Three decades ago, Alison Krauss performed at Bradys Run Park as part of the Beaver County Bluegrass Festival.
Krauss was in the early stages of an illustrious career that now totals 14 albums, nine Country Music Association awards and 27 Grammys, including her Album of the Year collaboration with Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant.
With her latest solo album, "Windy City," debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums and Top Bluegrass Albums charts and picking up two Grammy nominations, Krauss is back on the road, including a 7:30 p.m. Friday show at the Benedum Center.
Tickets are $65 to $85.
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Back in the '70s, when the clock struck 11 p.m., "Pennsylvania came to life," according to the new Hall & Oates and Train song "Philly Forget Me Not."
Yes, Philadelphia's soulful hitmakers Daryl Hall and John Oates have teamed with pop-rock band Train, led by Erie's Pat Monahan, on a single and a tour that makes a Saturday visit to PPG Paints Arena.
"Philly Forget Me Not" cracked Billboard's Adult Contemporary Top-10 chart this week, and you can count on Hall & Oates and Monahan being on stage together performing it in Pittsburgh. In recent stops on their co-billed tour, the two acts also perform a Train hit together (we won't spoil the surprise of which one), while Monahan also chips in on a Hall & Oates song.
And, of course, you can't stop a Train show from including a Led Zeppelin cover amid the West Coast band's own hits.
Tickets are $31 to $123 for the 7 p.m. show that begins with Nashville singer-songwriter-pianist Kandace Springs.
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Thrash-metal titans Slayer swear this is their final world tour, and they're going out strong, bringing with them a heavy-hitting lineup of Lamb of God, Anthrax, Behemoth and Testament.
Some dates have sold out, but not Saturday's show at KeyBank Pavilion in Burgettstown. Tickets cost $25 to $79, with the head banging starting at 5 p.m.
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Australian pop star Troye Sivan headlines the Pittsburgh Pride concert Friday night on Liberty Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh.
The 22-year-old Sivan's "Youth" notched him his lone U.S. top-40 hit in 2015, though buzz keeps building the now Los Angeles-based artist who made guest appearances this year on "Saturday Night Live" and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." Earlier in his career, Time magazine named him one of the most influential teens.
“We’re excited that Troye has chosen Pittsburgh for his very first Pride concert," said Gary Van Horn Jr., president of Pittsburgh's Delta Foundation, which produces the event celebrating the diversity of the Pittsburgh region specifically for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. “He’s an amazing artist and a great role model who is living authentically through his music.”
This year's Pride festival concert, recast as Pride Rocks PGH, is a general-admission, all-ages event (those under age 18 must be accompanied by adult.) Admission is $35.
Support acts are pop singer Kim Petras, who made headlines as the youngest person to undergo gender reassignment surgery, and singer-songwriter Leland, who co-wrote Sivan's "Youth" as well as songs for Selena Gomez and Mount Lebanon pop star Daya.
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"People shouldn't necessarily think of bluegrass when they see the banjo," says Valerie June, the R&B/country/folk artist who headlines Friday's free Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival concert. "It was originally an African instrument, and people in America used to play all kinds of banjo: mandolin banjo, ukulele banjo, bass banjo, classical banjo, jazz banjo, there were even banjo orchestras. For some reason, people like to limit it and say it just has to be in folk and bluegrass, but to me it can be in anything."
June proved that on her latest record, which earned rave reviews, mainly for her strong and unique singing voice. Willie Nelson picked her for last year's Farm Aid lineup, and June also has delivered captivating performances on "The Tonight Show," "The Late Show," "Austin City Limits," "CBS Saturday Morning," and on esteemed concert stages ranging from Carnegie Hall to the Kennedy Center to the White House.
Her Point State Park performance is set for 7:30 to 9 p.m., following an opening set by Moon Township native Brooke Annibale, who releases her impressive new album that same day.
Weather cooperating, some good-sized crowds should turn up for Saturday's Bluegrass Day at the arts festival, starring Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, and Sunday's show by alt-country stalwarts The Mavericks. Both shows begin at 7:30 p.m.
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Primus and Mastodon make for an odd but intriguing pair in a 7 p.m. Friday concert outdoors at Stage AE.
Primus is led by its deftly talented and eccentric bassist Les Claypool, who has said this will be the alternative-rock band's last tour for a while. Or as he put it: "This will be the last Primus run for a bit as we will need to cool-out for a while, recharge and work on our nunchaku skills."
Mastodon headlined Stage AE indoors last year and four months ago beat out Pittsburgh's Code Orange to win a Best Metal Performance trophy at the Grammy Awards.
Opening the 7 p.m. show will be Jjuujjuu. Yes, that's their name. Tickets are $42.50 in advance, $45 day of show.