Q&A: Chuck D talks rap’s rise through ‘Fight the Power’ docVideo
LOS ANGELES — Hip-hop became a cultural phenomenon against the backdrop of American history, and now Public Enemy’s Chuck D has committed himself to explore the artform’s origins. Chuck D rounded up several rap greats — including Ice-T, Run DMC and MC Lyte — who offered their firsthand accounts ahead...
Themes of romance, revenge drive Pittsburgh Opera’s ‘Il Trovatore’
Audience members at the Pittsburgh Opera production of “Il Trovatore” might be reminded of a popular medieval fantasy television series. “In many ways, the setting and staging of ‘Il Trovatore’ feels like it could be from scenes of ‘Game of Thrones,’ minus the White Walkers and dragons,” said Christian Cox,...
Saliva guitarist dies day after band played outside Pittsburgh
Wayne Swinny, the guitarist for the rock band Saliva, died Wednesday, a day after the group played at Jergel’s Rhythm Grille in Warrendale. Swinny, the last remaining original member of the band, died Wednesday of a spontaneous brain hemorrhage after being hospitalized Tuesday, according to a post on the band’s...
What made Beethoven sick? DNA from his hair offers clues
NEW YORK — Nearly 200 years after Ludwig van Beethoven’s death, researchers pulled DNA from strands of his hair, searching for clues about the health problems and hearing loss that plagued him. They weren’t able to crack the case of the German composer’s deafness or severe stomach ailments. But they...
Sly Stone book to be released through new Questlove imprint
NEW YORK — Questlove has his own book imprint and is launching it with a memoir by one of the world’s most influential and enigmatic musicians, Sly Stone, leader of Sly and the Family Stone. “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” named for the Sly and the Family Stone...
Pioneer of gospel music rediscovered in Pittsburgh archivesVideo
PITTSBURGH — Scattered in crates, dirty and difficult to read, the gospel music of composer Charles Henry Pace sat packed away, unorganized — and unrealized — for more than 20 years. Frances Pace Barnes, the pioneering music publisher’s daughter who remembers how he could turn a hum into a song,...
Willie Nelson honored with Texas educational endowment
AUSTIN, Texas — Weeks after winning more Grammys, Willie Nelson is getting a new kind of honor: a university endowment in Texas. The 89-year-old country music icon, who in the 1980s helped launch the Farm Aid benefit concerts, is the namesake of the new Willie Nelson Endowment for Uplifting Rural...
Peter Gabriel tour coming to Pittsburgh this fallVideo
Peter Gabriel is back this year with a new studio album and tour, which will be making a stop on Saturday, Sept. 23 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. The English singer-songwriter and musician’s new album “i/o” is his first album of new material since 2002’s “Up.” The release of...
Taylor Swift kicks off U.S. Eras Tour at Super Bowl stadium
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Taylor Swift opened her U.S. concert series with a three-hour tour of her career. Swift kicked off the first concert of the 52-date Eras Tour with a six-song set from her album “Lover” on Friday night at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where the Super Bowl...
Jim Gordon, rock drummer who killed mother, dies at 77
LOS ANGELES — Jim Gordon, the rock ‘n’ roll session drummer who played on classic records by Eric Clapton, George Harrison and The Beach Boys but suffered from growing mental health problems and spent the second half of his life in prison for killing his mother, has died at 77....
Kevin Hart signs new deal with SiriusXM, rebranded show airs
LOS ANGELES — Kevin Hart will keep his comedic candor going with SiriusXM. But this time he’ll bring along more recognizable figures from outside the comedy realm. The satellite radio company announced Wednesday that it has signed Hart and his entertainment company, Hartbeat, to a multi-year deal. As part of...
Three Rivers Community Band Festival relocates to MurrysvilleVideo
Members of the East Winds Symphonic Band should be preparing for the 20th annual Three Rivers Community Band Festival. But, the covid-19 pandemic forced the festival to skip the past three years. So while it has been around for two decades, it technically will be the 17th year for the...
Review: U2 reworks past in thrilling ‘Songs of Surrender’Video
“Songs of Surrender,” U2 (Universal) Imagine walking into your living room and all your stuff is there, but it’s different. The sofa has moved, the bookcase is leaning on a different wall and the framed photos have swapped locations. That’s the feeling you get listening to U2’s new album. “Songs...
