Bow Wow Plays the Pete; Our Lady Peace and The Verve Pipe at Roxian (Sat., 4/4/26)

1) We’ve brought you a throwback video, above, because the artist is on a throwback tour. Lil’ Bow Wow is no longer so lil’ these days. But though it may seem he’s been around for ages, grownup Bow Wow still hasn’t hit the big 4-0 yet—until next year, he’s forever 39. And the rapper born Shad Moss (a cool name in itself) has done quite a bit since releasing his debut album, Beware of Dog, at the puppy-ish age of 13. He was given the stage name by his discoverer and advocate, the venerable Snoop Dogg. Bow Wow’s resume to date includes six studio albums, acting in films and TV, hosting hip hop broadcasts, and more. He’s now on a tour designed to showcase talents who emerged or flourished in the 2000-aughts. Bow Wow visits Petersen Events Center for a concert that’s also slated to feature B2K, Amerie, Waka Flocka Flame, B5, and Pretty Ricky. 8 p.m. 3719 Terrace St., Oakland. (M.V.) 

2) How does a band come to be called Our Lady Peace? The Canadian alt-rockers took their name from a poem of that title, by the esteemed poet Mark Van Doren. It’s a ray-of-hope poem, written in the 1940s during the carnage of World War II, and a poem of rich imagery— which, according to the band members, reflects how they’ve wanted their music to be. Formed in Toronto in 1992, OLP (the band’s short-form name) has often dealt in literary allusions and psycho-social themes. The group’s 2000 album Spiritual Machines took its title from the book The Age of Spiritual Machines, by computer scientist and futurist Ray Kurzweil, who even teamed with OLP to record spoken-word segments for the album. (“The year is 2029. The machines will convince us that they are conscious, that they have their own agenda …”) But OLP is more than a message band. These guys rock. Their 10th and latest studio album is 2021’s Spiritual Machines 2, with encores by Kurzweil. Artificial intelligence is not writing this concert preview. We humans at Entertainment Central wish to inform you that Our Lady Peace visits the Roxian Theatre with guests The Verve Pipe. Doors at 7 p.m., music 8 p.m. 425 Chartiers Ave., McKees Rocks. (M.V.) 

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