Entertainment category, Page 23
WQED lays off another 19 employees
Following the May elimination of five employees, WQED laid off 19 employees on Wednesday, primarily in marketing, membership and production. In a statement, WQED president Jason Jedlinski said the layoffs were in response to “the recent elimination of federal funding for public broadcasting … to ensure long-term financial stability.”...
Q&A: My Mom Is Here vocalist Sam Seiff on band’s name, live show and more ahead of Pittsburgh show
With a name like My Mom Is Here, it seems only natural to wonder which band member’s mother has seen the five-piece rock-fusion band from New York City the most. “Nick’s mom takes the crown!” singer Sam Seiff said. “She’s NYC-based and rolls up with her crew to nearly every...
Sen. John Fetterman to release ‘Unfettered’ memoir this fall — looking at political and health battles
NEW YORK — A long-rumored and “unapologetic” memoir by Sen. John Fetterman will be released this fall, his publisher said. Crown, an imprint of Penguin Random House, announced Wednesday that “Unfettered” is scheduled for Nov. 11. The book’s price is listed at $32. In the memoir, the Democrat will open...
TV Q&A: Where did WPXI reporter Jillian Hartmann go?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: Can you tell us what happened to Jillian Hartmann on WPXI’s news team? — Jim, Uniontown Rob: In April, we reported that Hartmann exited Channel...
From detention to distortion: Beauty School Dropout hits the road with ‘Baby Warped’ tour including Pittsburgh stopVideo
Brent “Beepus” Burdett, the bassist for Los Angeles’ pop-punk band Beauty School Dropout, believes his time in summer school this year will be “way cooler” than his previous stint during middle school. “I was in seventh grade, and I didn’t do my biggest project and so I was ‘sick’ before...
TV Talk: Jason Momoa’s ‘Chief of War’ recounts Hawaiian historyVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. The opening scene of Apple TV+’s Jason Momoa-starring “Chief of War” brings to mind Momoa’s “Aquaman” as he lassoes a shark. After that, this nine-episode historical fiction drama most resembles FX’s “Shogun.” “Chief of War”...
Pittsburgh local music spotlight: Mark MicchelliVideo
Mark Micchelli considers his new album “Glitched-On Bop” to be a spiritual successor to “Switched-On Bach,” a 1968 album by Wendy Carlos that was the first to use synthesizers to create classical music. “‘Glitched-On Bop’ is a jazz piano record with layers of electronic processing piled on top. All of...
‘Validity’ to be screened as part of Lindsay Theater’s Emerging Filmmakers seriesVideo
As part of its Emerging Filmmakers series, The Lindsay Theater and Cultural Center is preparing to screen a film that will both thrill and challenge its audience. In “Validity,” a doctor working on research regarding treatment practices for hypothermia unearths studies that could cause a breakthrough in the field —...
Review: Quantum Theatre’s ‘Seagull’ is a dreamy drama at Chatham University
In the midst of the second act of Quantum Theatre’s “Seagull” on Sunday night, I was reminded of the first half of the Langston Hughes poem “Dreams”: “Hold fast to dreams / For if dreams die / Life is a broken-winged bird / That cannot fly.” In the case of...
TV Talk: How media companies are responding to political, legal pressure from Trump
As some media companies and personalities facing political or legal pressure from President Donald Trump are capitulating to his demands or censoring themselves, others are standing firm or lashing out defiantly against the administration, media observers say. Some of the companies and personalities just don’t want the headaches. Others are...
‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’ scores Marvel’s 1st $100 million box office opening of 2025
LOS ANGELES — Marvel’s first family has finally found box office gold. “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” the first film about the superheroes made under the guidance of Kevin Feige and the Walt Disney Co., earned $118 million in its first weekend in 4,125 North American theaters, according to studio...
Nas flexes his legend status with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Nas is a legendary rapper for a reason. The New York-born MC has been rocking the mic for more than 30 years, easily cementing his place as one of the best rappers of all time. His first album, “Illmatic,” earned its spot at No. 44 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest...
