GODSMACK and STAIND have announced a 25-city co-headlining 2023 tour, produced by Live Nation. The trek kicks off on July 18 at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in St. Louis, Missouri, with stops across the U.S. before wrapping up in Austin, Texas at Germania Insurance Amphitheatre on August 31.
GODSMACK states: “Really looking forward to running on tour this summer with our old pals in STAIND. For sure every night will be packed with great music and A LOT of fun memories! Don’t miss it!”
“We’re really looking forward to being out with Sully [Erna, GODSMACK frontman] and the guys this summer,” says STAIND lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aaron Lewis.
“The first time we shared the stage with GODSMACK was the 1998 ‘Warped Tour’ and here we are 25 years later still going strong,” adds STAIND guitarist Mike Mushok. “We’re stoked to be sharing the stage with our old friends this summer.”
Tickets go on sale starting on Friday, March 31 at 10 a.m. local time at Ticketmaster.com
GODSMACK and STAIND 2023 tour dates:
Jul. 18 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Jul. 20 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
Jul. 21 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach
Jul. 22 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
Jul. 25 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheater
Jul. 26 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
Jul. 28 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
Jul. 29 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
Jul. 30 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
Aug. 02 – Scranton, PA – The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
Aug. 03 – Syracuse, NY – St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
Aug. 05 – Pittsburgh, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake
Aug. 06 – Buffalo, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater
Aug. 08 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
Aug. 09 – Detroit, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
Aug. 10 – Chicago, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Aug. 12 – Indianapolis, IN – Ruoff Music Center
Aug. 13 – Milwaukee, WI – American Family Insurance Amphitheater
Aug. 16 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
Aug. 18 – Nampa, ID – Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater
Aug. 20 – Ridgefield, WA – RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater
Aug. 24 – Irvine, CA – FivePoint Amphitheatre
Aug. 26 – Las Vegas, NV – Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino
Aug. 27 – San Diego, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
Aug. 31 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
GODSMACK‘s eighth album, “Lighting Up The Sky”, was released last month via BMG. The LP was co-produced by GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna and Andrew “Mudrock” Murdock (AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ALICE COOPER).
The first single from “Lighting Up The Sky”, “Surrender”, which arrived in September, marked the first release from GODSMACK in four years, following their globally acclaimed and gold-certified 2018 album “When Legends Rise”, which earned the Erna-fronted outfit a No. 1 spot across U.S. Hard Rock, Rock, and Alternative album charts.
GODSMACK will embark on a spring 2023 U.S. tour with special guests I PREVAIL.
STAIND has completed work on its long-awaited new studio album. Lewis offered an update on the LP’s recording progress during his February 24 solo concert in Mount Vernon, Kentucky. Before launching into his song “I Ain’t Made In China”, the 50-year-old guitarist/vocalist told the crowd: “I just finished a new STAIND record. And I just finished my new solo record. How I found the time to do it, I’m not really sure. I guess I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
This past December, Mushok told the Loaded Radio podcast about the musical direction of STAIND‘s new material: “It’s a little bit more modernized, I think. I think that was something we kind of wanted to do. There’s a little bit more of an electronic element on there, which is something new for us, but I feel like everybody is kind of doing that. But I think it’s cool. It’s not overused. I think the songs are really good. I’m really happy with it. I can’t wait for people to hear it.”
Mushok also talked about his working relationship with Lewis, saying: “We’ve been doing it for a long time. It’s great to be back and doing that… I think that we definitely respect each other. It’s kind of always been that. I think that STAIND‘s really kind of been… For the most part, I bring some music in and he decides what he likes and what he wants to write to, and we kind of take it from there. That being said, he’s come in, obviously, with some amazing songs as well. So it’s been a really good writing partnership, I feel.”
Last September, Mushok told Atlantic City Weekly that both he and Lewis will continue to pursue other projects — Mushok with SAINT ASONIA, the band he co-founded in 2015 with former THREE DAYS GRACE singer Adam Gontier, and Lewis with his country solo career — alongside their long-running outfit.
“Aaron‘s built up a great following and great career that he’ll fully pursue,” Mushok said. “If we can do some STAIND shows in there, it would be great. If we can find a week here or there or maybe a tour every now and then, I’d be cool with that. Like we are looking to do a [STAIND] record, so we’ll see how much we do to promote that. Honestly, I’m kind of taking it as it comes, one day at a time. It’s hard to plan, you know what I mean. Who would have thought the world would shut down? So you’ve got to take it as it comes.”
In 2021, STAIND supported KORN on a U.S. run of dates.
STAIND released its first album in nine years, “Live: It’s Been Awhile”, in May 2021 via Yap’em/Alchemy Recordings. The “Live: It’s Been Awhile” album was accompanied by “The Return Of Staind”, a two-part global streaming series in partnership with Danny Wimmer Presents. The series launched with STAIND‘s “Live: It’s Been Awhile (From Foxwoods)” concert, which streamed globally on May 1, 2021. The “Live: It’s Been Awhile” album and concert were recorded at the band’s comeback show at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut in October 2019. The never-before-seen concert celebrated the band’s reunion after a five-year hiatus. STAIND also performed its iconic multi-platinum 2001 album “Break The Cycle” in its entirety for a May 8, 2021 streaming event, exactly 20 years after the album’s release. The “20th Anniversary Of Break The Cycle, Performed In Its Entirety” took place at Mill 1 in Open Square in Holyoke, Massachusetts, bringing the band back to their Western Mass roots.
STAIND played its first full live show in five years in September 2019 at the Louder Than Life music festival in Louisville, Kentucky.
