Things to do in Western Pa.: March 24, 2021
Literature is in the spotlight this week, with award-winning writers in conversation and reading from their works. There’s also new art, dance, film and music to enjoy. For the kids, there’s an ‘eggs-citing” adventure on the grounds of an area museum. The details are here, in this week’s Big List....
The Clarks to play Butler drive-in in June
The Clarks are set to play the band’s first in-person show of 2021. The Pittsburgh rock band on Tuesday announced a show at the Starlight Drive-In in Butler on June 5. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets for the show are on sale...
Kenny Chesney postpones 2021 tour, including Pittsburgh stop
Country music star Kenny Chesney has postponed his entire 2021 tour — including a stop at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field — for the second time because of the coronavirus pandemic. Chesney announced Tuesday on social media that the tour would be pushed back to 2022. The Chillaxifacation tour was originally supposed...
Pittsburgh dating scene inspires New Hazlett Theater’s ‘Local Singles’Video
He heard it from a friend, who heard it from a friend — and it inspired him to write a musical. The playwright is Nick Navari of Pine, the musical is “Local Singles” and the story is about a support group for local singles. “A friend of mine told me...
Ruffs Dale bassoonist, 17, earns Friday Evening Music Club’s Gardner Scholarship
Until Walter Vinoski was 11, he couldn’t have told you what a bassoon even was. Now the 17-year-old Yough senior is the Friday Evening Music Club’s 2021 Mildred Gardner Scholarship Competition winner, earning $1,000 through this year’s virtual competition. He is a member of the Westmoreland Youth Symphony Orchestra and...
Stage Right’s operetta a safe pandemic haven for veteran Greensburg actor
The cast of Stage Right’s “The Pirates of Penzance” includes an actor who has traded the bright lights of the big city — at least temporarily — for the safety of his home town. “I came back to Greensburg last March to do a show at Stage Right that, obviously,...
Paul Stanley makes new music, but not with KissVideo
Veteran rocker Paul Stanley has a new album with his Soul Station project, but fans waiting for new Kiss material may be out of luck. Making the rounds in interviews this week, the “Starchild” said the band’s debut album, “Now and Then,” is inspired by and a tribute to classic...
Review: Kiss star man Paul Stanley shows a whole lotta soulVideo
Paul Stanley’s Soul Station, “Now and Then” (uDiscover) The love guns have all been unloaded and securely holstered, and Detroit is soul city, not rock city this time out as Paul Stanley, ringleader of the four-ring circus known as Kiss, pays homage to classic soul on a new solo album....
Pittsburgh Opera explores 900 years of work by women composers
Pittsburgh Opera will explore 900 years of music by women composers in an upcoming free concert. Called “Women’s March,” the 55-minute program will stream on the opera’s YouTube channel at 7 p.m. March 26. “Certainly, the opera has performed music by women composers before, but this is the first time...
Yinz Citizen virtual concert to return in September with Pittsburgh musicians
On the heels of a successful event that raised $54,000 last November for 412 Food Rescue, the “Yinz Citizen” virtual concert is returning this year. The event will take place on Sept. 16. The inaugural virtual show brought together 25 local bands and artists including Wiz Khalifa, Joe Grushecky, The...
Get out your green for in-person return of Pittsburgh Irish Festival
Irish eyes will be smiling at this news. The 30th annual Pittsburgh Irish Festival is being planned as an in-person event. Its return was announced Tuesday, the day before St. Patrick’s Day. “We are trying to be creative,” said Mairin Petrone, the festival’s executive director. “Our slogan is ‘Irish eyes...
Beyoncé, Taylor Swift make history at the GrammysVideo
The Grammys are drunk in love with Beyoncé and Taylor Swift: the singers both made history at the 2021 show. Swift, 31, became first woman to win album of the year three times. “We just want to thank the fans,” said Swift, who won the top prize with “folklore.” Swift...
Dan + Shay, Justin Bieber win country Grammy AwardVideo
Justin Bieber is a Grammy winner in the country genre for his “10,000 Hours” collaboration with Dan + Shay. Dan + Shay accepted the best country duo/group performance Grammy virtually. Bieber did not appear during the Grammys Premiere Ceremony, where the majority of Sunday’s awards are bestowed. Dan + Shay...
