Country station Y108 hires new morning show host
Audacy Inc. knew it would have a hard time finding a successor to popular WDSY-FM (Y108) morning show host “Stoney” Richards when he departed last December. And the company was right. Now, after a six-month search, Y108 has its new host. Audacy announced Thursday, it has hired country music radio...
Roger Waters drills down on ‘Not a Drill’ tour opener in Pittsburgh
To hear Roger Waters expound on the state of things in the world today, one is challenged to come away feeling hopeful about the future. “The ruling class are murdering you. They are destroying the Earth and everything that lives on it to make a few (bucks),” he says in...
George Michael spent his career singing about freedom. But he never quite found it
In 1984, George Michael released a song called “Freedom” with his pop duo Wham! Six years later, he put out one of his own called “Freedom! ‘90.” And six years after that? A song called “Free” closed his third solo album, “Older.” The specifics of the liberation he’s describing in...
Jury finds man guilty of 2019 murder of rapper Nipsey Hussle
LOS ANGELES — Jurors found a 32-year-old man guilty of first-degree murder Wednesday for the 2019 fatal shooting of rapper Nipsey Hussle. The Los Angeles County jury also found Eric R. Holder Jr. guilty of two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter for gunfire that hit other men at the scene....
Santana’s Pittsburgh concert postponed after musician collapses onstage in Michigan
Santana’s Wednesday show at the Pavilion at Star Lake has been postponed after the group’s leader, Carlos Santana, collapsed onstage Tuesday in Michigan. The 74-year-old musician was hospitalized with heat exhaustion and dehydration. A representative told USA Today that Santana is being held for observation and is doing well. The...
Pittsburgh native Gene Stovall returns from overseas for hometown performancesVideo
From performing onstage at age 12 in a Pittsburgh Public Theater production of “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” to winning talent showcases as a teenager, to moving across the Atlantic Ocean to pursue music full time, Gene Stovall has a passion for performance. “I’ve been wanting this for my whole...
105.9 The X’s July 420 countdown sees change at the top
There will be no threepeat for Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” In a bit of an upset, Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy” finished first in this year’s “July 420,” a countdown of 105.9 WXDX’s top 420 rock and alternative-rock songs of the 1990s. It’s the third straight year the station has held...
Better Than Ezra to headline Arts on the Allegheny concert
The alternative rock band Better Than Ezra will headline a free Arts on the Allegheny concert July 23 at the John P. Murtha Amphitheater in Kittanning’s Riverfront Park. The nonprofit offers free arts and entertainment events at the park and other venues. Last year, Blues Traveler drew upward of 7,000...
Song by song, country star Luke Combs grows into stadiums
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Singer-songwriter Luke Combs is making big leaps this year in his unprecedented rise to the top of country music, both personally and professionally. The North Carolina-born singer, who holds a Billboard record with 14 consecutive No. 1 country airplay singles with hits like “Beer Never Broke My...
How the Doobie Brothers survived ’50-ish’ years to finally get their due
LOS ANGELES — When it finally happened last summer, the Doobie Brothers’ long-anticipated reunion with Michael McDonald took just more than a week to run into trouble. Nine days after they kicked off a tour marking the California group’s 50th anniversary — a year late due to a pandemic-forced delay...
Rock star Randy Bachman reunited with beloved stolen guitar
TOKYO — Canadian rock legend Randy Bachman’s long search came to an end Friday when he was reunited in Tokyo with a cherished guitar 45 years after it was stolen from a Toronto hotel. “My girlfriend is right there,” said Bachman, 78, a former member of The Guess Who, as...
3rd annual July 420 countdown of alt-rock songs to debut on 105.9 The X
There is classic rock and then there is alternative rock. Classic rock has always gotten a lot of holiday love from radio stations like 102.5 WDVE, which has hosted a Memorial Day countdown of the top 500 classic rock songs on and off for decades. In 2020, ‘DVE’s “brother” station,...
