Carrie Underwood & Jimmie Allen Play PPG; Stage AE Has Lotus; Badflower at Roxian (Sat., 2/25/23)

1) Winner of the fourth season of “American Idol” in 2005, Carrie Underwood has been on an upward trajectory ever since. Underwood, an Oklahoma native, already has been inducted into the Grand Ole Opry and has won eight Grammy Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, and 16 Academy of Country Music Awards. Best known for her pop country ballads and light rockers like “Before He Cheats,” she will be performing here as part of her The Denim & Rhinestones tour. It’s also the name of her latest LP. Carrie has described this album as a fun, sing into your hair brush in your room kind of an album. Denim & Rhinestones debuted at no. 2 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and no. 10 on the Billboard 200 chart. Underwood is married to Mike Fisher, a former NHL hockey player for the Nashville Predators and Ottawa Senators. Special guest is Jimmie Allen. 7:30 p.m. PPG Paints Arena, 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown.

Carrie Underwood at the 2019 American Music Awards. (Photo: Cosmopolitan UK)

2) Lotus has a history of playing shows on or around New Year’s Eve in Pittsburgh. For example, the jam band performed at Stage AE on December 27, 2019. We all know how 2020 went, so no Lotus show that year. They were supposed to play concerts on December 30, 2021 and December 31, 2021 at Mr. Smalls,, but with Covid still very present in the nation they rescheduled the date for that March. The band, originally from Indiana, is known for incorporating electronic elements into its music. On 2016’s Eat the Light, the group tried something new: vocals, with a different guest musician on every track. Concerts include elaborate lighting and occasionally themed shows. One 2009 concert saw David Bowie costumes. The band members play covers as well as originals during themed shows. 2022’s Bloom & Recede is Lotus’s latest album. It’s not New Years Eve, but you can see them at Stage AE. Doors open at  7 p.m. 400 North Shore Ave., North Shore. (C.M., R.H.)

3) Dark and self-loathing are two terms that could be used to describe the music of Badflower. But the group’s songs are also insightful and twinged with occasional humor. Lead singer Josh Katz delivers the song lyrics authentically because he has lived many of the experiences that he is singing about. Badflower started in Los Angeles in 2013 and released two EPs: About a Girl and Temper before releasing their first studio LP OK, I’m Sick in 2019. The post-grunge, alt-rock band’s latest LP is 2021’s This is How the World Ends. Badflower will be performing at the Roxian Theatre as part of their Asking for a Friend tour. Special guests are Des Rocs and Blood Red Shoes. 7:30 p.m. 425 Chartiers Ave., McKees Rocks. (R.H.)

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