Entertainment category, Page 88
Mandisa, Grammy-winning singer and ‘American Idol’ alum, dies at 47
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Mandisa, a contemporary Christian singer who appeared on “American Idol” and won a Grammy for her 2013 album ‘Overcomer’, has died. She was 47. A representative for the singer told The Associated Press that the singer was found dead in her home in Nashville, Tennessee, on Thursday....
Blues guitarist Coco Montoya discusses new album ‘Writing on the Wall,’ making move from drumsVideo
At 72, touring isn’t getting any easier for blues guitarist Coco Montoya, but it’s still rewarding. “It’s definitely not gonna make me a millionaire,” he said Tuesday in a phone call from Charlotte, N.C., “but it is something that I definitely love what I’m doing.” That love for the road...
Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard on ‘Dark Matter’ album, upcoming tourVideo
SEATTLE — In some ways, it’s hard to believe it’s been six years since Pearl Jam last played Seattle, when their ballyhooed Home Shows drummed up more than $11 million for local homelessness organizations. Between a barrage of side projects and lead singer Eddie Vedder’s and guitarist Mike McCready’s penchants...
Review: Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ is great sad pop, meditative theater
Who knew what Taylor Swift’s latest era would bring? Or even what it would sound like? Would it build off the moodiness of “Midnights” or the folk of “evermore”? The country or the ’80s pop of her latest re-records? Or its two predecessors in black-and-white covers: the revenge-pop of “Reputation”...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh: April 19-21
We’ve made it to another weekend. Here are some ways to get out of the house and enjoy it. Kennywood’s open! Kennywood Park will open for the season this Saturday. Visiting the amusement park has been a tradition for families in the Pittsburgh region for generations. The park boasts new...
TV Talk: Emily Giangreco exits WTAE
Emily Giangreco, who joined WTAE as a sports reporter/anchor in the summer of 2022 from a station in Austin, Texas, left her job working for the station Wednesday in what she characterized as a mutual decision. “I’m not really at liberty to discuss leaving WTAE right now,” she said by...
Pittsburgh Swifties excited for ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ album release
Katlyn Lenz-Zanis has been a Swiftie since the very beginning — when Taylor Swift released her debut country-inspired album. “Her music isn’t just music,” she said. “It’s absolute art, it’s poetry, it’s beautiful … something for everyone to enjoy.” Now, Swift has risen to superstardom. With her 11th studio album...
Minor Moon’s Sam Cantor discusses new album ‘The Light Up Waltz’ ahead of Pittsburgh show
The new album from Minor Moon, a Chicago-based alt country/rock band, comes amid a period of personal stability for the band’s mastermind, Sam Cantor. “The Light Up Waltz,” released April 12 by Ruination Record Co., balances the positives in his life while also examining what’s happening in the outside world....
Allman Brothers Band co-founder and legendary guitarist Dickey Betts dies at 80Video
Guitar legend Dickey Betts, who co-founded the Allman Brothers Band and wrote their biggest hit, “Ramblin’ Man,” has died. He was 80. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer died at his home in Osprey, Florida, David Spero, Betts’ manager of 20 years, confirmed. Betts had been battling cancer for...
Long-lost first USS Enterprise model returned to ‘Star Trek’ creator Gene Roddenberry’s son
DALLAS — The first model of the USS Enterprise — used in the opening credits of the original “Star Trek” television series — has boldly gone back home, returning to creator Gene Roddenberry’s son decades after it went missing. The model’s disappearance sometime in the 1970s had become the subject...
Fans anticipate Taylor Swift’s new album as rumors of online leaks persist
The countdown is almost over — there’s mere hours until the release of Taylor Swift’s 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” But Swifites are in an uproar, as there’s been an alleged online album leak. Songs and lyrics that social media users are claiming are from the new album...
Choctaw artist Jeffrey Gibson is first Native American to represent U.S. solo at Venice Biennale
VENICE, Italy — Jeffrey Gibson’s takeover of the U.S. pavilion for this year’s Venice Biennale contemporary art show is a celebration of color, pattern and craft, which is immediately evident on approaching the bright red facade decorated by a colorful clash of geometry and a foreground dominated by a riot...
