Music / Nightlife

Pharrell Williams holds his hands up with his dancers after finishing his set with “Happy” at the end of a free pre-game concert at CenturyLink Field on Thursday. (Photo by Lindsey Wasson / The Seattle Times)

Under postcard-perfect sunny skies, Seahawks fans reveled in more than an hour of noisy, pre-game music with hip-hop and R&B singer Pharrell Williams and Seattle rock band Soundgarden.

A sense of personal renewal permeates “Somewhere Under Wonderland,” the seventh studio album from alt-rock band Counting Crows. Songs on the successor to “Underwater Sunshine,” the band’s 2012 album of cover songs by such artists as Bob Dylan and Gram Parsons were written in a matter of weeks at lead singer Adam Duritz’s Greenwich Village loft.

The Soundgarden tour is getting a boost with the rerelease of the 1994 “Superunknown,” the band’s most successful album — and a top album of the grunge era. The doubleheader also features Nine Inch Nails. (The Seattle Times, 2012)

More than 20 years ago, Soundgarden was booked to do its first tour with Nine Inch Nails (NIN).

But the doubleheader, featuring two of the most powerful hard-rock bands of the ’90s, never happened.

“We were originally going to tour with Nine Inch Nails in 1994 after ‘Superunknown’ came out,” guitarist Kim Thayil said recently during tour rehearsals at Seattle’s Studio X.

Lady Gaga, shown here performing in Florida earlier this month. (Kevin Mazur / WireImage)

Lady Gaga’s still got it.

The big-hearted pop diva known for her flamboyant showmanship and devoted LGBTQ following treated fans to nearly two hours of song, dance and spectacle Friday night at KeyArena.

Fans of all ages filled the venue — including Gaga’s father, Joe Germanotta, who was celebrating his birthday along with other family members. Seated at the piano, Lady Gaga dedicated an intimate, solo version of “Dope” to him, then led the audience in a “Happy Birthday” sing along.

Making up a date she was forced to postpone in May, pop diva Lady Gaga treated fans to a colorful, high-energy spectacle Friday at KeyArena. The connection to her fans was especially strong in her latest Seattle show. She read fan letters aloud, enlisted concertgoers in singing “Happy Birthday” to her dad (who attended the show…

Beloved by her fans, singer-songwriter Tori Amos received a boisterous Seattle welcome at the first U.S. show in her 80-city tour Thursday night at the Paramount Theatre.

The tour supports her 14^th studio album, “Unrepentant Geraldines,” which recently made its debut at an impressive No. 7 on The Billboard 200 album chart. The album, with songs inspired by visual art around the world, follows five years of musical exploration, including a London musical titled “The Light Princess.”

Seated between a grand piano and electric keyboard, the spirited, red-haired musician occasionally played them simultaneously,

Singer-songwriter Tori Amos, who has received multiple Grammy nominations and sold more than 12 million albums, performs the first U.S. show of her 80-city tour Thursday, July 17, at the Paramount Theatre.

The tour supports her current album, “Unrepentant Geraldines,” which made its debut at No. 7 on The Billboard 200 album chart.

(Brian Lowe)

KISS and Def Leppard team up for a headbanging, tongue-wagging night of hard rock Sunday in Auburn. Visiting more than 40 cities, the tandem tour celebrates KISS’ 40th year in music, as well as the band’s induction this year into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Collectively, the two bands have sold more than 200 million albums.

(Peter Boettcher Photography)

Electronic music is so ubiquitous today that EDM (electronic dance music) fans may not appreciate how revolutionary the music was in the early ’70s.

German group Kraftwerk pioneered the sound, releasing the mesmerizing album “Autobahn” and its title track in 1974.

My Goodness, “Shiver + Shake” (Votiv Music LLC)

Go ahead and turn up the volume on this album and let it howl.

“Shiver + Shake,” the new, full-length album by Seattle duo My Goodness, is a gloriously raucous celebration of Seattle-style psychedelic blues-rock.