Behind the Setlist
At Behind the Setlist, we talk to artists to get the stories about the songs they play live. Most artists are known best for their recordings, but they love to be on stage. That's where the music feels at home. That's where they connect with the audience. How do they pick the songs to take the audience on a journey? Why do they cover other artists' songs? How many new songs can an artist fit into a 16-song set when people want to hear the classics? We find out. Hosted by Glenn Peoples (Billboard) and Jay Gilbert (Label Logic).
Episodes
April 17, 2025 • 52 mins
Billboard's Behind the Setlist talks to Thurston Moore, co-founder of Sonic Youth, about his body of work as a solo artist and collaborator; his latest album, Flow Critical Lucidity; the likelihood of a Sonic Youth reunion; his musical education witnessing New York’s vibrant music scene in the late ‘70s; and his memoir, Sonic Life, that was released in 2023.
Links:
Thurston Moore home page
Jay Gilbert @ Label Logic
Glenn Peoples...
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April 4, 2025 • 42 mins
Behind the Setlist chats with synth-pop pioneer Howard Jones, best known for his hits in the ‘80s such as “Things Can Only Get Better,” “Life in One Day” and “What Is Love?” His 1985 album Dream Into Action reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and hit No. 2 on the U.K. album chart. Howard has remained incredibly busy over his career, releasing 15 studio albums, the most recent being Dialogue in 2022. Next up is Piano Co...
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March 26, 2025 • 40 mins
In this episode we talk to Kevin Mercer, otherwise known as Posdnuos, or Pos, from the hip hop group De La Soul. The group continues touring and making music after more than three decades, and they have continued after the death of David Jolicoeur, known as Trugoy the Dove, in 2023. De La Soul’s 1989 debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, was a breakthrough at the time and stands today as a hip hop classic for its positivity, intelli...
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March 17, 2025 • 54 mins
British singer-songwriter David Gray joins Billboard's Behind the Setlist podcast for a song-by-song walk-through of his February 14, 2025 set at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The 23-song set featured a number of songs from his latest album, Dear Life, and went all the way back to his 1993 debut album, A Century Ends. Gray talks about how a cover of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" made it into his sets, the importance ...
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March 11, 2025 • 37 mins
Jasen Rauch of Breaking Benjamin joined Billboard's Behind the Setlist podcast for a wide-ranging interview about the band's touring life, its loyal fan base, picking songs for Breaking Benjamin concerts, the challenge of developing new rock acts in 2025, and the band's transition away from Hollywood Records.
The group's latest song, "Awake," was licensed by the band through BMG, and Rauch says the band's upcoming album will also...
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March 4, 2025 • 26 mins
Fresh off a Grammy win for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album for The Heart, The Mind, The Soul, Tarriona "Tank" Ball of the New Orleans group Tank and the Bangas joined Billboard's Behind the Setlist to talk about that Grammy win, the stories behind some of the album's songs, her excitement for performing at the upcoming New Orleans Jazz Festival and how her music got its mix of soul, R&B, hip hop and poetry. If you’ve ever felt disapp...
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February 25, 2025 • 45 mins
Nick Wheeler of The All-American Rejects talks to Behind the Setlist about hitting it big in the '00s, the slowdown in the '10s and the band's return to meaningful touring in the '20s (and their performance at the 2022 When We Were Young festival that got the ball rolling). The band recently released a cover of the 1997 Harvey Danger song "Flagpole Sitta" through independent Spin Records and, Wheeler says, is currently plotting mor...
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February 12, 2025 • 35 mins
Rick Springfield joins Behind the Setlist to talk about his new greatest hits album out February 14, Big Hits: Rick Springfield’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, which features the new track "Lose Myself" and an assortment of songs ranging from his 1999 album Karma to 2023's Automatic. The deluxe box set version of the album comes with a hardcover coffee table book.
Rick talks about writing "The Man That Never Was" with Dave Grohl and the...
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January 30, 2025 • 37 mins
In this episode we talk with Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter, otherwise known as Phantogram. Phantogram released its 5th studio album, the fantastic Memory of a Day, in October 2024 and recently wrapped up a tour as the opener for Kings of Leon. Memory of a Day is a kaleidoscope of sounds, textures and moods, all rooted in excellent songwriting and Sarah and Josh’s ability to embed memorable hooks into layers of buzzing, distorted, c...
