PODCAST · music
Behind the Setlist
by Billboard
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
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John 5 talks about touring, Telecaster guitars and his KISS memorabilia collection
John 5 has the honor of being the guest for the final episode of Billboard's Behind the Setlist podcast. The insanely talented guitarist has a decades-long solo career and has also played with the likes of Rob Zombie, Paul Stanley, Marilyn Manson and k.d. lang. But John 5 is best known these days...
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Kenny Wayne Shepherd talks upcoming tour, the state of blues music and more.
Guitar legend Kenny Wayne Shepherd's debut album Ledbetter Heights turned 30 years old, and Shepherd's “Ledbetter Heights 30th Anniversary Tour” will launch February 19th, 2026 in Dallas, TX. Shepherd and his band will play the album in its entirety and perform other highlights from his three...
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Lady A talks about new Christmas album, holiday tour and what comes next.
Country stars Lady A joined Billboard's Behind the Setlist podcast to talk about their new Christmas album, On This Winter's Night: Volume 2. The album features some original songs and new, refreshing renditions of well-worn holiday classics as "Winter Wonderland" and "Wonderful Christmastime."...
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Babymetal talks about their Nov. 1 show at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles
Behind the Setlist was thrilled to get a brief interview with Su-metal, Moametal and Momometal from the band Babymetal after their triumphant show at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on Nov. 1. For the uninitiated, Babymetal is a Japanese heavy metal band fronted by Su-metal, Moametal, Momometal…
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Bob Dylan historian Sean Wilentz on Dylan's evolution from imitator to interpreter
Rejoince, fans of Bob Dylan. Here's a lengthy, fascinating conversation about Dylan's formative time in New York City in the early '60s. Billboard's Behind the Setlist is joined by Sean Wilentz, a Bob Dylan historian who wrote the 125-page liner notes in the 8-CD box set, Bob Dylan’s Bootleg…
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Rebroadcast: Kim Thayil of Soundgarden on the band's final concert in 2017
Our February 2023 conversation with Kim Thayil, the guitarist for rock band Soundgarden, was one of our favorites in over three years of doing the Behind the Setlist podcast. So here's an encore presentation of the interview that focuses on Soundgarden's final show at Detroit's Fox Theatre on May...
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Peter Wolf on the J. Geils Band's Touring, Hanging with Van Morrison and Dylan, and Seeing Spinal Tap
Peter Wolf is a man with a million stories to tell. Thankfully he put many of them in his memoir, Waiting on the Moon: Artists, Poets, Drifters, Grifters, and Goddesses, released in March 2025 on Little, Brown and Company. In the hard-to-put-downWaiting on the Moon, Wolf is tells of his...
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Brett James - Rebroadcast of May 2022 interview with the late country songwriter
Behind the Setlist is rebroadcasting our interview with country songwriter Brett James that we recorded at his office in Nashville in May 2022. Initially signed as a recording artist, Brett went on to become a hugely successful songwriter, penning such song as "Jesus, Take the Wheel" (recorded by...
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Shinedown's Brent Smith on the band's success at radio, the new song "Three Six Five" and upcoming plans.
Settle in for a great conversation with one of the biggest rock stars in the U.S. Shinedown's Brent Smith joined Billboard's Behind the Setlist podcast for a wide-ranging talk about the band's music and business. Smith explained the importance of radio for the band and how it has helped give...
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Ado on Japan's vocaloid culture, being anonymous and performing in a cage.
Japanese singer Ado might not be a household name in the United States and other Western countries, but the 22-year-old has enough fans to play arenas across Europe, the U.S. and Latin America. Billboard spoke with Ado (through an interpreter) to find out about her beginnings as fan of vocaloid...
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Mickey Guyton on Performing on Chinese TV, Recording New Holiday Music
Country singer Mickey Guyton joined Billboard's Behind the Setlist podcast from China where she was a contestant on the TV show "The Singer." She ended up coming in second place on finale on August. 8. "I'm the first country artist that they've had on the show, and it's just been so much fun,"…
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Alexandra Kay on Upcoming Album, Working for Country Stardom and Coffee
In this episode we talk to country artist Alexandra Kay. Alexandra will release her second album, titled Second Wind, on October 24 through BMG’s BBR Music Group. She has already released three tracks to her fans — including her 8.6 million large social media following. You may know Alexandra…
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Zac Brown Talks Upcoming Sphere Residency and Album
Zac Brown sat down with Billboard's Behind the Setlist podcast to talk about two major projects that will debut on Dec. 5: a new album, Love & Fear, and a residency at the unparalleled, state-of-the-art Sphere venue in Las Vegas. "The last three or four years, I've been wanting to create a...
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Ray LaMontagne
Singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne doesn’t do a ton of press, so we were thrilled to get some time with him to discuss his latest tour and the 20th anniversary reissue of his album Trouble. First released in 2005, Trouble peaked at No. 164 on the Billboard 200. His next album, Till the Sun Turns...
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Devon Allman and Duane Betts (of the Allman Betts Band)
In this episode of Billboard's Behind the Setlist podcast we talk to Devon Allman and Duane Betts of the Allman Betts Band. That was Devon Allman in the show opener talking about how many of the people who attend their concerts also saw them when they were young and on the road with the Allman...
