Lady Gaga to sing anthem at Biden’s inauguration
Joe Biden’s Inaugural Committee announced today that Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez will appear during his Jan. 20 swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol. Lady Gaga will sing the national anthem while Lopez will provide a musical performance. Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States...
Pittsburgh Opera postpones 1st-ever staging of Handel’s ‘Semele’
Pittsburgh Opera has postponed its first-ever production of George Frideric Handel’s “Semele” from February to May. The move was made “in response to ongoing covid-19 concerns, including high cases in Allegheny County and the slower-than-hoped-for vaccine rollout,” the opera said. “Semele” will be performed on six dates, May 8-20, at...
Apollo teen songwriter finds success in national competitions
Music always came naturally to Jessa Pontier. The 18-year-old Apollo resident said she started singing when she 2 while banging on a toy piano. She could play a real piano by the time she was 6, and taught herself to play guitar around 10 or 11 — never taking any...
Unity native, Broadway vet Jerad Bortz stays thankful after life-changing accidentVideo
Going into 2018, Unity native Jerad Bortz had a lot to be thankful for, not the least of which was a successful career on Broadway, including 12 years with the hit musical “Wicked.” That could have changed forever in early February of that year, when a car accident left him...
Dr. Dre recovering after being admitted into hospital
LOS ANGELES — Dr. Dre says he will be “back home soon” after the music mogul received medical treatment at a Los Angeles hospital for a reported brain aneurysm. The rapper and producer said in a social media post Tuesday night that he’s thankful for the “well wishes.” TMZ reported...
Reports: Dr. Dre rushed to ICU as a result of suffering brain aneurysmVideo
Rap legend Dr. Dre was rushed to an intensive care unit as a result of suffering a brain aneurysm, according to TMZ. Dre, whose legal name is Andre Young, was rushed Monday to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles where sources told the outlet he is “stable and lucid.” Dre...
Grammy Awards shift to March because of pandemic conditions
NEW YORK — The 2021 Grammy Awards will no longer take place this month in Los Angeles and will broadcast in March due to a recent surge in coronavirus cases and deaths. The Recording Academy told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the annual show would shift from its original...
IRS says executors undervalued Prince’s estate by 50%
The ongoing controversy over the money left behind by Prince when he died without a will is heating up again after Internal Revenue Service calculations showed that executors of the rock star’s estate undervalued it by 50%, or about $80 million. The IRS determined that Prince’s estate is worth $163.2...
Pittsburgh musicians raise their voices off stage to save local venuesVideo
Musicians communicate through song. They feed off the energy of live performances. Many haven’t performed live for months because of the pandemic. That hasn’t kept them from making new music for when they return to Pittsburgh-area venues. There is one tune that’s about to be heard that will help the...
Being Judy Garland won Zellweger an Oscar — is a Grammy next?Video
Renée Zellweger is known for acting but you could easily write a thesis about her love for music. The entertainer won her second Academy Award for portraying Judy Garland in last year’s “Judy,” for which Zellweger did her own singing in front of live audiences. She was praised for her...
A record 39 holiday songs dominate Billboard Hot 100 chart
Tis the season to be jolly: A record 39 holiday songs have dominated this week’s Billboard Hot 100 chart, including nine holiday tunes in the Top 10. Mariah Carey’s ubiquitous hit, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” leads the pack at No. 1 — marking the tune’s fifth time...
Jason Mraz to headline Rock, Reggae & Relief benefit concertVideo
There is hope that live music is coming back in 2021. Rock, Reggae & Relief, a festival benefiting hospitality workers and food insecurity, has announced a lineup of artists. It’s scheduled for Aug. 28. “We feel safe that, by then, most people will have taken the (covid) vaccine, and it’s...
Federal covid relief bill includes ‘Save Our Stages’ funding for independent music venues, promotersVideo
Independent music venue owners across the U.S. got their first good news in quite some time on Monday with the announcement the
$900 billion federal covid-19 relief bill will include $15 billion as part of the Save Our Stages Act. If it is signed by President Trump — a move...
