Concert Reviews

Girl group Danity Kane bare their souls amid poppy hit songs at Jergel’s

For many of us in our 30s and 40s, you need to say no more than “this pop group was formed on a 2000s MTV reality show” and we’re there. That would explain the sold-out crowd Tuesday night at Jergel’s Rhythm Grille in Warrendale. Unfortunately, sometimes nostalgia has a darker...
Manheim Steamroller impresses with rock-filled holiday cheer at the Benedum Center

So much of Christmas is about the blending of old and new traditions, which makes neoclassical ensemble Manheim Steamroller, founded in 1974 by composer Chip Davis, an ideal soundtrack to the holidays. It turns out that a lot of people have felt that way over the past four decades; Davis...
Rick Schuler plays holiday favorites and John Denver classics at the Rocky Mountain High Experience

For those of us born in the latter decades of the 20th century, John Denver’s dulcet tones and sweet songs playing on the radio were a common occurrence, especially around Christmastime. The platinum-selling folk artist hit a peak in the 1970s, but many of his songs reverberated like a twanging...
Pittsburgh musicians rock Mr. Smalls with ‘The Smalls Waltz’

Nearly 50 years ago, the legendary group The Band — along with many of their famous friends — played their last concert. Held in San Francisco on Nov. 25, 1976, it was called “The Last Waltz” and was also filmed as a concert movie and documentary by another legend, Martin...
Jonas Brothers make themselves at home at PPG Paints Arena

If we ever needed proof that boy band fervor is alive and well, we need look no further than the Jonas Brothers. The trio rode the next wave of screaming female fans after NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys, coming to prominence for the Disney set in the mid-to-late aughts. Thus...
Paul McCartney still going strong at 83 in sold-out Pittsburgh showVideo

The long and winding road of Sir Paul McCartney’s career brought him to Pittsburgh for a sold-out show Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena. And what a road it’s been. The concert, part of his Got Back Tour, spanned almost three hours — with several storytelling interludes — and included...
Billy Strings delivers bluegrass magic at PPG Paints Arena

Billy Strings and his drum-tight (but drumless) band brought two sets and 25 songs of pure bluegrass magic to the first of two back-to-back PPG Paints Arena shows on Friday night. I’m already jealous of those who have tickets for Saturday night’s sold-out show. The 33-year-old guitar virtuoso may not...
Bill Murray and his Blood Brothers bring old-fashioned good times to the Palace Theatre

On Thursday night, a pumped-up crowd at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg got to see the star of “Ghostbusters,” “Groundhog Day” and “Caddyshack” tear through the vocals of Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone.” Bill Murray has cultivated a decades-long career as an award-winning actor and comedian, cementing himself as...
Chicago takes fans back through the decades at UPMC Events Center show

Few rock bands can brag about still touring with original members after nearly six decades, a cavalcade of personnel changes, more than two dozen albums and 20 Top 10 singles. Chicago can. Now in their 58th year, the Windy City band blew through Southwestern Pennsylvania on Wednesday night to deliver...
Pat Benatar and Bryan Adams rock it old school at PPG Paints Arena

Walking into PPG Paints Arena on Sunday night, I heard a woman behind me say, “This isn’t like going to a show in your 20s, it’s going to a show in your 50s. It’s a different vibe.” That was a pretty good thesis statement for a concert that included icons...
Jon Batiste delivers spiritual moment of music inside (and outside) Heinz Hall

Not a whole lot of performances at Heinz Hall end with spectators, sousaphones, melodicas and percussion instruments spilling out onto Penn Avenue. Then again, not a whole lot of performers are Jon Batiste. Batiste has cemented his place in the modern American music pantheon, with nearly 20 Grammy Award nominations...
Rickie Lee Jones and Patty Griffin bring coffeehouse vibes to Carnegie Music Hall

Pittsburgh’s folk music fans are having a banner week. On Thursday night, the Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland hosted an excellent one-two punch of women in folk, Rickie Lee Jones and Patty Griffin. With going on a combined century of experience, half a dozen Grammy Awards and 27 studio albums,...
Mumford & Sons put the ‘rock’ in ‘folk rock’ at PPG Paints Arena

Many would say that Mumford & Sons heralded the rebirth of popular folk rock in the early 2010s, and deservedly so. The much-loved and acclaimed British band fronted by Marcus Mumford strummed their way to seveal No. 1 records and an Album of the Year Grammy Award in 2013 for...
Psychedelic Furs bring it back to the ’80s at the Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland

I’ll admit that I wasn’t alive for the 1980s, but some music can make you feel nostalgic for things you’ve never experienced. So it was with the Psychedelic Furs at Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland on Wednesday night. The new wave band joyfully served up their ’80s hits in a...
Classic lineup of Biohazard opens Divided We Fall tour in New KensingtonVideo

Hardcore legends Biohazard may have had to abbreviate their Divided We Fall tour, but it kicked off in energetic fashion Friday night. The Brooklyn veterans reunited their classic lineup a few years back, and they’re releasing “Divided We Fall” — their first album in 13 years — on Oct. 17....
Lorde rules in her 1st Pittsburgh show at the Petersen Events Center

When it strode onto the scene in 2013, the pop song “Royals” defiantly took over the Billboard Hot 100 and changed the face of that decade’s popular music. New Zealand artist Lorde won two Grammys as a result of the song’s rule, an incredible feat considering she was still in...

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