Hampton family proves Pine Creek Community Band is for everyone
The Pine Creek Community Band welcomes members of all ages and ability levels — no experience is needed. “It enables a lot of people who enjoy playing music to get together and share that interest,” said conductor Randy Heide of Richland. The Gardner family from Hampton embodies the band’s philosophy....
Canadian radio station played Rage Against the Machine song on unbroken loop, announces format changeVideo
A Canadian radio station played a continual loop of a Rage Against the Machine song in efforts to playfully announce a big change. KiSS RADiO 104.9, a soft rock station in Vancouver, Canada, started playing the song “Killing in the Name” by Rage on Wednesday morning and continued on an...
Westmoreland Symphony plans annual ‘Summer Sparklers’ free concert
Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra’s annual “Summer Sparklers” concert is “an opportunity to celebrate a great season and to look forward to the next season,” said Artistic Director Daniel Meyer. It’s also an opportunity to celebrate the Fourth of July, the warm days of summer and a wide range of musical tastes....
Singer R. Kelly sentenced to 30 years in sex trafficking caseVideo
NEW YORK — R&B star R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday for using his superstardom to subject young fans — some just children — to systematic sexual abuse. The singer and songwriter, 55, was convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking last year at a trial that...
Syria Shriners’ 3rd annual free summer concert series keeps rolling along
During 2020 when people stayed indoors to occupy their time, Bob Addleman wanted to give the community a fun environment outside while still being safe. Addleman, who serves as recorder, secretary and business manager for the Pittsburgh’s Syria Shriners, would find the perfect opportunity by using the Pittsburgh Shrine Center’s...
Blink-182’s Travis Barker rushed to hospital with wife Kourtney Kardashian by his side
LOS ANGELES — Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, who was hospitalized on Tuesday, is reportedly dealing with a bout of pancreatitis. TMZ first reported on Wednesday that the musician, 46, was rushed to the hospital due to pancreatitis, which doctors believe was triggered by a recent colonoscopy. Barker’s representatives did not...
Q&A: Norah Jones reflects on her music, career and rise to prominence
It’s been 20 years since the release of Norah Jones’s gently captivating debut album, “Come Away With Me.” The album went on to sell more than 27 million copies worldwide and earned Jones six Grammy Awards. It was a swift and heady rise to prominence for the then-23-year-old troubadour. “It...
Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong vows to renounce his U.S. citizenship after Roe reversal
Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong doesn’t wanna be an American idiot. At a London Stadium concert on Friday, the Oakland-born singer and guitarist vowed to renounce his United States citizenship shortly after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision. “F— America,” Armstrong shouted. “I’m f—...
1990s alt-rock band Failure is anything but, and looking to prove it in Pittsburgh
When you think of 1990s alt-rock music, bands like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, The Smashing Pumpkins and Jane’s Addiction likely spring to mind. There’s another quintessentially ‘90s band that you might not remember or maybe haven’t even heard of. You might know, and maybe even love, the band...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: June 24-26
It’s the final weekend of June. Here are some ways to spend it. Music festival The WYEP Music Festival is Saturday at Schenley Plaza in Oakland. Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corporation, the parent organization of 91.3 WYEP, will host a day of live free music from a variety of genres. The...
Shady Side Academy presents free outdoor concert on July 15
The Hillman Center for Performing Arts at Shady Side Academy will present a free, family-friendly outdoor concert with Latin American children’s musician Sonia De Los Santos on July 15, 2022, at 2 p.m. under the tent on the Mary Hillman Jennings Plaza. The show is open to the community, and...
Ben Folds wows Heinz Hall fans in PSO concert
Of all the cities singer-songwriter and pianist Ben Folds couldn’t perform in during the pandemic, Pittsburgh may well have been the one he missed the most. It’s no secret that Folds loves the Steel City. “I’ve always thought Pittsburgh was a memorable, outstanding, soulful place,” he said in an interview...
Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes talks ‘1972’ EP and his sibling reconciliation
For nearly a decade, siblings Chris and Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes were estranged, brothers broken by acrimony and resentment. Not anymore. The Atlanta natives reconciled a few years ago and are now on good terms. The band has been touring since 2019 with the pandemic creating an unexpected...
