Behind the Setlist

Latest Episodes:

Larkin Poe May 01, 2025

Show notes

In this episode we talk to Larkin Poe, a duo of sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell. Fifteen years into their careers as Larkin Poe, Rebecca and Megan have built a catalog of blues and Southern rock-influenced music and a dedicated following. The duo’s 2022 album, Blood Harmony, won a 2024 Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Their latest album, Bloom, is another soulful, occasionally bombastic journey through American roots music.

Links:

Larkin Poe home page

Larkin Poe tour dates

Jay Gilbert @ Label Logic

Glenn Peoples @ Billboard

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Thurston Moore Apr 17, 2025

Show notes

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 @ Billboard

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Howard Jones Apr 04, 2025

Show notes

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 Composed, out May 23, in which he returns to his classical music roots.

Links:

Howard Jones home page

Jay Gilbert @ Label Logic

Glenn Peoples @ Billboard

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Posdnuos (of De La Soul) Mar 26, 2025

Show notes

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, intelligence and sample-heavy production that borrowed from Hall & Oates, Steely Dan, Bo Diddly and the Steve Miller Band.

The conversation centered around the group's Jan. 17, 2025 concert at Lincoln Center in Manhattan but also touched on the group's longevity, connecting with younger generations, continuing after Trugoy's death, musical influences and the recent slew of De La Soul reissues.

Links:

De La Soul home page

De La Soul tour dates

Jay Gilbert @ Label Logic

Glenn Peoples @ Billboard

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David Gray Mar 17, 2025

Show notes

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

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Jasen Rauch (of Breaking Benjamin) Mar 11, 2025

Show notes

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."

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Tarriona "Tank" Ball (of Tank and the Bangas) Mar 04, 2025

Show notes

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

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Nick Wheeler (of The All-American Rejects) Feb 25, 2025

Show notes

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

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Rick Springfield Feb 12, 2025

Show notes

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/

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Phantogram Jan 30, 2025

Show notes

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

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