Bayside singer Anthony Raneri on the punk band’s new album, unusual release cycle and songwriting stylesVideo
Bayside, a veteran punk rock band out of New York, changed things up with their latest album, “There Are Worse Things Than Being Alive.” The new album, scheduled for an April 5 release date, will combine 2022’s “The Red EP” and 2023’s “The Blue EP” with an additional five more...
Solar eclipses show up across the entertainment spectrum
From the birth of a carnivorous houseplant to a time traveler using the knowledge of modern science to his advantage, the phenomenon of the solar eclipse has played a role across the pop culture spectrum from cinema to song and beyond. Here are a few examples. ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’...
Acclaimed Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini dies at age 82
ROME — Maurizio Pollini, a Grammy-winning Italian pianist who performed frequently at La Scala opera house in Milan, has died. He was 82. Pollini died on Saturday, La Scala said in a statement. The announcement didn’t specify a cause of death, but Pollini had been forced to cancel a concert...
Indie pop/rock band Daisy the Great discusses their formation, going viral and sequel songsVideo
With one semester left at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Kelley Dugan and Mina Walker started writing a musical about a fake band for fun. That musical — with pop stars being struck by lightning, masked singers and much more — will never see the light of day, but...
Washington, D.C.’s Origami Angel headlining Pittsburgh collective’s 17th birthday celebrationVideo
Origami Angel, a two-piece emo band out of Washington, D.C., is a strong supporter of local music scenes. They’ll be in Pittsburgh on Sunday to headline the 17th birthday bash for Don’t Let the Scene Go Down on Me, a music collective that’s been booking shows since 2007 and in...
Ben Folds, Los Lonely Boys among Three Rivers Arts Festival’s featured concerts
This year’s free featured concert lineup for the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival was announced Thursday. The festival, running May 31-June 9 in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District, will feature singer-songwriter Ben Folds, seminal hip-hop groups the Sugarhill Gang and the Furious Five, among others. The main stage is moving to...
Community bands converge on Murrysville for free annual festival
A classic John Philip Sousa march. Variations on the “Scarborough Fair” theme. Music inspired by the “Lord of the Rings” books. Musicians from all over the Pittsburgh area will perform music from all over the map at the 18th annual Three Rivers Community Band Festival, set for April 6 in...
Andrea Bocelli interview: Famed Italian tenor on singing with his children, performing and faithVideo
Just weeks after a heartfelt father-son duet at the Academy Awards, famed Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli will be performing in Pittsburgh. Bocelli, along with his son Matteo, performed an emotional version of “Time to Say Goodbye” at the Oscars, paying tribute to actors and musicians who died in 2023. That...
Country singer Jay Allen brings Night of Hope tour to Jergel’s in Warrendale
Country rock singer Jay Allen has seen the power of music first-hand. When the Iowa native’s mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, he said one thing that could bring back the woman who raised him was country music. The genre was a constant fixture in her pickup truck when Allen...
Tartan Day will celebrate all things Scottish at Bethel Presbyterian Church
When Pam Maniet greets visitors at Bethel Presbyterian Church on April 6, she will be emotional. It will be the first Tartan Day, a day to celebrate Scottish heritage, without her father, Angus MacDonald. He died Dec. 27. “I know I will have a knot in my stomach at the...
Tom McGreevy interview: Ducks Ltd. singer/guitarist on new ‘Harm’s Way’ album, jangle pop, nostalgiaVideo
Ducks Ltd., a jangle pop duo out of Toronto, recently released its second album, “Harm’s Way,” with the nine songs clocking in around a concise 27 minutes. The way Tom McGreevy sees it, keeping Ducks Ltd.’s songs to around three minutes puts the band in “good company” in a broad...
Jeff Lynne’s ELO farewell tour hitting Pittsburgh in SeptemberVideo
Jeff Lynne’s ELO is embarking on its final tour, which includes a stop in Pittsburgh. The classic rock band’s Over and Out tour will visit PPG Paints Arena on Sept. 10. Originally founded in 1970 as Electric Light Orchestra, the band has sold more than 50 million records worldwide on...
Cockney Rebel singer Steve Harley, who had a hit with ‘Make Me Smile,’ dies at 73Video
LONDON — British musician Steve Harley, whose glam-rock band Cockney Rebel had an enduring hit with the song “Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me),” has died. He was 73. Harley’s family said Sunday he had “passed away peacefully at home, with his family by his side.” Harley said...
