Curt Smith (of Tears For Fears)

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 of avoiding routine performances, and how he creates an authentic connection with the audience. Behind the Setlist is co-hosted by Jay Gilbert from Label Logic and Glenn Peoples from Billboard. Links David Gray home page David Gray tour dates Jay Gilbert @ Label Logic Glenn Peoples @ Billboard Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17 Maalis 202554min

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 be released through BMG. "From our perspective, creatively, it allows us to make sure that we're okay signing off with some things," he says of the deal with BMG, "whether it be the timeline of how long it's taking us to create—because it's been a while since we put an album out, and that's that's all on us and our choice." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

11 Maalis 202537min

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 disappointed by the sameness of music, if you fail to be surprised by the music fed to you on streaming services, you should give Tank and the Bangas a listen.  We didn't use our usual recording setup for this episode because Jay was unable to join the interview, so please excuse's Glenn's less-than-pristine audio quality. Links: Tank and the Bangas home page Tank and the Bangas tour dates Jay Gilbert @ Label Logic Glenn Peoples @ Billboard Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4 Maalis 202526min

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 more recorded music. Listen and learn about Wheeler's love of fine coffee and the time the band recorded a Beach Boys cover song that was never released. Links The All-American Rejects home page The All-American Rejects tour dates Jay Gilbert @ Label Logic Glenn Peoples @ Billboard Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 Helmi 202545min

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 members of Foo Fighters, teaming with Sammy Hagar for the song "Party at the Beach Bar" (and partnering with the Red Rocker on Sammy's Beach Bar Rum), how he keeps up his busy music and professional life, the music that made him want to pick up a guitar as a teen, and playing for U.S. troops in Vietnam during the war. You can catch Rick on the "I Want My 80s Tour" along with John Waite, Wang Chung, Paul Young and John Cafferty. The tour runs from May 28 to August 10. Links Rick Springfield home page https://rickspringfield.com/ Rick Springfield tour dates https://rickspringfield.com/pages/shows Sammy's Beach Bar Rum https://rickspringfield.com/pages/beach-bar-music Jay Gilbert @ Label Logic https://www.jaygilbertconsulting.com/ Glenn Peoples @ Billboard https://www.billboard.com/author/glenn-peoples/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12 Helmi 202535min

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, cinematic sounds. There’s a lot of variety but the songs carry the same Phantogram fingerprints that go back to the 2010 debut album, Eyelid Movies, released on the indie label Barsuk Records.  Links: Phantogram home page Phantogram tour dates Jay Gilbert @ Label Logic Glenn Peoples @ Billboard Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Tammi 202537min

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 reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, is certified double-platinum in the U.S. and spawned the breakthrough single "Monster." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 Tammi 202544min

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 about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

26 Joulu 202431min