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January 15, 2025 • 44 mins
John Cooper, frontman for the rock band Skillet, joins Behind the Setlist for a wide-ranging talk about the band's latest album, Revolution, performing in countries many Western bands don't visit, the power of music to connect to other people, and music business lessons he has learned over the decades. Revolution is Skillet's 12th studio album and first to be self-released after leaving Atlantic Records. The band's 2009 album Awake...
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December 26, 2024 • 31 mins
Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith of Tears for Fears join Behind the Setlist to talk about their new live album, Songs For A Nervous Planet; concert film, Tears for Fears Live (A Tipping Point Film); and how they continue to strive to write and record great music (such as the four new tracks on the live album).
Links:
Tears for Fears home page
Tears for Fears tour dates
Jay Gilbert @ Label Logic
Glenn Peoples @ Billboard
Learn more abo...
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December 12, 2024 • 50 mins
Gene Simmons is no longer the fire-breathing, platform shoes-wearing bass player for KISS. After the band's final performance in December 2023, Gene has been leading the Gene Simmons band through European festivals and American theaters and venues far smaller than a typical KISS venue. Still, as Gene explained, touring with a four-piece band and a skeleton crew can be financially lucrative. Gene throws in a good Van Halen anecdote,...
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November 26, 2024 • 37 mins
Behind the Setlist was thrilled to talk to Rachael Price and Mike Calabrese from Lake Street Dive. In November, the Brooklyn-based band received a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal album for their 8th studio album, Good Together. Rachel and Mike talked about their surprise Grammy nod, the origin of the album's title track, what it’s like playing on stage after being together for two decades, and the band’s journey fr...
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November 13, 2024 • 38 mins
Gin Blossoms have been going for nearly four decades and continue to bring their '90s hits "Hey Jealousy" and "Til I Hear It From You" to venues around the U.S. What's the secret? Everybody gets an equal vote. Patience is key. Sacrifice is necessary. Punctuality is important, too, says singer Robin Wilson. "You don't make your bandmates wait for you. You want to keep a band together? Get to the airport on time.”
Links:
Gin Blossoms...
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October 30, 2024 • 37 mins
The original Sixpence None the Richer lineup came together for the first time in over two decades to release a new EP, Rosemary Hill, and put on the band's first tour in over ten years. Leigh Nash and Matt Slocum joined Billboard's Behind the Setlist to talk about getting the band back together, recording Rosemary Hill, the ending popularity of the band's hit song "Kiss Me," the interpolation of "Kiss Me" in Lisa's "Moonlit Floor,"...
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October 9, 2024 • 38 mins
Colin Hay is a natural storyteller. That side of him didn't come out during his brief tenure in the chart-topping Australian band Men at Work ("Who Can It Be Now?," "Down Under," "Overkill"). But after releasing two solo albums and getting dropped by his label, Hay reinvented himself as a solo artist who commands the stage with a mere guitar and his gift for an amusing anecdote. More than thirty years later, Hay has released an add...
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September 25, 2024 • 24 mins
Daryl Hall is best known for the duo Hall & Oates. Lately, he's made a name for himself with his long-running video series, Live From Daryl's House, where Hall and his house band perform with guest musicians (most recently Howard Jones, Robert Fripp, Lisa Loeb, Andy Grammer and Charlie Starr of Blackberry Smoke). Hall joins Behind the Setlist to talk about his latest album, D, which was produced by his good friend Dave Stewart, as ...
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September 12, 2024 • 36 mins
Paul Stanley of KISS joined Billboard's Behind the Setlist podcast to talk about a wide range of topics. Why the band sold its music royalties and name & likeness to Swedish company Pophouse. How the KISS legacy will live in the coming years. His love of soul music and his band, Paul Stanley's Soul Station. His feelings about KISS's final tour. His painting career. And his work with About Face, a Canadian non-profit for people with...
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September 4, 2024 • 28 mins
Violinist Lindsey Stirling made a name for herself in 2010 by reaching the quarter finals of America's Got Talent with a unique mixture of classical music, pop sensibilities and dancing. Within a few years, she was on a path to gold and platinum albums, world tours and an unexpected success in holiday music. Her latest album, Duality, sees Stirling pushing her sound further into rock and EDM. Billboard's Behind the Setlist podcast ...
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August 27, 2024 • 31 mins
Brandon Boyd and Mike Einziger of the rock band Incubus are currently on the band's Morning View + The Hits tour, a 10-city arena tour during which they'll play their 2001 album Morning View in its entirety — plus some more songs ("the hits"). And as many other bands have done lately, Incubus released a re-recorded version of the album, Morning View XXXIII, which features such beloved songs as "Wish You Were Here" and "Nice to Know...
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