‘Luck of the Iris’: Donnie Iris and the Cruisers still know how to rockVideo
Attending a Rolling Stones concert is somewhat akin to looking through an ultra-powerful telescope and seeing light that has been traveling this direction practically since time began. In the context of rock ’n’ roll, Mick, Keith and company started wowing audiences just a few years after the genre’s advent. For...
Bryan Adams gives a performance ‘straight from the heart’ at PPG Paints Arena
Canadian rock singer Bryan Adams remembers the first time he ever played in Pittsburgh. “The first time I ever played in America properly, I opened for The Kinks here,” he recounted to the audience during his show Friday night at PPG Paints Arena. “I started when I was 15 but...
Get your St. Patrick’s Day playlist readyVideo
Grab your best green hat and pour a Guinness — although, were it me, we’d be pouring a Murphy’s Irish Stout, but I digress — and let’s put together an appropriate playlist for St. Patrick’s Day. Being that the holiday falls on a Sunday this year, let’s start the occasion...
Pittsburgh’s Low Kings bring Celtic rock to town — and not just on St. Patrick’s Day
March is the busiest time of year for Pittsburgh-based Celtic rock band The Low Kings — St. Patrick’s Day is prime time for their style of music. “We get to feel like the special person at the prom, which is awesome,” said Shawn Melvin, lead singer, guitarist and founding member...
Meghan Trainor bringing Timeless tour to Pittsburgh in SeptemberVideo
Singer Meghan Trainor announced a new album and tour Thursday, with a stop planned in Pittsburgh later this year. The “All About That Bass” singer is scheduled to bring her Timeless tour to Petersen Events Center on Sept. 6, with Chris Olsen opening the show. Trainor’s sixth-studio album, “Timeless,” which...
Meet Ciara, superstar wife of new Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson will soon officially be the new quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 35-year-old set social media on fire on Monday with a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that played “Renegade” over clips of fans waving Terrible Towels. His wife, Ciara Wilson, reposted it with a series...
Joey Vera interview: Armored Saint bassist on the band’s legacy, touring, AI and moreVideo
When Armored Saint started in 1982, even the band members couldn’t imagine still going strong more than 40 years later. “No. So this fact is a great reminder of how much we appreciate this opportunity to still be able to do this,” bassist Joey Vera said. But that’s exactly what...
‘I’m excited’: Donnie Iris ready to hit the stage a year after cancer diagnosisVideo
It’s been more than a year since Donnie Iris last got to play a concert, but he isn’t nervous. Not after the year he’s had. “No, I’m excited,” Iris said in a phone call last week. “I’m excited more than anything.” Iris, who just turned 81 on Feb. 28, finally...
Staind, Breaking Benjamin opening co-headline tour in PittsburghVideo
Staind and Breaking Benjamin are launching their co-headlining tour in Pittsburgh. The modern alternative rockers, who both rose to fame in the early 2000s, will play the Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown on Sept. 10. Lakeview, a country band with ties to Pittsburgh, will open the show. Staind’s 2001...
Review: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit in top form in Pittsburgh concert
At one point Saturday night, as Jason Isbell surveyed the Benedum Center crowd, he made the observation that it didn’t seem to be a season-ticket holder crowd. It’s one thing to be “out there expecting ‘La traviata,’” he said with a pause, “and then get scared by ‘La rednecka.’” Instead...
Steve Lawrence, singer, entertainer and half of popular stage duo Steve & Eydie, dies at 88
NEW YORK — Steve Lawrence, a singer and top stage act who as a solo performer and in tandem with his wife Eydie Gorme kept Tin Pan Alley alive during the rock era, died Thursday. He was 88. Lawrence, whose hits included “Go Away Little Girl,” died from complications due...
K.K. Downing interview: Ex-Judas Priest guitarist on new band, KK’s Priest, Hall of Fame induction, moreVideo
The way K.K. Downing sees it, creating a setlist can be difficult, but he pretty much can’t make a bad pick. Downing, a co-founder and longtime guitarist for British metal legends Judas Priest, is on the road now with his new band, KK’s Priest. That means he can choose from...
