TOP 3 CONCERTS
then girlfriend, singer Rihanna, in 2009. Has that hurt his career? Perhaps not much. His latest album, “Indigo,” released in June, attracted participation from Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Drake and others, and became his first No. 1 album in seven years, and his seventh straight R&B chart-topper.
6:30 p.m. Sept. 18, with Tory Lanez, Ty Dolla $ign, Joyner Lucas and Yella Beezy, PPL Center, 801 Hamilton St., Allentown, www.PPlCenter.com, 610-347-TIXX. Tickets: $39.50$103.50 (some sections sold out.) Glam metal radio-rockers Ratt, with other groups such as Mötley Crüe, established the early-1980s Los Angeles “hair metal” scene. It had gold hits such as “Round and Round” and “Lay It Down,” and five gold and platinum albums.
But the years since have not been kind to bands of that era. Even Crüe has retired, and Ratt hasn’t had a hit in nearly 30 years. It has split and reformed a couple of times, singer Stephen Pearcy had health problems that affected shows, and there even was a court battle over competing versions of the band. Now the ’80s are in vogue again, Pearcy says he’s healthy, the band has bassist/backup singer Juan Croucier back and is working on new material. Are the rats back on the ship?
6:30 p.m. Friday, with Sister Salvation, The Devils and Ms. Jones, Ryder, Red Halo, Horizontal and Ozmium 76, OneCentreSquare, 1 Centre Square, Easton. Tickets: $30, www.onecentresquare.com. Led Zeppelin was the biggest rock band of all time, with album sales of more than 100 million, making it the No. 2-selling band ever, behind only The Beatles.
Singer Robert Plant was a huge part of that; his piercing wail was equal to any in rock, but he was also able to sing a broad range of styles far beyond any of his contemporaries. Rolling Stone magazine readers ranked him the best-ever lead singer. Plant these days tends to focus more on muted music: the Americana of his latest, 2017’s “Carry Fire,” is a good example. But in concert, he can’t escape what made him great: Playing with his band The Sensational Space Shifters, his shows have included a half-dozen Zeppelin songs.
7 p.m. Sept. 17, with Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats and Lillie May, Mann Center for the Performing Arts, 5201 Parkside Ave., Philadelphia. Tickets: $40 (four for $120) general admission lawn-$489.74, www.manncenter.org, 800-745-3000.