My husband and I were listening to music from India on NPR this past Sunday evening when I heard a song that I really liked. Shazam came to my rescue, of course, which means that I can now pass along my latest musical discovery:

I conducted an interview with a pianist this week, and during our interview she happened to mention the piano duo Anderson and Roe. When I looked them up on YouTube and discovered their rendition of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean," I was captivated and impressed. Check it out, if you'd like:

Yesterday on Twitter, I stumbled upon this Tweet:

As any Pink fan would, I clicked the link. And wouldn't you know that I was led to this video (are you ready? I don't think you're ready!):

Let's put it this way: I'm a huge Pink fan AND Dallas Green/City & Colour fan. So, I'm pretty ecstatic about this collaboration. I find that this song is well-written and quite beautiful, so if this tells me anything about the upcoming album, I doubt I'll be disappointed by any means. Go Pink! And go Dallas Green! :D

I'm OBSESSED with Vampire Weekend's "Modern Vampires of the City." Cannot get enough of it. In fact, most of the writing I've been publishing--and the creation of my first chapbook (!)--received some inspirational assistance from this polished gem of an ear candy collection.

The band recently posted this video to their Twitter account and I must share because Ezra Koenig makes me nerd out like woah . . .

. . . and that's the truth.    

                                                                            :)

I've been really disappointed with nearly all the posthumous Michael Jackson videos (one of the most recent, "Love Never Felt So Good," for instance, was so painful for me to watch). "A Place With No Name," however, is certainly an exception. I think that this video was tastefully created, and for that reason I'm posting it on my website. Have a look:

. . . that this is one of the most memorable videos I've seen in awhile. What's not to love about this little girl's performance?

This evening I had the pleasure to interview singer/songwriter and guitarist Jarekus Singleton. He's on the line-up for this year's AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival, and I thought he'd be a good artist to highlight for the next issue of Our Town's AMPED. (Spoiler: I was right. Be sure to pick up next week's paper if you live in the Johnstown/Somerset area!) Jarekus was such a great interview, and I'm so, so excited that he's coming to Johnstown at the beginning of August!

If you've never heard of him, I suggest clicking "play" on the video below. This guy is making some stellar blues music, and I think he's going to be around for a long, long time. Mark my words. I dare you.

Well, folks, it finally happened: I finally got to see Sir Paul McCartney live in concert. This has been an item on my Bucket List item for years and years. In fact, in 2010, I tried my darndest to snag tickets to Paul's back-to-back Consol Energy Center shows, but the tickets sold out within 5 minutes, no joke.

The fact that I snagged four tickets this time around bewildered me, and I paid a lot for them, but it was worth every penny. Every single Lincoln-graced penny. I mean, how often do you get to see a Beatle in concert? He's living history.

Spell it out with me now: L-i-v-i-n-g  h-i-s-t-o-r-y.

Paul's "Out There" tour came to Pittsburgh on July 7, and let me just say that it was FANTASTIC. The Beatle appeared on the stage at 8:30 p.m. and didn't leave it until 11:20 p.m. My mom was amazed that he "didn't even take a sip of water!" and I was amazed by how good he sounded, how enthusiastic he was. I think he was just as happy to be there as we were.

For those of you who missed the show, I've uploaded two videos and a photo for your viewing pleasure. (Also, if you're visiting the site as a result of reading my latest Our Town column, special thanks for stopping by!)

Ob-La-De, Ob-La-Da:

Two encores. Fireworks. Beatles songs. Wings songs. Solo songs. What an amazing night!

Yes, fireworks:

Did I mention that he played not one but TWO encores? Yes. Seventy-two-years-old and he played two encores. It's obvious that the guy loves what he does.

 See Paul McCartney in concert = check!

Next up (fingers crossed): Ringo!