The best and biggest concerts for 2019 (so far).
THE BEST AND BIGGEST CONCERTS FOR 2019 (SO FAR)
It’s going to be hard to top 2018, but 2019 seems willing to at least try. Consider this a very early glance at what’s to come because venues like Stage AE and KeyBank Pavilion have barely scratched the surface on their lineups.
CHARLY BLISS (Club Cafe, Jan. 15): The NYC band injected some always-welcome fuzz pop into 2017 with “Guppy” and recently teased what’s next with a slice of “Heaven.”
GANG OF FOUR (Club Cafe, Feb. 17): It’s not really Gang of Four without Jon King, but it’s still a chance to see one of the great punk-rock guitar players, Andy Gill, do his thing.
BOB MOULD (Mr. Smalls, Feb. 19): Last seen here killing it with just a guitar at Hartwood Acres, the punk/hardcore icon who fronted Husker Du and Sugar returns with his new album, “Sunshine Rock,” perhaps the beginning of a new genre. ST. PAUL & THE BROKEN BONES
(Stage AE, Feb. 19): The Alabama band led by Paul Janeway brings some of that oldschool soul that drives the kids wild.
DISTURBED (PPG Paints Arena, Feb. 20): New Musical Express called it “the worst band in the world.” Its fans obviously disagree, as they put four straight albums at the top of the charts. The latest is “Evolution,” a mix of old nu-metal crunch and heavy-handed acoustic balladry.
BLAKE SHELTON (PPG Paints Arena, Feb. 23): “The Voice” star is at his best with some supportive talent, and he gets that on the Friends and Heroes Tour from breakout star Lauren Alaina and veterans the Bellamy Brothers, John Anderson and Trace Adkins. DILLON FRANCIS & ALISON
WONDERLAND (Stage AE, Feb. 23): The Latin Grammy-nominated EDM star who headlined Thrival moves indoors on this tour that pairs him with the breakout EDM sensation from Australia.
THE MILLENNIUM TOUR (Petersen Events Center, March 8): Boy band B2K will bump, bump, bump on this jampacked nostalgia tour complete with
Mario, Ying Yang Twins, Lloyd, Pretty Ricky and Chingy.
MUMFORD & SONS (PPG Paints Arena, March 14): The British band brings its fiddles and bombast for its first Pittsburgh arena show, riding high on “Delta,” its third straight chart-topping album.
GRAHAM NASH (Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall, March 15): It’s the 50th anniversary year of Woodstock, and so far the esteemed CSNY member is the one Woodstock vet booked for Pittsburgh this year.
ALABAMA (PPG Paints Arena, March 15): Amazingly enough, this is the 50th Anniversary Tour for the band that injected some Southern rock and redefined the country genre in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
MARIAH CAREY (Benedum, March
18): Given her nearly 30-year career as a hitmaker, this is a pretty long-awaited Pittsburgh debut. It’s timed with her 15th album, “Caution.”
GARY CLARK JR. (Benedum, March 20): This is the first Pittsburgh theater show for the talented Texan who carries the torch for the B.B. King/Eric Clapton school of guitar.
PAT METHENY SIDE EYE (Carnegie Lecture Hall, March 24): The jazz guitar legend is rolling out this new project, a rotating cast of young players, starting with keyboardist James Francies and drummer Nate Smith.
KISS (PPG Paints Arena, March 30): The End of the Road Tour will be one last blast of Kiss (maybe, who knows …) and one last chance to revel in the nostalgia of all those crazy rockin’ arena shows.
CHER/CHIC (PPG Paints Arena, April 18): Cher’s Living Proof: The Farewell Tour came through Pittsburgh on July 5, 2002, so this is more living proof that you should never buy into “farewell” tours. What you should do is start planning your wardrobe for this one now.
VALERIE JUNE (Carnegie Lecture Hall, May 2): The soulful singer from Memphis is an otherworldly talent and a total wacky joy to watch, as she demonstrated once again at the Three Rivers Arts Festival last summer.
ERIC CHURCH (PPG Paints Arena, May 3-4): On the Double Down Tour, the rowdy country rocker promises six albums worth of material across two very different nights of music.
DAVID BROMBERG QUARTET (The Oaks Theater, May 11): A musician’s musician, Mr. Bromberg appeared on two Dylan albums in 1970 and then launched his solo career two years later, revealing a songwriting touch and sharp wit to go with his fingerpicking skills.
GARTH BROOKS (Heinz Field, May 18): This is the first Pittsburgh stadium show for the (very) mainstream country pioneer who disappeared for a decade and a half and then returned to open arms in 2014.
TWENTY ONE PILOTS (PPG Paints Arena, June 7): The kids who lined up around the block at Stage AE for hours knew what they were doing. The pop/ rock/hip-hop duo from Columbus, Ohio, puts on an impressive and theatrical show.
ARIANA GRANDE (PPG Paints Arena, June 12): The former Disney star and one-time Mac Miller flame will headline the last night of Coachella in April and then bring her tour supporting “Thank U,
Next” to Pittsburgh for her first arena show. OZZY OSBOURNE/MEGADETH
(KeyBank Pavilion, June 13): Rush skipped Pittsburgh on its farewell — still hurts — but Ozzy isn’t gonna do us like that. The Prince of Darkness brings No More Tours 2 to Pittsburgh for his first show here in nine years.
THE MIXTAPE TOUR (PPG Paints Arena, June 23): New Kids on the Block took last year off, probably to devise a way to get Salt-n-Pepa, Debbie Gibson, Tiffany and Naughty by Nature all on the same bill with them. It’s an ‘80s dream — or nightmare. METAL IMMORTAL FESTIVAL
(Mr. Smalls, June 29): Pittsburgh band Lady Beast celebrates its 10-year anniversary with a traditional heavy metal fest also featuring Night Demon, Destructor, Razor and more.
WEIRD AL YANKOVIC (Benedum, July 7): Weird Al follows his Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour (a stripped-down affair of original songs) by going full-blown orchestral for the first time with the Strings Attached tour — props, video wall and all. HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH
(KeyBank Pavilion, July 21): The first tour in more than a decade for the South Carolina band that made grunge more palatable to the masses. Barenaked Ladies bring an
offbeat sense of humor to the proceedings.
QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT (PPG Paints Arena, July 31, 8 p.m.): Given the box-office boom of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” you could feel this coming. Pittsburgh got the Paul Rodgers version of this tour in 2006, but this is our first time seeing it with the more Mercury-like “American Idol” finalist.
JEFF LYNNE’S ELO (PPG Paints Arena, Aug. 1): Music geeks can rejoice over this first ELO show since 1981 when the British orchestral rockers played the Civic Arena with Hall & Oates.
IRON MAIDEN (PPG Paints Arena, Aug. 17): After a nine-year absence, the British metal band finally makes its way back to Pittsburgh on the Legacy of the Beast Tour, which, oddly, is based on its video game and “basically takes various incarnations of Eddie into many different Maiden Worlds.”
CARRIE UNDERWOOD (PPG Paints Arena, Oct. 12): This show went on sale like four years ago. At least, it’s going to feel that way to fans who got their tickets in August. The pop-country superstar will appear in the round once again on The Cry Pretty Tour 360.
ELTON JOHN (PPG Paints Arena, Nov. 13): All right, Elton, goodbye already! Just kidding. If he wants to spend three years doing it, that’s his right. After last year’s brilliant performance, why complain?