Lauryn Hill posts apology, promises return; Stedeford’s closes

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Lauryn Hill has posted an apology for her late arrival at Heinz Hall Tuesday night and promised to make it up to the fans.

The legendary singer-rapper posted on her Facebook page Wednesday:

“To my fans in Pittsburgh:

We apologize for the extremely late start last night, there were factors out of our control. Due to the snow yesterday in NYC, half of my band, and some members of my crew, were stuck at LGA airport all day. After several cancelled and delayed flights throughout the day, they arrived late last night, and went straight to the venue for the show. The promoter notified people of the new start time through social media, and as fans got to the venue. In hindsight, we should have cancelled the performance and rescheduled for a later date, but we decided to try and make it happen. We are working on scheduling another performance in Pittsburgh later this month, before the end of the tour, for the people who bought tickets to my show last night. More details will be announced over the next few days. We look forward to seeing the fans in Pittsburgh again in a few weeks. Thank you for your understanding.”

With the time on the ticket saying 8 p.m., Ms. Hill and her band did not take the stage until around 11:20 p.m., after many of the fans had grown frustrated and left, asking for refunds on the way out. She performed until almost 1 a.m.

Reaction to her post has been mixed, with some fans excited for her return, and others still angry, and calling her out for the many times in the past year when she has shown up late.

Stedeford’s closes

Pittsburgh has lost one of its longest-running record stores, at least for now.

The store Son of Stedeford’s Discount Records & Tapes (formerly Stedeford’s), a fixture on East Ohio Street on the North Side, closed Tuesday.

The store, which specialized in rap and R&B, had been a family business for more than 50 years. The storefront at 515 E. Ohio St., where it had been the past two years, is now vacant.

A 2001 story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted, “The business started when a friend of the Leists, a North Side jeweler, got a box of records from Columbia. It somehow inspired him to go into the music business in his Federal Street shop. When he became ill, the Leists took over. They’ve been in business since 1964 …”

The store was recently owned and operated by Lonnie Leist, passed down from his father, Ron, who inherited it from his parents, Harvey and Dolores Leist. Dolores worked at the store well into her 80s.

In 2005, Ron Leist received three years probation after pleading guilty to selling bootlegged and counterfeit hip-hop CDs.

The Leists could not be reached for comment on whether the store will relocate and what will become of the stock, which is in storage.