Stephen Stills and Judy Collins in Concert at Palace; Marlon Wayans Plays Pittsburgh Improv (Fri., 8/18/17)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiM23iff5lk

1) Not once, but twice Stephen Stills has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and on the same night! Stills garnered that double accolade through his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash. In Buffalo Springfield, he teamed up with Neil Young, who has called Stills a genius, and his other bandmates to create the seminal counter-culture song “For What It’s Worth (Stop, Hey What’s That Sound).” After Buffalo Springfield disbanded, Stills joined up with David Crosby and Graham Nash to form CSN. They had a cornucopia of hits including “Helplessly Hoping” and “49 Bye-Byes.” On Stills’s self-titled, first solo album, he had some help on guitar from Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, and Ringo Starr assisted on drums (credited only as Richie!). Stills has also been a member of the bands Manassas and most recently The Rides.

Legendary songstress Judy Collins was a piano prodigy by 13, and as she came of age, she used her music to rail against social and environmental problems. She’s known for reinterpreting traditional and contemporary folk music standards to create rich, insightful, poetic-like songs about life’s ups and downs. Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger influenced her with their use of storytelling through songs about hard-luck people. Collins, in turn, inspired others—Stephen Stills wrote the classic song, “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” while breaking up with Collins. Collins’s version of Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns” garnered her the Song of the Year Grammy Award in ’76. Stills and Collins are performing together for the first time ever on this tour and have an album, Everybody Knows, which will be released September 22. 8 p.m. The Palace Theatre, 21 W. Otterman St., Greensburg. (RH)

Marlon Wayans, Friday, Aug. 18 through Sunday, Aug.20.

2) Yes, Marlon Wayans is a member of the illustrious, and large, Wayan’s family. Wayans is also an actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer. He got his first film role as a pedestrian in I’m Gonna Get You Sucka; written, produced, and directed by his big brother Keenen Ivory Wayans. He went on to have subsequent roles in White Chicks, Scary Movie I and II, and Fifty Shades of Black. With comedy being the main family trade, Wayan’s teamed up with them for work on the seminal FOX TV comedy “In Living Color,” and with his brother Shawn on the WB Network comedy “The Wayan’s Brothers,” airing from 1995-99. Wayans will be starring in his new title-role comedy “Marlon which is set to debut on NBC on August 16. You can catch some comedy from Wayan’s in advance of his new TV show at the Pittsburgh Improv Friday, August 18 through Sunday, August 20. 166 E. Bridge St, The Waterfront, Homestead. (RH)

3) Nashville’s Kings of Leon charted three albums in the top five of the UK Albums Chart before finally breaking in their homeland. Hits like “Sex on Fire” and “Use Somebody,” which won three Grammys, buoyed 2008’s Only by the Night, their fourth LP, to number four on the US Billboard 200. The band performed a victory lap of festival dates, including Lollapalooza, in 2009. Come Around Sundown followed in 2010, and the quartet took a needed hiatus in 2011. They regrouped two years later for Mechanical Bull. Members include brothers Caleb, Nathan, and Jared Followill, and cousin Matthew Followill. Jared attended Mount Juliet High School in Tennessee. (Mount Juliet is the home of country rocker Charlie Daniels.) Leon was the name of their grandfather. Their latest album is 2016’s Walls, their seventh LP. They play KeyBank Pavilion. Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats open. 7 p.m. 665 Rt. 18, Burgettstown. (RH, CM)

Kings of Leon in action earlier this year. photo: Raph_PH and Wikipedia.

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