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Adam Duritz (of Counting Crows)
In this episode we talk to Adam Duritz, singer for the long-running, much celebrated band Counting Crows, about everything from his love of the band Big Star to doing podcasts rather than traditional interviews to promote new albums and tours. Counting Crows are best known for the songs “Mr…
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Lyle Lovett
Lyle Lovett joined Billboard's Behind the Setlist podcast to discuss his love for live performances, the amazing musicians who join him on stage, and his career spanning over 45 years. He shared his early days at Texas A&M, where he booked acts and played covers, and his transition to performing...
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Buzz Osborne (Melvins)
In this episode we talk to Buzz Osborne, the singer and guitarist for legendary rock band Melvins. Before the Pacific Northwest became known for grunge, Melvins, a notable influence on Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, were making sludgy, heavy rock music in Washington State. After grunge broke in…
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The Doobie Brothers
In this episode we talk to Patrick Simmons and Tom Johnston. Call them easy listening or a bar band from California, but what matters is The Doobie Brothers have been making music for over 50 years and are back with a new album, Walk This Road, out June 6 on Rhino Records. For Walk This Road,...
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Richard Marx
For a period of time in the late '80s and early '90s, Richard Marx was everywhere. The hitmaker achieved a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with "Hold Onto the Nights." “Endless Summer Nights” went to No. 2 while both “Don’t Mean Nothing” and “Should’ve Known Better” went to No. 3. His...
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Larkin Poe
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…
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Thurston Moore
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…
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Howard Jones
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....
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Posdnuos (of De La Soul)
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...
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David Gray
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...
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Jasen Rauch (of Breaking Benjamin)
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...
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Tarriona "Tank" Ball (of Tank and the Bangas)
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...
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Nick Wheeler (of The All-American Rejects)
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...
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Rick Springfield
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...
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Phantogram
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...
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John Cooper (of Skillet)
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...
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Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith (of Tears for Fears)
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...
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Gene Simmons
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...
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Lake Street Dive
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...
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Gin Blossoms
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…
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Sixpence None the Richer
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,...
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Colin Hay (of Men at Work)
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...
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Daryl Hall
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...
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Paul Stanley (of KISS)
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…
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Lindsey Stirling
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...
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Brandon Boyd and Mike Einziger (of Incubus)
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...
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Perry Farrell (of Jane's Addiction)
Perry Farrell is one of a kind. He co-founded Jane's Addiction and left a lasting mark on rock music with the original band members' initial run of three albums: Jane's Addiction (1987), Nothing's Shocking (1988) and Ritual de lo Habitual (1990), the latter getting a boost into the mainstream…
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Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Etheridge had wanted to perform at a prison for decades. In fact, she grew up within a stone's throw of a penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, where Johnny Cash performed in 1970. "Prisons must be a place of great entertainment," she thought to herself, "and someday I'm gonna grow up and...
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Mat Kearney
Mat Kearney's self-titled, 8th studio album (released May 15 through Middle Kid Records) adds a dash of the early '80s to his highly crafted songwriting. Mat was enamored by the band The Brook & The Bluff, he tells Billboard's Behind the Setlist podcast, and had them back him in the studio to...
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Pat Monahan (of Train)
Pat Monahan co-founded the rock band Train and gave his soaring voice to such hits songs as "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)," "Meet Virginia," "Calling All Angels" and "Hey Soul Sister." Pat joins Billboard's Behind the Setlist to talk about building a setlist for the band's current tour with REO...
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Adam Lazzara (of Taking Back Sunday)
Adam Lazzara is the frontman for Taking Back Sunday, whose single "S'old" from the album 152 spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart in late 2023 and early 2024. Taking Back Sunday broke out of Long Island, New York to put four albums inside the top 10 of the Billboard 200 album...
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Chayce Beckham
Rising country star Chayce Beckham wrote and performed the song “23,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart in April. He also performed the song on season 19 of "American Idol" and joined such luminaries as Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson and Scotty McCreery by winning the...
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Birdy
Birdy (Jasmine van den Bogaerde) broke into the mainstream in 2011 when, at the age of 14, she released a cover of Bon Iver's "Skinny Love," a song that remains a staple in her live performances. "Skinny Love" was a hit in the U.K. and Australia and helped her debut, self-titled album top album...
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K.Flay
K.Flay (Kristine Flaherty) released her latest album, MONO, on Sept. 15, 2023 on Giant Music. Known for songs like "High Enough" and "Blood in the Cut," K.Flay says she recorded MONO like it was a debut album. "I just didn't have a ton of judgment," she says. "In a good way. I wasn't self...
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The Black Keys
Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney join Billboard's Behind the Setlist podcast (Glenn Peoples from Billboard and Jay Gilbert from Label Logic) to talk about the upcoming album, Ohio Players, out April 5. The debut single, "Beautiful People (Stay High)" and other tracks were inspired by the rock, R&B...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
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).
HOSTED BY
Billboard
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Behind the Setlist have?
Behind the Setlist currently has 86 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Behind the Setlist about?
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...
How often does Behind the Setlist release new episodes?
Behind the Setlist has 86 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Behind the Setlist?
You can listen to Behind the Setlist on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Behind the Setlist?
Behind the Setlist is created and hosted by Billboard.
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