Q&A: Mike Campbell brings The Dirty Knobs to Pittsburgh, reflects on time with Tom PettyVideo
After spending more than 40 years riding shotgun alongside Tom Petty with the Heartbreakers, guitarist Mike Campbell is feeling more and more comfortable as the frontman of his own band. And his time leading Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs has him appreciating what he didn’t have to do in...
Review: Rock band Live thunders through decades of discography at Rivers Casino
The past month has given the Pittsburgh area a chance to rock out with a whole buffet of 1990s bands. Lucky us. The latest entry in this summer of late-20th-century rock was Live, a band from York, Pa., with a handful of enigmatic alternative radio hits, many from their 1994...
Q&A: Latrobe music festival JamBrewzle celebrates 10th anniversary
It’s hard for Derek Woods to believe that the JamBrewzle music festival he and his wife Sara started will mark its 10th anniversary Saturday. “Over the years, it’s truly taken on a life of its own,” said Woods, a Greensburg resident and singer for the Derek Woods Band, which is...
Author of ‘Fine Young People,’ a Sewickley-set novel, to visit Penguin Bookshop
In the pages of the book “Fine Young People,” readers meet Frankie, who is a good daughter, a loyal best friend and a model student in her final semester at an elite Catholic prep school. Frankie’s hockey player classmate Kyle Murphy takes his life after posting a cryptic message about...
Blawnox Community Park mural highlights nature, spring colors
A pair of Pittsburgh area artists have brought some nature and seasonal colors to Blawnox Community Park as part of a mural project commissioned by a borough nonprofit. Monica Cervone McElwain of Glenshaw and Lynn Ratkovich of Brighton Heights spent several weeks this summer putting brush to the wall of...
Toto, Christopher Cross, Men At Work supply the love at Star Lake
On one of the summer’s hottest evenings, three musical acts came together to heat up the Pavilion at Star Lake even more. Men at Work, Christopher Cross and Toto all lit up the stage with great music. All three had hits in the late 1970s or early 1980s, and all...
Comic-Con 2025 kicks off with new ‘Freddy’s,’ ‘Toxic Avenger’ and thousands of costume-clad fans
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Tens of thousands of fans — many in costumes — descended Thursday on Comic-Con International, the four-day pop culture spectacle that will feature updates on the new “Predator” movie, “Alien” series and a special appearance by George Lucas. Fans packed into the convention’s famed Hall H...
‘South Park’ premiere skewers Trump, prompting White House response
The season 27 premiere of “South Park” may have been delayed two weeks, but it made quite an entrance Wednesday night — so much so that even the White House took note. It is perhaps not all that surprising since President Donald Trump played a starring role. Though many of...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: July 25-27
Festival season is in full swing! You can find an outdoor party to fit any mood or interest in our fair city. Get some fresh air and enjoy some tunes, food and fun with these events. Blues and Roots Festival Head over to Cheswick for this weekend of great music...
Rapper GloRilla is arrested on drug charges following investigation of a burglary at her home
Rapper GloRilla was arrested this week on felony drug charges after “a significant amount of marijuana” was found by police while they investigated a burglary at her home in Atlanta. GloRilla, whose real name is Gloria Woods, voluntarily turned herself in Tuesday and was released on $22,260 bond the same...
Jazz trumpeter Chuck Mangione of ‘Feels So Good’ fame dead at 84Video
NEW YORK — Chuck Mangione, the Rochester-born jazz trumpeter who rocketed to worldwide fame with his 1978 album “Feels So Good,” has died. He was 84. Mangione died from natural causes on Tuesday at his home in Rochester, his family told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Though “Feels So Good”...
Hulk Hogan, icon in professional wrestling, dies at age 71Video
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Hulk Hogan, the mustachioed, headscarf-wearing icon in the world of professional wrestling, has died at the age of 71, Florida police and WWE said Thursday. In Clearwater, Florida, authorities responded to a call Thursday morning about a cardiac arrest. Hogan was pronounced dead at a hospital, police...
White House suggests ‘The View’ could be ‘pulled off air’ over Trump-Obama commentsVideo
After ” The View ” cohosts said President Donald Trump was jealous of former President Barack Obama on Wednesday, the White House issued an intimidating statement to Entertainment Weekly about the talk show possibly being “pulled off the air.” It’s all because of Trump’s allegation Tuesday that Obama “was trying...
