Concert Guide June ’22: Chesney, Paisley, Mandy Moore, Lumineers, My Morning Jacket

The weather’s getting warmer, The Pavilion at Star Lake is Open and there’s more outdoors shows at Stage AE. There’s two big country performers in town this month with Brad Paisley and Kenny Chesney. Robbie Krieger of the supergroup The Doors, brings his guitar playing prowess, and many Door’s songs to the Hollywood Casino at the Meadows. Another band known for their guitar virtuosity is My Morning Jacket. While top Southern rock guitar band, The Outlaws are also on the loose in our fair city in June.

Mandy Moore fresh off the conclusion of her hit TV show, “This is US,” is on the road and playing the Roxian. How about a mega-act super show with Train, Jewel, and Blues Traveler. Flogging Molly brings their Celtic, punk-rock energy to Stage AE. Rising younger rock acts performing in Pittsburgh this month include: The Lumineers, Lord Huron, The Band CAMINO, and Motion City Soundtrack. Also Everclear is on tour and celebrating their 30th Anniversary.  On the hometown heroes front, The Clarks and Sunk King Warriors play at double bill at stage AE.

Entertainment Central Spotlight Picks

Thursday, June 2

Country musician Brad Paisley will be returning close to home when he plays The Pavilion at Star Lake. Paisley grew up down the Ohio River just a bit in Glen Dale, West Virginia (outside of Wheeling). His first album, Who Needs Pictures, was released in 1999. Since then he has achieved country music star status with 11 more studio albums that have sold over 11 million copies. The man has brought home some serious hardware too, having  won three Grammy Awards, 14 Academy of Country Music Awards, 14 Country Music Association Awards, and two American Music Awards. Paisley’s most recent album is 2017’s Love and War. He even has his own bourbon brand, America Highway Reserve, that he distills in conjunction with Bardstown Bourbon Company. They have an interesting way of aging the bourbon. The barrels are in a rolling rickhouse semi-trailer that follows Paisley’s concert tours. He visits Star Lake on his World Tour 2022. Tracy Lawrence and Tenille Townes open.. 7:30 p.m. 665 Route 18, Burgettstown. (R.H.)

Saturday, June 4

The Doors were a band of mythic proportions, led by Jim Morrison, who was equal parts poetic rocker and rebel. Unfortunately, Morrison flew too high and too close to the sun. He died in 1971 like many deceased rockers of that time at the age of 27. Most passed from drug or alcohol abuse. With Morrison dying so young, it left the other members of The Doors in a quandary. They continued on for a while with every member contributing vocals until breaking up in 1973. There would be offshoots and reunions throughout the years. Keyboardist Ray Manzarek died in 2013. The Doors’ guitarist, Robby Krieger, is on tour now. He wrote or co-wrote many top Doors’ songs including “Light My Fire,” “Love Me Two Times,” and “Touch Me.” He plays many Doors’ songs in his concerts. Krieger is a highly talented guitar player (no. 76 on Rolling Stone’s 100 Best Guitarists) and like the other Doors’ members is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. 8 p.m.  Hollywood Casino at The Meadows, 210 Racetrack Rd., Washington. (R.H.)

Wednesday, June 8

Southern rock finds its way north with The Outlaws. For over 40 years, the band has been thriving in the Southern rock genre along with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels, and The Allman Brothers. Founded in Tampa, Florida, in ’72, The Outlaws put forth a Southern rock opus with “Green Grass and High Tides” and scored a major hit with “There Goes Another Love Song.” Outlaw trademarks include beautiful vocal harmonies and intricate lead guitar play. Surviving the test of time, the inevitable evolution of popular music, and bandmates’ deaths, The Outlaws are definitely alive, kicking, and, it would seem, stronger than ever. And now that Lynyrd Skynyrd has embarked on a farewell tour, The Outlaws will be one of the groups to proudly carry forward the Southern rock banner. They come our way with special guest 7 Mile Run. 8 p.m. Jergel’s Rhythm Grille, 103 Slade Lane, Warrendale. (R.H.)

Lord Huron’s founding member Ben Schneider, first started writing music in his hometown of Lansing, Michigan. After some traveling he settled down in Los Angeles. In 2010 he started a solo project called Lord Huron, named after a great lake he had visited several times. Schneider created a few EPs and then slowly added members to form a band. Their debut studio album, Lonesome Dreams, was released in 2012, and they are touring in support of their fourth album, Long Lost, which came out last year. The indie folk group will perform and outdoor show at Stage AE. Special guest is Erin Rae. Doors open at 6 p.m. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. (R.H,)

Saturday, June 11

People will be partying in the parking lot and on boats with their boots on before country superstar Kenny Chesney takes the stage for a Heinz Field concert. One of the most accomplished names in country music, Chesney has released over 20 albums, 16 of them going at least gold. He’s also a successful crossover artist with many of his songs hitting the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 32 of his singles have reached number one on several country charts. After studying advertising at East Tennessee State and playing local bars, Chesney moved to Nashville and began his amazing rise. His latest album is 2020’s Here and Now. Special guests are Dan + Shay, Old Dominion, and Carly Pearce. 5 p.m. 100 Art Rooney Ave., North Shore. (R.H.)

