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On Friday night, a sold-out crowd assembled at Stage AE on the North Shore to raise money for women\u2019s health \u2014 and to celebrate women in music. And Jessica Simpson\u2019s return to music is certainly worth celebrating.<\/p>\n
The longtime pop star took an extended break from the studio and stage, last releasing songs and performing 15 years ago before her triumphant return earlier this year. But 2025 has been a year of renewal for Simpson, who put out two EPs in the pas six months \u2014 one on Friday, in fact.<\/p>\n
So not only was the annual Women Who Rock benefit concert an opportunity to raise funds for Magee-Womens Health Institute and their vital research, it was also \u201clike an EP release party,\u201d as Simpson put it.<\/p>\n
While the headliner was no doubt a draw, the event boasted other highlights as well.<\/p>\n
Women Who Rock is an organization dedicated to empowering women in music and funding women\u2019s health research. They have hosted benefit concerts in Pittsburgh going back to 2017, featuring headliners including Sheila E., Jordin Sparks and Melissa Etheridge.<\/p>\n
Emcee for the night Kelly Dzanaj, on-air personality at Star 100.7 FM, took the stage with energy. \u201cWe are so excited today to raise some very, very critical funds for women\u2019s health research,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
One of the ways that Women Who Rock boosts female musicians is through their Rising Star Contest. This year\u2019s winner is Talie, an indie pop singer whose performance was ethereal and impressive.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s Impact Award recipient was Kiya Tomlin, a fashion designer, entrepreneur, philanthropist and wife of Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. \u201cI\u2019m accepting this award in the name of all of the women who have lifted me up, as well as the women whose stories inspire me every day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Local folk pop band Buffalo Rose really got the party started with a breezy set of intricately-orchestrated, fast-paced tunes. Their song \u201cSolid Ground,\u201d which was released earlier this year, really shone with sincere lyrics, powerful harmonies and complex layers of instrumentation.<\/p>\n
But a real highlight was another Friday release: Buffalo Rose\u2019s cover of Cake\u2019s \u201cShort Skirt, Long Jacket,\u201d which was performed with impeccable attitude and garnered lots of audience participation.<\/p>\n
The crowd let out thunderous cheers when headliner Jessica Simpson took the stage in a puffy-sleeved jacket. The singer\/actress\/businesswoman has been in the spotlight since her teen years, part of the late-90s wave of pop divas. But her new music reflects a new maturity \u2014 and a more old-fashioned sound.<\/p>\n
She played all of the songs from her two \u201cNashville Canyon\u201d EPs, Pt. 1 of which released in March. These new songs undulated between heartbreak and self-discovery, from the airy \u201cFade\u201d to the heart-rending \u201cBreadcrumbs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m back onstage, which is just a surreal thing,\u201d she said. She\u2019s now an independent artist, which she said allows her the freedom to make the music she wants. \u201cOnce I took my power back, my soul was set on fire. So thank you guys so much for welcoming me to Pittsburgh and for having me back to sing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Simpson has always been an impressive singer, going back to her earliest single, 1999 ballad \u201cI Wanna Love You Forever.\u201d She sang a verse of it on Friday night \u2014 followed by a verse of Berlin\u2019s \u201cTake My Breath Away\u201d \u2014 and sounded just as strong as ever. She mostly kept away from her older music, but a few made their way onto the setlist \u2014 she also sang a verse of 2001 hit \u201cIrresistible\u201d that sounded much better with a live band than its original early-aughts overproduction. Thrown in was 2008 song \u201cCome On Over,\u201d which is pure pop country fun. Simpson said that she hadn\u2019t sang the song since she was on tour with Rascal Flatts more than a decade and a half ago.<\/p>\n
She also closed with a soaring cover of Robbie Williams\u2019 \u201cAngels,\u201d which she recorded for her 2003 album \u201cIn This Skin.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, of course, meeting halfway between the pop of yesteryear and the country of today was her rendition of Nancy Sinatra\u2019s \u201cThese Boots Are Made For Walkin\u2019\u201d which was originally recorded for the 2005 \u201cThe Dukes of Hazzard\u201d film. That version was always a little odd, but hearing her sing it live with the same smoldering breathiness \u2014 but this time backed by live musicians and a different take on the original song\u2019s arrangement \u2014 it was a treat.<\/p>\n
\u201cGot to thank Nancy Sinatra for that,\u201d she said. \u201cShe actually slid into my DMs and told me she loved my EP. How cool is that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Simpson was introspective throughout the night, infusing real passion into angrier songs such as \u201cYour Apology.\u201d But she was also here for some fun, as with the sultrier new songs \u201cHopeless Romance,\u201d which felt like a cross between older country and \u201990s alt rock, and \u201cSavage,\u201d which could have been an early James Bond film theme.<\/p>\n
Before closing with \u201cAngels,\u201d she sang a faithful and charming cover of Dusty Springfield\u2019s \u201cSon of a Preacher Man,\u201d after saying that she loved to sing it. \u201cThis is my parents\u2019 song,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The two new EPs may play into the current trend of pop artists running to Nashville, but Simpson\u2019s sincerity makes the move authentic, and her vocals sound pitch perfect with a tad of twang.<\/p>\n
Women Who Rock is very much an organization about empowerment, and it was great to see a talented pop icon finding her power, her name and her voice anew after such a long break. <\/p>\n
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Alexis Papalia is a TribLive staff writer. She can be reached at apapalia@triblive.com.<\/p>\n