Turkish pop star jailed over joke about religious schools
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish pop star Gulsen has been arrested on charges of “inciting hatred and enmity” with a joke she made about Turkey’s religious schools, the country’s state-run news agency reported. The 46-year-old singer and songwriter, whose full name is Gulsen Colakoglu, was taken away from her home in...
Blondie opens vaults for a hefty box set celebrating cool
NEW YORK — For decades, a New Wave treasure trove sat in a converted barn. For fans of the band Blondie, it was the equivalent of the Ark of the Covenant tucked away in a rickety storage space. Inside the building just outside Woodstock, New York, were 100 reel-to-reel tapes,...
Greensburg Music Fest returns for 4th year, featuring bluesman Jimmy Adler
Pittsburgh bluesman Jimmy Adler will make his first appearance at the Greensburg Music Fest on Saturday, as the free live music event returns for its fourth year. Hosted by the Westmoreland Cultural Trust, the event will feature music for all ages and tastes on three outdoor stages and in The...
Former Shondell Mike Vale’s Crystal Blue Band to hold final concert Saturday in Latrobe
Mike Vale can vividly recall the details of the night his life changed dramatically in January 1966. He and his band, The Raconteurs (not to be confused with the modern Jack White-affiliated band), were playing at the Thunderbird Lounge in Greensburg. “Who, of all people, walks into the Thunderbird Lounge...
Cindystock backyard music fest benefitting cancer screenings returns to Wexford
An annual event for a good cause that folks in the area look forward to each summer is returning to the Wexford home of founders Cindy and Ted Yates. The 19th annual outdoor music festival known as Cindystock is set for Aug. 20 beginning at 4 p.m. Tickets are $50...
Metallica roars through Pittsburgh in display of classic metal dominanceVideo
Metallica didn’t show any signs of slowing down in their visit to Pittsburgh’s PNC Park on Sunday night. The veteran thrash metal band — if “classic metal” isn’t a thing like classic rock, it should be — played a two-hour set that might have blown the roof off if they...
Concert review: Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett rock PNC Park
Four bands transported PNC Park back to the Three Rivers Stadium era when The Stadium Tour finally came to Pittsburgh on Friday. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Poison, Def Leppard and Motley Crue combined for a raucous six-and-a-half-hour concert that delighted fans both young and old. Multiple bands remarked on...
PNC Park fans love Billy Joel just the way he isVideo
It had been six years since Billy Joel last played a concert at PNC Park when he showed up at Pittsburgh’s baseball palace Thursday night. But Joel hadn’t forgotten what his fans wanted from him and did he ever give it to them. “Good evening Pittsburgh. Long time no see,”...
Westmoreland community-band members combine for patriotic concerts
Musicians representing five Westmoreland County community bands will perform patriotic concerts at the Flight 93 Memorial and in Gettysburg this month. “Sitting beside people you don’t know, pulling out a sheet of music and giving a beautiful performance is the thing I love most,” said Patti Marco, an Allegheny Township...
3 major concerts, 4 nights — Pittsburgh readies to rock
Pittsburgh baseball fans may not be satisfied with the amount of pyrotechnics provided by the Pirates at PNC Park this season, but Steel City rock and roll fans will surely be satisfied with the musical fireworks the ballpark has in store over the next week. The coming days feature the...
Smokey Robinson surging at 82, with biopic and 2 new albums pending: ‘Retirement doesn’t work for me!’
There is a very sound reason Motown music legend Smokey Robinson doesn’t perform “The Impossible Dream,” the classic song of hope and self-affirmation from the 1965 Broadway musical, “Man of La Mancha.” “Being able to have a musical career was my impossible dream. I always wanted a musical career, but...
Blairsville band joins Beasts of the Burgh rock show at Mr. SmallsVideo
There’s a reason why Nashville is called “Music City USA.” As the center of the country music industry, and with one of the nation’s most vibrant, competitive music scenes, it can create an intimidating situation for a band making its first trip to Tennessee’s capital. Don’t tell that to Mike...
North Huntingdon-based pop-punk band On Your Nerves anticipates release of new album
Caleb Andrykovitch has been singing ever since he could talk, and over the years, music has “always been present” in his life. Now, as lead vocalist for the North Huntingdon-based band On Your Nerves, Andrykovitch, 19, and his bandmates are looking forward to the release of their new album, “Brace...