Wednesday, June 15

Boulder, Colorado-based and Americana-tinged folk rockers The Lumineers opened for U2 in 2017. They played a fun and well-received set of their hits, including “Ho Hey,” “Cleopatra,” and “Stubborn Love.” The Lumineers, in support of their third album, titled III, headlined PPG Paints Arena in 2019. Guitarist/singer Wesley Schultz and drummer Jeremiah Fraites started playing together in New Jersey after Josh Fraites, the brother of Jeremiah and best friend of Schultz, died of a drug overdose in 2001. They relocated to Colorado in 2009, and cellist/vocalist Neyla Pekarek, after responding to their ad on Craigslist, joined in 2010. She left the group in 2018 to pursue a solo career. The Lumineers were nominated for Grammy Awards in the Best New Artist and Best Americana Album categories in 2013.The Lumineers are touring in support of their latest album, Brightside, which was released in January. They play The Pavilion at Star Lake on their Brightside World Tour. Special guest is Caamp. 7:30 p.m. 665 Rt. 18, Burgettstown. (C.M., R.H.)

Friday, June 17

San Francisco pop-rockers Train are led by the smooth-voiced Pat Monahan on vocals.. “Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me),” “Hey, Soul Sister,” and “Meet Virginia” are several of the band’s top songs. They are touring in support of their latest album release, AM Gold, which dropped on May 20. This is the group’s first LP in five years.

Jewel, one of America’s finest singer/songwriters, has—like her family—has led an adventurous life. Her grandfather fled Switzerland to escape the Nazi movement, moved to the U.S. Territory of Alaska and like other homesteaders was granted 600 acres. Jewel was raised in the Alaska wilderness with no running water or heat (the family did have a coal stove to fight off the frigid Alaska weather), and would ride her horses under the midnight sun. Jewel started performing with her father as a musical duo at the tender young age of 8. She got a partial scholarship to Interlochen, a fine arts pre professional boarding school in Michigan, where she studied operatic voice and learned to play the guitar. She raised $11,000 for school by performing a show in a high school auditorium in her hometown of Homer, Alaska. Local businesses donated prizes to be auctioned off at the show. During spring break one year, she didn’t have anywhere to go, so she busked her way across the country by train with a guitar and a song. Then she hitchhiked to Cabo San Lucas with a large skinning knife for protection concealed in her belt. She wrote lyrics about things she saw while traveling, resulting in the song “Who Will Save Your Soul.” Jewel has maintained a semi-nomadic lifestyle (concert touring) over the years which brings her to Pittsburgh this month.

Jewel has been nominated for Grammys several times and has sold over 27 million albums. She was married to legendary bull rider Ty Murray, but is now divorced.  She played June Carter Cash in the ’12 Lifetime network movie Ring of Fire, and also has authored eight books. Her songs include “You Were Meant for Me” and “Standing Still. Her latest release is Freewheelin Woman, her 13th studio album. It dropped in April.

John Popper, who is known equally for his harmonic prowess and harmonic bandoliers, leads Blues Traveler. The band, which started its journey in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987, touches on blues, folk, psychedelic, and southern rock. The group’s top hits are “Run-Around” and “Hook,” both of which appear on 1994’s four, its fourth (and breakthrough) album. Founding member and bassist Bobby Sheehan died in 1999 of an accidental overdose, but the rest of the band continued to honor their friend and bandmate. Popper and company continue to release music. Blues Traveler’s latest album is 2021’s Traveler’s Blues. Train, Jewel, and Blues Travelers are on the same bill at The Pavilion at Star Lake. Will Anderson opens. 6:30 p.m. 665 Rt. 18, Burgettstown. (C.M., R.H.)

Saturday, June 18 (Postponed to September)

Richard Starkey was born in the Dingle neighborhood of Liverpool, England on July 7, 1940. Growing up as an often sickly child in a poor neighborhood with divorced parents, he sometimes found himself recovering in a hospital. The hospital encouraged everyone to play in a makeshift band with whatever instruments were available. Young Richard grabbed a soft mallet and started banging on a hospital pan. He found his vocation and would be drumming from then on, even after family and friends gave him other instruments to try. He would become a highly accomplished drummer and joined up with three other Liverpool lads named John, Paul, and George who had a band and were looking for a new drummer. He was by then known as Ringo Starr (he reportedly garnered the nickname because of all the rings he wore. Starr came from his reluctant drum solos which he called starr time).

