POP: 25 of the best concerts to check out in Pittsburgh this fall
On the way into Western Pennsylvania this fall: nine members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and possibly some future ones. Here are highlights. See if you can pick the hall of famers. List at the bottom.
Peter Gabriel (Sept. 23, PPG Paints Arena): It’s been said of the former Genesis frontman that he could sing the phone book. We’ll see if that’s still the case when the 73-year-old legend plays his first show here since — believe it or not — 1993!
The Front Bottoms( Sept. 24, Stage AE): By “popular demand,” this visit by the quirky New Jersey folk-punk band was moved to the outdoor side of the venue where the fans can hang with the guys behind “You Are Who You Hang Out With.”
The Jonas Brothers( Sept. 25, PPG Paints Arena): Like Taylor Swift, the Jobros are running through their eras with marathon sets (around 35 songs) on “Five Albums. One Night. The World Tour.”
Stevie Nicks( Sept. 27, PPG Paints Arena): Last here in 2018 with the Lindsey Buckingham-less Fleetwood Mac, the rock goddess returns for her first solo since 2017, bringing a treasure trove of hits.
The Mars Volta( Sept. 27, Stage AE): The Texas prog band that sprung from the break-up of At the Drive-In plays the North Shore a month before the release of “Omar And Cedric: If This Ever Gets Weird,” a new documentary about founders and longtime bandmates Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López,
Buddy Guy (Sept. 28, The Palace Theatre): The 87-year-old blues legend, who began his career in 1957, stops in Greensburg on his “Damn Right Farewell Tour.” Just seven years ago, at 80, he won a Grammy for best blues album for “Born to Play Guitar,” which he surely was.
Brian Setzer: Rockabilly Riot( Sept. 30, The Palace Theatre): Two days after the Buddy Guy show, this hot player of Stray Cats renown is gonna rock the town of Greensburg, and if you’ve never seen Setzer, it’s even better than you can imagine.
Lana Del Rey (Oct. 3, The Pavilion at
Star Lake): Summer will be gone when the alt-pop star who gave us “Summertime Sadness” rolls in for, believe it or not, her Pittsburgh debut. The prolific singer-songwriter is touring behind “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd,” her ninth album since she debuted in 2010.
Durand Jones( Oct. 3, Thunderbird Music Hall): After three albums with The Indications, the southern soul singer went his own way on “Wait Til I Get Over,” a solo debut themed around faith, love and selfworth.
The Rascals (Oct. 6, The Palace Theatre): It should be a beautiful night when the 80-year-old, Felix Cavaliere, one of the all-time great blue-eyed soul singers, runs through the band’s golden hits like: “Groovin’,” “Good Lovin’” and “A Beautiful Morning.” The Lovin’ Spoonful, minus John Sebastian, opens.
A Boogie wit da Hoodie (Oct. 7, Petersen Events Center): The Bronx star, proclaimed by The New York Times to be “the most promising young rapper the city has produced in some time,” takes the leap from Stage AE to Pete-level touring behind fourth album “Me vs. Myself.”
The Eagles/Steely Dan (Oct. 15, PPG Paints Arena): It’s 2023. The LA legends’ “The Long Goodbye Tour” will run through 2025, so this could be the last goodbye in Pittsburgh — or maybe not. It’s bit of a crapshoot. It will, however, be the only
stop here with one of the greatest “bands” ever, Steely Dan.
Andy Summers (Oct. 17, The Palace Theatre): “The Cracked Lens + A Missing String Tour” is an evening with The Police guitarist, who will sample his solo catalog, read excerpts from his book of short stories, “Fretted and Moaning” and field questions from the audience.
Women Who Rock( Oct. 21, Stage AE): Ann Wilson sits near the top of that list. The sixth annual benefit for MageeWomens Research Institute presents the powerhouse Heart vocalist with her solo band, Tripsitter, which has a new album, “Another Door,” due on Sept. 29. She’ll be joined by The Vindys and Madame Trio.
91.3 WYEP Hellbender Ball (Oct. 21, Thunderbird Music Hall): The station’s annual Halloween show returns with String Machine as Lady Gaga; Nash.v.ill as Betty Davis; Chet Vincent and The Music Industry as George Harrison; Clara Kent as Erykah Badu and Water Trash as The Doors.
Cody Johnson (Oct. 27, PPG Paints Arena): The traditional country singer from Texas, making the jump from the Roxian in 2019 right to the arena, is about to drop “Leather,” his third major-label album and second consecutive double album. Chris Janson, in the opening spot, is always a potential show-stealer.
Rod Wave (Oct. 29, PPG Paints Arena): The Florida singer-rapper who broke out in 2019 with the emotional single “Heart on Ice” backs his newly released fifth album, “Nostalgia,” with his arena tour also featuring Ari Lennox, Toosii, G Herbo and Eelmatic.
Grace Potter( Nov. 1, Stage AE): The roots rocker and vocal dynamo, last here to play the Roxian just a month before the pandemic began, returns having released “Mother Road,” inspired by her adventures along the “backroads and byways of Route 66.”
The 1975 (Nov. 5, PPG Paints Arena): Having brought the “At Their Very Best Tour” to Moon in December, the British pop band returns on a larger scale with the “Still…At Their Very Best Tour,” still backing fifth album “Being Funny in a Foreign Language.”
Travis Scott( Nov. 8, PPG Paints Arena): This will be the first Pittsburgh show with the Houston rapper-singer since the first since the 2021 Astroworld tragedy (He last performed here in 2018.) This time, he’s touring behind his bounce-back album “Utopia,” which topped the charts in July.
Frzy with Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (Nov. 8, Heinz Hall): The PSO celebrates the 50th anniversary of hip-hop by collaborating with Pittsburgh rapper Harvey “Frzy” Daniels and his band in a program titled “The Glorious Succession of Frzy” that will include the world premiere of an orchestration of Frzy’s forthcoming album “Success.”
Skinny Puppy (Nov. 11, Roxian): When announcing an April postponement due to illness, Kevin ‘ohGr’ Ogilvie noted that he hadn’t missed a show in 40 years. Here’s a second shot at seeing the pioneering industrial band on its farewell tour.”
The Smalls Waltz ( Nov. 18, Mr. Smalls): The Randy Baumann Ramble Band & A Roster of 412 All-Stars, led by the WDVE morning man and keyboardist, will honor Robbie Robertson and the other late members of The Band (Garth Hudson is the only survivor) with this evening devoted to “The Last Waltz.”
Celebrating David Bowie (Nov. 20, Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall): The bad news is that Peter Murphy from Bauhaus had to drop off this show. The good news is that taking his place is Adrian Belew, who was with Bowie in the “Lodger” era and who was brilliant in the recent Talking Heads tribute with Jerry Harrison.
Billy Strings (Dec. 12-13, Petersen Events Center): The progressive bluegrass virtuoso does things with an acoustic guitar that will make your head spin. He’s back with his band at the Pete, where he played last November. This time it’s for two nights.
Rock & Roll Hall of Famers were: Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, The Eagles, Steely Dan, Buddy Guy, The Rascals, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Ann Wilson and Andy Summers.