Latrobe Art Center offers WQED’s new creative music program for kids
Children from kindergarten through grade 4 can explore music in creative ways through a new program from WQED Education. “Lead With Music” will be held 10 a.m. to noon Monday through Aug. 12 at the Latrobe Art Center, 819 Ligonier St. Participants will listen to and learn about different styles...
Dolly Parton among Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy winners
NEW YORK — Country superstar Dolly Parton, who made a big donation to help fund coronavirus vaccine research in 2020, is among this year’s Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy recipients. Also being honored are Dallas entrepreneur Lyda Hill, Kenyan industrialist Manu Chandaria, and Lynn and Stacy Schusterman, from the Oklahoma investment...
Violent Femmes coming to Mr. Smalls in Millvale
If you’re one of those music fans who enjoys singing along to “Blister in the Sun” then you’ll likely be happy to know that Milwaukee’s Violent Femmes are coming to the Pittsburgh area in October. The folk punk band will play Mr. Smalls Theater in Millvale on Oct. 6 at...
Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ is a landmark expression of Black joy (and you can dance to it)Video
LOS ANGELES — Consider the wiggle released. When Beyoncé told fans about her seventh solo studio album, “Renaissance” — and let’s just say right here that as far as seventh albums go, this one feels like as big a swing as “Born in the U.S.A.” or “Ray of Light” or...
Sting coming to Pittsburgh with PSO
Grammy Award winner and Kennedy Center honoree Sting will perform his greatest hits with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in January, the PSO has announced. Music fans know Sting – born Gordon Sumner — as the front man for the ’80s new wave band The Police from 1977 to 1984 before...
Judy Collins brings 1st all-original album to Pittsburgh’s Byham TheaterVideo
At 82, Judy Collins attained a career milestone. Her latest album, “Spellbound,” released Feb. 25, is her first collection of all-original songs. She’ll perform selections from the album — along with favorites and deep cuts from a catalog spanning 60-plus years — during “An Evening With Judy Collins,” at 7...
North Huntingdon’s Aubrey Burchell wows ‘America’s Got Talent’ judges in teaser videoVideo
North Huntingdon singer Aubrey Burchell has been teasing fans about her upcoming appearance before the judges on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.” Now the date is set — she’ll debut on the Season 17 episode airing at 8 p.m. Tuesday. NBC just released a YouTube video that shows the 21-year-old wowing...
Pittsburgh punk rockers Anti-Flag release new video ahead of 2023 albumVideo
Punk rockers Anti-Flag announced their new album, “Lies They Tell Our Children,” will be released next year. The veteran band from Pittsburgh also debuted their new single and video for “LAUGH. CRY. SMILE. DIE.” on Friday. The song features singer Shane Told from Silverstein. ”The album itself is the first...
How does Bonnie Raitt ease the pain in fraught times? By singing songs and watching animal videos
MINNEAPOLIS — The pain in Bonnie Raitt’s voice was palpable over the phone. Not the I-Can’t-Make-You-Love-Me agony, but the life-as-we-know-it-is-getting-so-hard suffering. The reversal of Roe v. Wade for women’s rights, the war in Ukraine, voting rights restrictions, the murder of George Floyd, climate change and the surge in gun violence,...
Former ‘American Idol’ winner Scotty McCreery put in the hard work to make it as a country singerVideo
Winning “American Idol” at 17 was a good thing for country singer Scotty McCreery, but it didn’t mean he had it made. “I think it also made you have to prove a little bit more to the doubters — like you weren’t just a karaoke singer, you’ve got something to...
Elton John, Britney Spears to drop new version of ‘Tiny Dancer’
Hold ’em closer. “Tiny Dancer” is getting an audio makeover thanks to a reported collaboration between its original singer and co-writer Elton John and Britney Spears, a source in the industry told People. Lovers of the 1972 hit — featured prominently in one of the most memorable “Almost Famous” scenes...
How queer indie-pop trio Muna made the most of a 2nd chance
LOS ANGELES — Ask any music or fashion aficionado: Between low-rise jeans, thundering nu-metal bass lines and the renaissance of Britney Spears, Y2K nostalgia is taking off. Yet not all Y2K throwbacks need reviving, say the members of Los Angeles indie-pop trio Muna. Between the ubiquity of rape jokes in...