As we all know the Beatles achieved massive success and Starr had his moments to shine on songs like “Yellow Submarine,” “Octopus’s Garden,” and “With a Little Help From My Friends.” After the breakup of the Beatles he went on to solo success with several top ten hits including “It Don’t Come Easy,” “Back Off Boogaloo,” and “Photograph.” Starr always seemed to find good drumming gigs including with the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, two George Harrison albums and The Concert for Bangladesh, and additionally The Band’s Last Waltz. Readers of Rolling Stone magazine voted Starr as the fifth-greatest drummer of all time in 2011. His latest album, What’s My Name, was released in 2019.

Since 1989 Starr has occasionally toured with his own super group of ever-changing musicians, Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band. Members, too numerous to mention, have included his son Zak, Todd Rundgren, Joe Walsh, and Ginger Baker. For 2022 his band will include Steve Lukather, Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Gregg Bissonette, Hamish Stuart and  Edgar Winter. Not only is Starr a legendary drummer, but also a fun and charismatic personality. He brings his latest iteration of the All Starr Band to PPG Paints Arena.. 7:30 p.m. 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown. (R.H.) Postponed to September.

Wednesday, June 22

Louisville’s My Morning Jacket has created several killer jams over their career so far that have set stereo speakers ablaze. One is 2006’s “Lay Low” from their Z album (2006) which features a scorching, dueling guitar run a la Lynyrd Skynyrd or the Allman Brothers, with innovative drumming and melodic keyboards. “Big Decisions” from The Waterfall (2015) features melodic singing, beautiful slide guitar, pleasant keys, and creative, powerful drumming. Frontman and guitarist Jim James is one of the main creative forces in the band and has also had several good solo efforts. The group’s latest LP is 2021’s self-titled album. My Morning Jacket peaked at no. 8 on Billboard’s Top Rock Album Charts. Special guest is Indigo De Souza. Outdoor show. Doors open at 6 p.m. Stage AE, 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. (R.H.)

Thursday, June 23

Mandy Moore returned to music with Silver Landings in 2020. It was her first album since 2009’s Amanda Leigh. What’s she been doing since then? She’s arguably most known as Rebecca Pearson on NBC’s “This Is Us” (a show partly set in Pittsburgh and that has just concluded). Moore’s TV and film credits are numerous, including 2002’s A Walk to Remember and the voice of Princess Rapunzel in 2010’s Tangled. 1999’s So Real was her debut album. I Wanna Be with You followed in 2000; the eponymous single is her highest charting song to date, peaking at number 24. Other musical work includes her infectious duet with Australian singer-songwriter Ben Lee: “Birds and Bees.” (It appears on his 2007 release, Ripe.) Moore’s latest album is In Real Life, released last month. She is married to Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith. Her band consists of Goldsmith (guitar), his brother Griffin (drums), and Wiley Gelbar (bass), that makes three quarters of Dawes. Mandy Moore, who started performing as a child in Orlando, headlines the Roxian Theatre. Special guest is AHI. 7:30 p.m. 425 Chartiers Ave., McKees Rocks. (C.M., R.H.)

Friday, June 24

While studying at the University of Memphis in 2015, four students joined together to form The Band CAMINO. They released two EPs and then were signed to Elektra Records and made a third EP. Last year, the indie-electropop band, recorded their first LP, The Band CAMINO. The Band CAMINO, is still based in Tennessee, just a little more easterly in Nashville. In addition to releasing their debut album, 2021 was a big year for them having been handpicked by Dan + Shay to be the opening act on their tour. Plus they made an appearance on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” The group has been selling out multiple headline tours and playing the major festival circuit with performances at Lollapalooza, Forecastle, and on “Austin City Limits.” Special guests are renforshort and Games We Play. Doors open at 6 p.m. Stage AE, 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. (R.H.)

Motion City Soundtrack will perform in concert at the Roxian Theatre. Vocalist and guitarist Justin Pierre and guitarist Joshua Cain formed the band in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1997. After many line-up changes, the group solidified into a quintet for its debut LP, 2003’s I Am the Movie. One of the new members was keyboardist Jesse Johnson, who in concert often performs a “moogstand,” that is, a handstand on his Moog synthesizer. The Moog is not just a prop though; it’s a staple of their sound, which vacillates between rock, power pop, and emo. Cain is credited with integrating the Moog into their compositions. They were mainstays on the now defunct Van’s Warped Tour, and they also performed at the local Thrival Music Festival in 2014. Their latest album is 2015’s Panic Stations. Opening is All Get Out and Neil Rubenstein. 7:30 p.m. 425 Chartiers Ave., McKees Rocks. (C.M., R.H.)

