Tate McRae in Concert at PPG Paints Arena; Stage AE Hosts Violent Femmes (Wed., 10/15/25)

October 13, 2025/Rick Handler

1) I saw that Tate McRae was slated to give a concert at PPG Paints Arena. I wasn’t very familiar with her so I looked her up. When I saw her photo, I thought, that’s the young woman in the Neutrogena TV commercial that talks about her life, and her many unread text messages, to her dermatologist. It is! Not only is she a paid influencer for Neutrogena, but she’s also a very talented singer and trained dancer. McRae, a Calgary, Canada, native, first rose to fame as a finalist on the American TV show “So You Think You Can Dance” in 2016. She was then signed to RCA Records and launched two EPs. The second, Two Young to Be Sad, was the most streamed EP by a female in 2020 on Spotify. Since then she’s released three studio albums including this year’s So Close to What. The album debuted at no. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. McRae has been nominated for and won many international music and dance awards including six Canadian Juno awards. See how great her skin looks in person on her Miss Possessive Tour. Special guest is Alessi Rose. 7:30 p.m. 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown. (R.H.)

2) Milwaukee is a tough town, so it’s no surprise that the mean streets have given birth to a band called Violent Femmes. Just kidding! The city’s actually quite nice, and though the boys in the band did start out busking on the streets there, they seem to be nice enough guys that you shouldn’t worry about sitting next to them on a plane. They’ve even got a snarky-larky sense of humor, as in the song “Another Chorus.” Violent Femmes endured an acrimonious breakup at one point, when one band member licensed a song for use in a Wendy’s commercial, provoking the ire of a bandmate who didn’t like being associated with corporate beef-intensive fast-food chains. Fortunately, the breakup was followed by a make-up and Violent Femmes now rock onward. Their music has been called folk-punk but often might best be described as wondrous cacophony. And they’ve never lost their street-busking sound from ‘way early. The band visits Stage AE in Pittsburgh for a concert that’s curiously billed in language more fitting for a soft-rock crooner: “An Evening with Violent Femmes.” Be sure to wear your nice clothes. Doors open 7 p.m. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. (M.V.)