idol, Kelsy Karter and the Heroines at UPMC Events Center Veteran glam...
Still playing strong, Jeannette Community Band marks 35th anniversary
Joe Scarlett was — in his words — sitting “fat, dumb and happy” watching television in 1988 when a friend called and asked him if he still had his clarinet. “I hadn’t seen it since 1964,” said Scarlett, 76, of Monroeville. “Then I remembered I’d lent it to a friend.”...
Harry Belafonte, activist and entertainer, dies at 96
Harry Belafonte, the civil rights and entertainment giant who began as a groundbreaking actor and singer and became an activist, humanitarian and conscience of the world, has died. He was 96. Belafonte died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at his New York home, his wife Pamela by his side, said...
Singer R. Kelly moved to North Carolina prison from Chicago
BUTNER, N.C. — Singer R. Kelly was moved from a Chicago correctional center to a medium-security prison in North Carolina last week, according to federal officials. Robert Sylvester Kelly was transferred from the Metropolitan Correctional Center Chicago to the federal correctional institution in Butner, North Carolina, on April 19, Federal...
Youth choir concert at First Presbyterian in Greensburg to benefit music scholarship
The Chapel Youth Choir and Festive Ringers will perform a concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 28, in the sanctuary at First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg. Free-will donations will be accepted for the Montreat Worship and Music Youth Scholarship. The choir and ringers are touring musicians from Abington Presbyterian Church...
Did Ed Sheeran hit pilfer Marvin Gaye classic? Trial to tell
NEW YORK — Jury selection began Monday in a trial that mashes up Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” with Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.” The heirs of Ed Townsend, Gaye’s co-writer of the 1973 soul classic, sued Sheeran, alleging the English pop star’s hit 2014 tune has “striking similarities”...
Q&A: Why ‘Dear Mama’ director took on Tupac despite attackVideo
LOS ANGELES — Filmmaker Allen Hughes thought participating in any Tupac Shakur project was a farfetched idea especially after surviving a brutal altercation involving him and the rap legend three decades ago. For years, Hughes firmly held a grudge even after a public apology from Shakur — who along with...
K-pop star Moon Bin found dead at homeVideo
SEOUL, South Korea — Moon Bin, a singer from South Korean boyband Astro, was found dead at his home in Seoul, his management agency said Thursday. The 25-year-old was reportedly found by his manager who went to the singer’s home Wednesday evening because he wasn’t responding to contacts. Police are...