Dutch inventor of audio cassette tape, Lou Ottens, dies at age 94
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Lou Ottens, the Dutch inventor of the cassette tape, the medium of choice for millions of bedroom mix tapes, has died, said Philips, the company where he also helped develop the compact disc. Ottens died Saturday at age 94, Philips confirmed. A structural engineer who trained...
Pittsburgh’s Daya performs on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’Video
Daya brought something with her to “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Wednesday: a new single. The Mt. Lebanon native performed her song “Bad Girl” as part of the ABC late night show’s concert series. Daya’s off-location performance looked music video-esque, starting the song alone walking though blue and red lit hallways...
Westmoreland Symphony’s ‘The Four Seasons’ includes performance on rare violin
Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming performance will offer the audience a rare treat, adding to the pleasure of hearing one of the most beloved pieces in the classical canon. Guest violinist Bella Hristova will join the orchestra for Antonio Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,” playing an instrument made in 1655 by Italian...
Things to do in Western Pa.: March 10, 2021Video
Newly opened art exhibitions include a Women’s History Month retrospective and a showcase of watercolor works. For music, there’s everything from “trucker rock” to swing to choral works. Both kids and adults can put pen to paper for Ligonier Valley Writers programs, while Pittsburgh Public Theater is seeking reminiscences of...
Without St. Patrick’s Day parade, groups produce virtual Irish celebration in Pittsburgh
For the second consecutive year, there is no luck of the Irish for an in-person St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Pittsburgh. But there will be a virtual party to recognize the upcoming celebration. The “Virtual Shamrock Shindig Celebrates Everything Irish” takes place at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, March 12. The...
Pittsburgh-area students to sing ‘Requiem’ in memory of covid victims
Choirs from six Pittsburgh-area high schools will join Pittsburgh Concert Chorale for a special online performance of Mozart’s “Requiem” in memory of lives lost to covid-19. Participating schools include Mt. Lebanon, Seneca Valley, Shaler Area, South Fayette, Upper St. Clair and Woodland Hills, along with a smaller group of singers...
Pittsburgh Opera celebrating women composers in March
March is Women’s History Month and the Pittsburgh Opera is celebrating with a free concert featuring works by women composers on its YouTube Channel March 26 at 7 p.m. The event, called “Women’s March,” is a 55-minute concert spanning 900 years of classical music composed by women. But how is...
The day the music stopped: Musicians, venues still feeling effect of closures due to pandemicVideo
This past autumn, the lights went out for good at The Rex Theater, one of Pittsburgh’s most-beloved rock clubs. Like many independent venues across the United States, the South Side stage fell silent earlier in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic shuttered the live music industry without warning. But on Sept....
Cleveland rocker, radio star Michael Stanley dead at 72
CLEVELAND — Michael Stanley, a Cleveland-based rocker who with his namesake band reached the Top 40 in the 1980s with the hits “He Can’t Love You” and “My Town” before going on to a long career as a radio disc jockey, has died. He was 72. Stanley died Thursday after...
Song, photo contests mark 50th anniversary of state Environmental Rights Amendment
Shutterbugs and tunesmiths have an opportunity to use their skills to help salute the 50th anniversary of Pennsylvania’s Environmental Rights Amendment. The nonprofit Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation has announced a new contest as it searches for an original song that best reflects the writer’s sentiments about the landmark amendment...
Virtual tribute will celebrate Mister Rogers’ 93rd birthday
One of Latrobe’s favorite sons, Fred Rogers, would have turned 93 on March 20, and a virtual celebration on his birthday will feature singers and songwriters from across the country. The celebration of Mister Rogers will be livestreamed beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday at ThankYouMisterRogers.com. It also will appear on...
Dolly Parton changes words to ‘Jolene’ to encourage covid vaccinationsVideo
Country music legend Dolly Parton changed the words to her 1973 hit song “Jolene” to encourage people to get the covid-19 vaccine. Parton received the vaccination in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday. She posted the new version of “Jolene,” on Instagram. “Well, hey, it’s me, I am finally going to get...
