Behind the Setlist

Lee Loughnane is one of the founders of the long-running band Chicago. He is joined by Peter Pardini, director of the new documentary on the band, The Last Band On Stage (out Sept. 30) as well as a 2017 documentary about Chicago, Now More Than Ever, that captures the band as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the band's non-stop touring schedule. Lee talks about being off the road, what it was like r...

Michael Sweet is a founding member of the heavy metal band Stryper. The band was formed in 1983 and released a six-song EP, The Yellow and Black Attack, in 1984 on Enigma Records. That was followed by a string of successful albums in the '80s: Soldiers Under Commend from 1985 and In God We Trust from 1988 are certified gold in the U.S. To Hell With the Devil from 1986 went platinum in the U.S. Aga...

You may not know his name, but you know his songwriting. Nashville songwriter Brett James has more than 25 No. 1 songs to his credit and a 2006 Grammy for co-writing the Carrie Underwood hit "Jesus, Take the Wheel." Brett joined Behind the Setlist at his office in Nashville to talk about co-writing "Out Last Night" with Kenny Chesney on a Caribbean island, how "Jesus, Take the Wheel" came together...

If you were listening to pop and rock music from the late ‘70s to the early ‘90s, you undoubtedly heard John Waite. He hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1984 with “Missing You” behind massive radio play and a boost from heavy MTV rotation. He also reached No. 1 in 1989 as a member of rock supergroup Bad English with the song “When I See You Smile” (penned by legendary songwriter Dianne W...

Josh Groban should have his own podcast. What a story teller! The incredible singer was kind enough to join Billboard's Behind the Setlist podcast from Northern California during his U.S. tour that concluded at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on August 2. Josh talked about his affinity for British pop and rock music, his friendship with composer Stephen Sondheim and songs from his set lists that...

Hailey Whitters is an Iowa-born, Nashville-based country singer-songwriter with a handful of solo albums and a Grammy nomination to her credit. Earlier this year Hailey had her first headlining tour from February to May (including some dates in the U.K. and Ireland for the C2C: Country to Country Festival in March). Next, Hailey is going out on a national tour opening for country star John Pardi s...

Ani DiFranco is an American singer-songwriter and founder of Righteous Babe Records, through which she has released two dozen studio albums and EPs since 1990 in addition to numerous live albums that capture her rousing, emotional live performances. Ani's latest album, Revolutionary Love was released in January 2021. She wrote the title track for her friend Valarie Kaur, a civil rights leader who...

Curt Smith joins Behind the Setlist to talk about Tears for Fears' new album, The Tipping Point, his excitement to play the new songs live, how to choose songs for concerts, his opinion on encores and much more. Smith and bandmate Roland Orzabal first hit the charts in the U.K. in 1982 with "Mad World." For a time, the band performed the song to sound like the darker Gary Jules and Michael Andrews...

Ann Wilson, co-founder of the legendary rock group Heart, joins Glenn Peoples (Billboard) and Jay Gilbert (Label Logic) to talk about the set list from her show at the Neptune Theatre in Seattle, WA on Oct. 13, 2021. Ann played three songs from new album, Fierce Bliss, released on April 29, "Greed," "Black Wing" and a cover of Queen's "Love of My Life." And, of course, she performed a number of He...

Multi-platinum singer-songwriter Andy Grammer hit the Billboard Hot 100 with such tracks "Keep Your Head Up" and "Honey, I'm Good." In recent months, he released four new tracks through his own Giant Soul Records imprint through his longtime label S-Curve Records. On Behind the Setlist, Grammer talks about the art of creating a setlist -- which includes highs, lows, new tracks, a cover song or two...

Billboard has a new podcast coming up called Behind the Setlist where artists talk about the songs they play live. Sometimes we talk about a specific concert. Other times we discuss how the artist approaches building a setlist and taking the audience on a journey. And we always talk about the cover songs artists play and why they choose them. Our initial episodes will be Ann Wilson (from Heart), A...