Everclear’s singles, such as “Santa Monica,” “Father of Mine,” and “Wonderful,” were arguably some of the best rock songs from the latter half of the ’90s and early ’00s. Everclear will be releasing their debut album, World Of Noise, digitally remastered for the first time on digital streaming platforms on Friday, June 10. Art Alexakis and the band are on their 30th Anniversary Tour. They will be in concert at The Hollywood Casino at The Meadows along with special guests Fastball and The Nixons. 8 p.m. 210 Racetrack Rd., Washington. (R.H.)

Saturday, June 25

The Clarks continue to build on their foundation of playing solid working-class rock. The group gained a strong local following in the early ’90s gigging at clubs like Graffiti (remember Graffiti?), and has remained together and active long after nearly every other band on the scene during that era called it quits. After over 35 years, 11 albums, countless gigs and zero line-up changes, The Clarks have gone from being a regional favorite to a local institution. And the band members, who formed The Clarks at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, have never forgotten their home turf. Their most recent album is 2018’s, Madly in Love at the End of The World, released on the Clarkhouse Entertainment label. They have two new singles out, “Stay” and “Sugarcane.” Several possibly annual concerts for The Clarks are the Fayette County Fair (mentioned in their song “Cigarette”) and the Heinz Field Kickoff and Rib Festival or Stage AE. They are appearing with another popular Pittsburgh group, Jim Donovan & Sun King Warriors. Donovan is a founding member of the Pittsburgh super group, Rusted Root. The Sun King Warriors play a certain style of jam rock. They often play at Rivers Casino, Moondog’s, and various festivals. Their latest release is 2018’s We See Through It. Outdoor show. Doors open at 6 p.m. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. (R.H.)

Sunday, June 26

Limerick-born Dave King fronts Flogging Molly, a Celtic-punk band which formed in Los Angeles in 1997. They first started gelling as Flogging Molly when the group played a steady Monday night gig at the Los Angeles bar, Molly Malones. The band recorded and released a live album, Alive Behind the Green Door in 1997. Their name, Flogging Molly, is a tribute to the bar and people who supported them early on. A standout release includes 2008’s Float and its accompanying title track, a song about persistence. Their latest album is 2017’s Life Is Good. This month the Celtic punk rockers will bring their music to Stage AE. Special guests are The Interrupters, Tiger Army, and The Skints. Outdoor show. Doors open at 5 p.m. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. (R.H.)

Other Shows of Note

Sunday, June 5
Pittsburgh Opera (Hartwood Acres)

Monday, June 6
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (TRAF)
Trace Adkins (Palace Theatre)

Tuesday, June 7
Grant Lee Phillips (Club Cafe)
Tab Benoit (Jergels)

Thursday June 9
Devon Allman Project (TRAF)
Dirty Dozen Brass Band (TRAF)

Friday, June 10
Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets (TRAF)
Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers (South Park)
Feralcat and The Wild (Club Cafe)

Sunday, June 12
Femi Kuti & The Positive Force (TRAF)
Mani Bahia & The Mob (TRAF)

Friday, June 17
Vanessa Collier (South Park)

Saturday, June 18
Corinne Bailey Rae (Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall)
George Thorogood (Palace Theatre)

Friday, June 24
Buffalo Rose (South Park)

Wednesday, June 29
Garbage (Roxian Theatre)

Big Shows on the Horizon

Tuesday, July 5
Backstreet Boys (Star Lake)

Wednesday, July 6
Roger Waters (PPG Paints Arena)
Santana & Earth, Wind & Fire (Star Lake)

Saturday, July 9
The Doobie Brothers (Star Lake)

Sunday, July 10
Midnight Star (Hartwood Acres)

Tuesday, July 12
Dead & Company (Star Lake)

Thursday, July 14
Thomas Rhett (Star Lake)

Friday, July 15
Maren Morris (Stage AE)

Saturday, July 16
Jimmy Buffett (Star Lake)
The Cult (Stage AE)
Commodores (Hollywood Casino at Meadows)

Tuesday, July 19
New Kids on the Block (PPG Paints Arena)

Wednesday, July 20
Shawn Mendes (PPG Paints Arena)

Thursday, July 21
Morgan Wallen (Star Lake)

Friday, July 22 – Sunday, July 24
Deutschtown Music Festival

Friday, July 22
Chicago and Brian Wilson (Star Lake)

Sunday, July 24
North Mississippi All Stars (Hartwood Acres)

Friday, July 29
Rage Against the Machine (PPG Paints Arena)

Sunday, July 31
Outlaw Music Festival w/ Willie Nelson & ZZ Top (Star Lake)

Rick Handler is the executive producer of Entertainment Central.

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