Iconic ’90s rock bands coming to Alabama, celebrating 30th anniversary of hit albums
Two powerhouse ‘90s rock bands are going on tour in summer 2024, celebrating the 30th anniversary of albums that cemented their fame.
Live, led by Ed Kowalczyk, and Stone Temple Pilots, now fronted by Jeff Gutt, are set to perform on Aug. 27 at Oak Mountain Amphitheatre in Pelham. The Alabama date is part of a 19-city “Jubilee Tour” that points to milestones for “Throwing Copper,” Live’s No. 1 record from 1994, and “Purple,” a chart-topper for STP that same year.
Tickets for the Pelham show go on sale Friday, March 22, at 10 a.m. CT via Ticketmaster/Live Nation, after a round of pre-sales. Prices are $49.50, $59.50, $79.50 and $99.50, plus service charges, according to promoter Live Nation. Several pre-sales are planned, starting on Tuesday at 10 a.m. CT and running through Thursday, March 21, at 10 p.m. CT, according to the Ticketmaster/Live Nation listing.
Soul Asylum will be the opening act on the tour; Live and Stone Temple Pilots will alternate for the closing spot on the lineup. Live is set to close at Oak Mountain, according to a press release from Live Nation.
Right now, Pelham is the only Alabama stop on the tour, but the bands are scheduled to perform in Southern cities such as Rogers, Arkansas (Aug. 24, Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion); Jacksonville, Florida (Aug. 30, Daily’s Place); and Alpharetta, Georgia (Aug. 31, Ameris Bank Amphitheatre).
Live has nine studio albums to its credit, 1989-present. The band is best known, however, for “Throwing Copper,” produced by Jerry Harrison of the Talking Heads. The multi-platinum album included hit singles such as “Lightning Crashes,” “Selling the Drama,” “I Alone” and “All Over You.”
Kowalczyk, a singer, songwriter and guitarist, is a founding member of Live and its longtime prime mover. He’s the only original member currently touring with Live, and has been the band’s frontman for most of its history, which dates back to 1984.
Stone Temple Pilots are going on tour in 2024, co-headlining with Live. The tour will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Stone Temple Pilots’ album “Purple” and Live’s album “Throwing Copper.”(Courtesy photo)
Stone Temple Pilots have eight studio albums to their credit, 1992-present, and hits such as “Plush,” “Creep,” “Vasoline,” “Interstate Love Song,” “Big Empty,” “Big Bang Baby” and “Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart.” After breaking through with the 1992 album “Core,” STP followed with “Purple,” a sophomore blockbuster that included the monster hit “Plush.” The song won several awards, including a 1994 Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance.
Frontman Scott Weiland, a electrifying and unpredictable performer, founded Stone Temple Pilots in 1989 with guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo and drummer Eric Kretz. Weiland helped to bring STP to fame but also had a checkered history with the band. He famously struggled with drug addiction, and this contributed to STP calling it quits in 2003. The band reunited in 2008, with Weiland at the microphone, and split with him in 2013. (Weiland died in 2015 at age 48.)
Chester Bennington of Linkin Park replaced Weiland as the lead singer of STP, 2013-2015, and Jeff Gutt of Dry Cell took over as frontman in 2017. Gutt can be heard on two STP albums, 2018′s “Stone Temple Pilots” and 2020′s “Perdida.” Three original members of Stone Temple Pilots remain with the band, and will be on the tour this year with Gutt.
Live and Stone Temple Pilots both have strong fan bases in Alabama. Stone Temple Pilots has appeared at least four times at Oak Mountain Amphitheatre, with dates there 1997-2018. STP also played at the Schaeffer Eye Center Crawfish Boil in Birmingham in 2011. Live’s Kowalczyk played a solo date at Alabaster CityFest in 2013.