TV Talk: Locally made thriller ‘Godless Children’ to stream; ‘The Jinx’ re-animates Durst’s trialVideo
For their first indie feature film, “Godless Children,” co-writers Kathleen Regan and Simon Barracchini opted for a story that starts like a Lifetime movie and ends, well, in a different genre altogether (no spoilers here). “We call it a dramatic thriller,” Regan said. “In Hollywood, you have to have two...
TikTok star dies at 36, family reveals
Popular TikTok creator Kyle Marisa Roth died last week at the age of 36, according to multiple media reports. Roth was known for sharing and discussing controversial blind items and gossip news about the entertainment world. Her sister, Lindsay Roth, announced the news this week on Instagram. “My sister Kyle...
‘Apis’ tells environmental story with a cast of mostly puppets
The last creature on Earth travels through time in order to try and change history in “Apis,” the final production in the New Hazlett Theater’s 11th season of Community Supported Art productions. And who is that last creature? He’s a little blue bee named Bob. And he’s one of several...
Review: ‘Company’ is a heartfelt musical comedy in shiny new wrapping
Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Company” may be a classic at this point, but the production in the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh season opened Tuesday night with a fresh take. The show’s original Broadway run began in 1970, with music and lyrics by Sondheim and a book by George...
A painting of Winston Churchill by an artist whose work he hated is up for auction
LONDON — A portrait of Winston Churchill by an artist whose work the British leader loathed went on display Tuesday at Churchill’s birthplace ahead of an auction in June. The painting by modernist artist Graham Sutherland was made in preparation for a larger portrait that Churchill hated and which was...
Upper St. Clair graduate’s cabaret show celebrates friendship with Elizabeth Taylor
In 1981, Ann Talman placed a call from New York City to her hometown Upper St. Clair, announcing: “Dad! I got the Broadway show. And guess what? Guess who’s playing my mother? Elizabeth Taylor!” What followed was 18 months of touring with a cast that also included Maureen Stapleton and...
Salman Rushdie’s ‘Knife’ is unflinching about his brutal stabbing and uncanny in its vital spirit
NEW YORK — In Salman Rushdie’s first book since the 2022 stabbing that hospitalized him and left him blind in one eye, the author wastes no time reliving the day he thought might be his last. “At a quarter to eleven on August 12, 2022, on a sunny Friday morning...
Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim’s Connecticut home sold for $3.25M
NEW YORK — The Connecticut home of Broadway songsmith Stephen Sondheim has sold for $3.25 million. Sondheim, the composer and lyricist behind “West Side Story,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Gypsy” and many other classic musicals, died at his Roxbury estate in 2021 at age 91. He moved to Connecticut in 1984. Klemm...
Pittsburgh has a vibrant Black female DJ scene
Mary Dee Dudley was a pioneer of Pittsburgh and America’s music scene, breaking barriers in 1948 as the country’s first Black woman to become a DJ. The Homestead native established Studio Dee in the Hill District and debuted “Movin’ Around with Mary Dee” on WAOB Radio. Her impact echoes through...
ABBA, Blondie, Notorious B.I.G. enter National Recording Registry
LOS ANGELES — ABBA, Biggie, Blondie and Rudolph are entering America’s audio canon. New inductees into the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress include ABBA’s 1976 album “Visitors,” The Notorious B.I.G.’s 1994 album “Ready to Die,” Blondie’s 1978 breakthrough “Parallel Lines” and Gene Autry’s 1949 version of “Rudolph...
Sudden Little Thrills Music Festival lineup includes SZA, The Killers, Wiz KhalifaVideo
A new music festival from the organizers of internationally known events like Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo will be rocking Pittsburgh later this year, and they just announced their lineup. Sudden Little Thrills Music Festival will be held on Sept. 7 and 8 at Hazelwood Green. The event will be headlined Saturday...
Family celebrates Henry Mancini’s legacy on what would have been his 100th birthday
Update: The video for “Pink Panther,” the second single from “The Henry Mancini 100th Sessions — Henry Has Company,” featuring Lizzo and Sir James Galway both on flute, dropped on May 31. When famed composer Henry Mancini discussed his childhood with his family, he made sure to stress exactly where...
TV Talk: CBS starts a fire of controversy cutting off Billy Joel, reschedules show
After promoting “Billy Joel: The 100th at Madison Square Garden – The Greatest Arena Run of All Time” for weeks, CBS blundered nationally by cutting off the program mid-“Piano Man” to go to late local newscasts. CBS released a statement saying, “A network programming timing error ended last night’s Billy...
