Kenny Wayne Shepherd Plays the Palace; CHMH Hosts Lewis Black on his Goodbye Yeller Brick Road Tour (Sun., 3/10/24)

1) Some people know from a very early age what their life’s work will be. Kenny Wayne Shepherd is one such person. Growing up, one of his first loves was a guitar. He worked at his skills so voraciously that he became a young prodigy. An early musical influence was his dad, a radio personality and concert promoter. Another influence would be Stevie Ray Vaughn, and other blues rock legends. Shepherd’s first album, Ledbetter Heights, would reach no. 1 on the Billboard Blues chart. His follow-up album, which was released in 1997 when he was only 18 years old, was even more successful. Trouble Is… reached the  no.1 spot as well and spawned a mega mainstream rock hit, “Blue on Black.” This early success bolstered his credibility in the musical industry. Shepherd went on to open for, and perform with, many rock and blues legends including The Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Van Halen, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Pinetop Perkins, Etta Baker, and the Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters Bands. Shepherd has been nominated for five Grammy Awards. He is touring in support of his latest, and 11th, studio album, Dirt on My Diamonds, Volume I, and will be performing at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg. See our recent interview and story with Shepherd. 8 p.m. 21 W. Otterman St. (R.H.)

Kenny Wayne Shepherd performing on his Fender Stratocaster. (Photo: Kristin Forbes)

2) There is an F-word that comedian Lewis Black loves to use, and it’s not “funny.” Although Black himself is. Some have even said he’s funnier than the S-word he also likes to use, and if you’re in the mood for a rant, Black is your man. This is the technophobic guy who brought his iPhone to an Apple store to ask for “an app that will turn this piece of [S-word] into a TELEPHONE.” On social and political topics, Black is belligerently liberal—don’t get him started on religion, or on Donald Trump, for he is a self-starter who needs no encouragement. And what makes his ranting effective, as comedy, is that he doesn’t only foam at the mouth and scream. He is a finely controlled ranter with a dead-on sense of comic timing. Black has also appeared in over 40 films and TV shows and written six books. He has a sizable amount of fans, and his official fan club is named Frustrated Union of Cynical Kindreds Universal. Black is currently on his Goodbye Yeller Brick Road Tour, which he says is his final one. 7 p.m.  Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall, 510 E. 10th Ave., Munhall. (M.V., R.H.)

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