How Dionne Warwick, the Queen of Smooth Pop, has become the Queen of Twitter
Dionne Warwick: first Black female solo pop star who rose to prominence in the ’60s, Queen of Smooth Pop and a living legend. Nowadays, you can refer to her as Dionne The Singer (her words she posted, hehe), but her newest honorific title is our undisputed Queen of Twitter. Here’s...
K.T. Oslin, country singer of ‘80’s Ladies,’ dies at 78Video
LOS ANGELES — Country singer K.T. Oslin, who hit it big with the 1987 hit “80′s Ladies” and won three Grammy awards, has died. She was 78. Oslin’s friend Robert K. Oermann said she died on Monday morning in suburban Nashville, Tenn. He learned of Oslin’s death from her aunt....
From Irving Berlin’s ‘White Christmas’ to James Brown’s ‘Santa’s Got a Brand New Bag’: Why Christmas classics never get old
Why do we love Christmas music? We know all the obvious reasons: It conjures treasured memories of holidays past; it allows us to revel in the season’s spirit simply by listening; it gives us a sense of peace through familiarity — we’ve heard these songs a thousand times before. But...
Finneas on Bond theme song, the Grammys and the WeekndVideo
The path to Billie Eilish and Finneas getting the “yes” to compose a song for the upcoming James Bond film was almost as thrilling and exhilarating as watching the action-packed movie on screen. “We said to our team, ‘If anyone has anyone who knows anyone, just convey that we would...
Heart’s Ann Wilson on leaving Seattle bubble, reconciling with sister and Carrie Brownstein-led biopic
SEATTLE — The last five years have brought about big life changes for Ann Wilson. The flute-tooting vocal dynamo who fronts legendary Seattle rock band Heart fell in love, got hitched and moved to northern Florida. Last year, Wilson sold the Capitol Hill mansion she called home for decades —...
Trafford’s Mark Milovats brings Christmas special to local TV audienceVideo
Trafford native and international recording artist Mark Milovats will be sharing his “Christmas Wonderland” stage production with digital viewers and television audiences. The special, comprising highlights from the live 2018 holiday production, will air on WTAE at 5 p.m. Sunday. “Christmas Wonderland” has been syndicated for broadcast throughout the holiday...
Mariah Carey returns to No. 1 with ‘Christmas’ song
Last Christmas, Mariah Carey had quite a happy holiday by scoring her 19th No. 1 song. This year, she’s back — atop Billboard’s Hot 100 chart at No. 1 — with her 1994 seasonal song “All I Want for Christmas is You.” The song jumps up a position from last...
‘The Pavilion at Star Lake’ concert venue in Burgettstown goes back in time
The name has been changed several times, but some people have always called it by its first name. And now they can again. Tribune-Review News Partner WPXI-TV reported that the concert space in Burgettstown is returning to its roots. The venue’s Facebook page said it is now being called “The...
Pittsburgh Irish Festival instrumental in the virtual ‘An Irish Christmas Concert’
Go green on Wednesday. At 8 p.m. the Association of Irish and Celtic Festivals will host “An Irish Christmas Concert,” with support from the Embassy of Ireland and Irish festivals in the U.S., including the Pittsburgh Irish Festival. The virtual performance will be a livestream event of seven acts from...
Charley Pride, country music’s first Black superstar, dies at 86
NEW YORK — Charley Pride, country music’s first Black star whose rich baritone on such hits as “Kiss an Angel Good Morning” helped sell millions of records and made him the first Black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, has died. He was 86. Pride died Saturday in...
Westmoreland Symphony concert is truly ‘Home for the Holidays’ this year
For many around Westmoreland County, nothing signals the arrival of the Yule season quite like the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra’s annual “Home for the Holidays” concert. Even though pandemic restrictions prevent the symphony from playing in front of a live audience this year, the popular concert is on, via a livestream...
Pollstar: Live events industry lost $30B because of pandemic
NEW YORK — Because of the global coronavirus pandemic, concert trade publication Pollstar puts the total lost revenue for the live events industry in 2020 at more than $30 billion. Pollstar on Friday said the live events industry should have hit a record-setting $12.2 billion this year, but instead it...