Woody Guthrie’s family to Josh Hawley: Stop using his lyrics, insurrectionist
WASHINGTON — Sen. Josh Hawley referenced Woody Guthrie last week when he sponsored a bill to prevent people associated with the Chinese Communist Party from owning U.S. farmland and called it the “This Land is Our Land Act.” But the family of one of America’s most revered folk singers wasn’t...
Illness sidelines Bruce Springsteen tour as 3 concerts postponed
SOUTH AMBOY, N.J. — Bruce Springsteen’s planned performance Tuesday in Albany has become the third concert in a week postponed by the New Jersey rocker, who cited illness as the reason in a tweet Sunday but did not give specifics. The postponements come a month into Springsteen’s first major tour...
Billy Porter to embark on very first national concert tour: ‘I’m excited for the terror’
Billy Porter is planning to strike a new pose this spring — but he wants his fans to manage their expectations accordingly. The Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award-winning multi-hyphenate announced Thursday he will embark on his very first national tour this spring. However, it won’t contain any of the high-flying,...
Westmoreland Symphony’s ‘Grand Piano’ features world-renowned soloistVideo
“Grand Piano” is the title of Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming concert — but it arguably could be called “Welcome to the Machine.” The program begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in The Palace Theatre in Greensburg with a piece by contemporary American composer Jennifer Higdon called simply, “Machine.” “Her music in...
Fan favorite Lainey Wilson leads CMT Music Awards nomineesVideo
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Country singer Lainey Wilson is a fan favorite at this year’s CMT Music Awards, where she is the leading nominee including for Video of the Year. The “Heart Like a Truck” singer earned four nominations when nominees were announced Wednesday ahead of the April 2 show airing...
Taylor Swift, Pink to be honored at 2023 iHeartRadio Awards
NEW YORK — Taylor Swift will receive the 2023 iHeartRadio Innovator Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards later this month, which will feature performances by Kelly Clarkson, Keith Urban, Pat Benatar, Muni Long, Cody Johnson, Coldplay and Pink, who is this year’s Icon Award recipient. The Innovator Award is presented...
Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa tour coming to Pittsburgh area
Two rappers with Pittsburgh connections are bringing their tour to the area this summer. Wiz Khalifa, who was grew up in Pittsburgh, and Snoop Dogg, a self-professed member of Steeler Nation, will visit the Pavilion at Star Lake on July 18 as part of the High School Reunion Tour. Also...
2 dead in stampede at GloRilla concert in New York
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The death toll rose to two on Monday following a stampede at a rap concert in Rochester, New York, that authorities said may have been triggered by unfounded fears of gunfire. The Memphis rap stars GloRilla and Finesse2tymes had finished performing Sunday night at Rochester’s Main Street...
Christian Thielemann leads Vienna Philharmonic U.S. tour
NEW YORK — During the height of the coronavirus pandemic in November 2020, when Vienna was shut down and people were allowed outside mainly to walk their dogs, Christian Thielemann was stopped by a police officer in the Heldenplatz. “What are you doing?’” he recalled the officer asking. “I said...
Joni Mitchell honored with Gershwin Prize at tribute concertVideo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — When Joni Mitchell finally took the stage near the end of an all-star tribute concert honoring her as this year’s recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, she opted to perform a cover rather than one of her own songs. The 79-year-old music...
GZA, Donnie Iris, John Mayer among top concerts to see around Pittsburgh in March
As the weather starts to warm up, so too does the concert season for the Pittsburgh region. Here’s a look at the most notable shows coming to the area in March: March’s top shows March 3: Jerry Harrison, Adrian Belew at Roxian Theatre Guitarist Adrian Belew joins Talking Heads co-founder...
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s 2023-24 season to celebrate ‘Power of NOW’
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s 128th season will include programs across diverse genres, from rock ’n’ roll, soul and R&B to the Great American Songbook, holiday favorites and movie themes. Kicking off in September, it also will include new and returning guest conductors and soloists, new recordings, the Pittsburgh debuts of five...
