Luke Combs, Graham Nash, Natalie Merchant among top concerts to see around Pittsburgh in April
The first stadium show of the year arrives earlier than usual when Luke Combs and friends play Acrisure Stadium on April 29. Here’s a look at the most notable shows coming to the area in April:
April’s top shows
April 17: Skinny Puppy, Lead Into Gold at Roxian Theatre
Skinny Puppy, the ground-breaking industrial act, is on what they’re calling their final tour after 40 years together.
“We are hitting the road with good friends and very special guest Lead Into Gold to celebrate our time together and complete our FINAL TOUR on this, our 40th anniversary,” the band said in a social media post. “We’re excited to share this last ‘fever dream’ with you all.”
Read more: Skinny Puppy to mark its 40th anniversary with ‘final tour’ of North America
April 18: Natalie Merchant at Byham Theater
Natalie Merchant first gained fame as the singer of 10,000 Maniacs before embarking on a successful solo career. She’s releasing her 10th solo album, “Keep Your Courage,” on April 14, with her latest single, “Come On, Aphrodite” unveiled in February. Only a handful of limited-view seats remain for her Byham Theater show.
“‘Come On, Aphrodite’ is an invocation to the goddess of love and passion,” Merchant said. “In the lyrics, I list all the clichés we use to describe falling in love: being drunk and blind, over the moon, weak in the knees, and half out of our minds. For the Greeks, when the spirit of love descended, it was seen as a kind of assault; you would become powerless against an all-consuming, sweet madness. Amazingly, humans still crave it, in spite of the perils.”
Read more: Natalie Merchant shares song off first album of new music in 9 years
April 21-22: Graham Nash at Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall
Graham Nash — he of Crosby, Stills & Nash fame — has a new single, “Right Now,” out with the album, “Now” following in May. The tour, dubbed Sixty Years of Songs and Stories, includes two nights in Pittsburgh, with both shows nearly sold out.
“I called this album ‘Now’ because that’s what this work is,” Nash, 81, said in an Instagram post earlier this year. “It’s me. Now. In this moment in my life. It’s no small thing getting to be my age. It’s not easy. I wanted this work to show that even when you reach this point in your life you feel no less creative or passionate about what you do, and how you exist in the world.”
Read more: Graham Nash talks Pittsburgh, Woodstock and Crosby
April 29: Luke Combs, Riley Green, Lainey Wilson, Flatland Cavalry, Brent Cobb at Acrisure Stadium
Country superstar Luke Combs, the CMA Entertainer of the Year for two straight years, sold out Acrisure Stadium on his world tour. His latest album, “Gettin’ Old,” came out on March 24.
“But chasing records or streaks, I don’t benefit from it as a human being,” Combs told Esquire. “It’s great to have the most weeks at Number One or whatever; that stuff’s amazing. Nobody wouldn’t want those things. But I don’t ever think about that when I go in to write a song or produce a record, because then you’ve lost the whole art and the joy of it. I’m not going to sacrifice the integrity of what I love to do just for that.”
Read more: Song by song, country star Luke Combs grows into stadiums
Sold-out shows
April 1: The Magnetic Fields at Mr. Smalls
The experimental indie rockers are playing their second night in a row of sold-out shows in Pittsburgh.
April 3: Polyphia at Roxian Theatre
Progessive rockers Polyphia released “Remember That You Will Die” in October.
April 4: Silverstein, Dayseeker, SeeYouSpaceCowboy, One Step Closer at Mr. Smalls
The Canadian post-hardcore rockers are touring in support of their 10th studio album, “Misery Made Me.”
April 7: 49 Winchester at Thunderbird Music Hall
Described as “Appalachian country soul,” 49 Winchester are out on tour in support of last year’s “Fortune Favors the Bold” album.
April 8: BJ Barham at Club Cafe
BJ Barham, the founder of alt-country band American Aquarium, is striking out on his own on a solo acoustic tour.
April 11: Little Stranger, Jarv, Damn Skippy at Club Cafe
Melodic hip-hop group Little Stranger bring their Cool Kids Tour to Pittsburgh.
April 15: Rhett Miller, Reliable Child at Club Cafe
Better known as the frontman of alt-country band the Old 97’s, Rhett Miller has a new album, “The Misfit,” coming out in September.
April 21: Langhorne Slim, John Craigie at Thunderbird Music Hall
Americana singer Langhorne Slim, a Pennsylvania native, returns to his home state on a short spring tour.
April 28: Father John Misty, Loren Kramar at Roxian Theatre
Father John Misty is touring in support of last year’s album, “Chloe and the Next 20th Century.”
Other notable shows
April 5: Queensryche, Marty Friedman, Trauma at Roxian Theatre
April 6: Judah and the Lion, Kahone Concept at Stage AE
April 7: The Isley Brothers, The Whispers, Howard Hewett, Tom Browne at UPMC Events Center
April 8: Molly Hatchet, Six Gun Sally at the Lamp Theatre
April 9: Morbid Angel, Revocation, Vitriol, Crypta at Jergel’s
April 14: Skid Row, Warrant at Rivers Casino
April 14: D.R.I. at Preserving Underground
April 15: The Black Dahlia Murder, Terror, Frozen Soul at Roxian Theatre
April 17: Nickel Creek, Gaby Moreno at Byham Theater
April 18: Dying Fetus, Suicide Silence, Born of Osiris, Aborted, Sanguisugabogg, Crown Magnetar, Slay Squad, Fall of Babylon, Corpse God at Mountain View Amphitheater
April 20: Snarky Puppy, Nate Wood at Stage AE
April 22: Brooks Nielsen at Thunderbird Music Hall
April 23: The Slackers, Faintest Idea at Crafthouse
April 24: Hot Tuna at Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall
April 25: Sunny Day Real Estate, The Appleseed Cast at Roxian Theatre
April 28: The Wallflowers at the Palace Theatre
April 28: The Bacon Brothers at Jergel’s
April 29: Bush, Devora at Hollywood Casino at the Meadows
April 29: Built to Spill, Prism Bitch, Itchy Kitty at Mr. Smalls
April 30: Coheed and Cambria, Deafheaven at Stage AE
April 30: Meg Myers, Weathers, Band of Silver at Thunderbird Music Hall
April 30: Frankie Valli, The Four Seasons at Heinz Hall
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