Behind the Setlist
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
November 20, 2025 • 12 mins
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 and and backed by a four stellar musicians. Babymetal's music is genre called kawaii metal, which means cute metal -- it makes sense when ...
Mark as Played
November 5, 2025 • 56 mins
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 Series Volume 18: Through the Open Window, 1956-1963, out Oct. 31 through Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings. Wilentz is a professor of hi...
Mark as Played
October 21, 2025 • 48 mins
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 17, 2017, but delves into the band's history and its approach to delving into its catalog and putting together a concert setlist.
Learn ...
Mark as Played
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 relationships and exploits with the likes of Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, the Rolling Stones, Sly Stone and Merle Haggard.
Wolf is best known as t...
Mark as Played
September 22, 2025 • 53 mins
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 Carrie Underwood" and "Out Last Night" with Kenny Chesney (Brett shared the story about the song during the interview). Brett died tragic...
Mark as Played
September 18, 2025 • 55 mins
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 Shinedown a career in a way that streaming alone couldn't replicate. He also explained the writing of one of the band's new songs, "Three Six...
Mark as Played
September 4, 2025 • 24 mins
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 music, how she developed her amazing voice and what she saw when performing inside a back-lit, cube-shaped cage on her recent Hibana world ...
Mark as Played
August 21, 2025 • 30 mins
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," she said. "It's really been a beautiful experience." Up next for Mickey: the release of new holiday music.
Mickey has been with Capital...
Mark as Played
August 8, 2025 • 39 mins
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 from her Coffee Covers videos on YouTube or from the track “Leave the Light On” by Jelly Roll from the Twisters soundtrack. You're probably g...
Mark as Played
July 31, 2025 • 42 mins
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 spectacle," said Brown, a three-time Grammy winner who broke into the mainstream in 2008 with the song "Chicken Fried" from the 5x platinum albu...
Mark as Played
July 24, 2025 • 41 mins
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 Black, went to No. 28. His next three albums all reached No. 3: Gossip in the Grain from 2008, God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise from 201...
Mark as Played
July 17, 2025 • 39 mins
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 Brothers. Devon is the son of Gregg Alman and Duane is the son of Dickie Betts, and in our conversation both talked about the joy and respon...
Mark as Played
July 10, 2025 • 52 mins
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 Jones” from their 1993 debut August and Everything After and “A Long December” from the follow-up, 1996’s Recovering the Satellites. Their l...
Mark as Played
June 27, 2025 • 46 mins
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 original songs. Lyle also talked about the importance of audience connection and how his approach to storytelling was influenced by artist...
Mark as Played
June 20, 2025 • 38 mins
In this episode we talk to Buzz Osbourne, 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 the early ‘90s, the band was signed to Atlantic Records for two albums, Stone Witch from ’94 and Stag from ’96. Otherwise, Melvins have...
Mark as Played
May 29, 2025 • 43 mins
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, Michael McDonald joins Patrick, Tom and John McFee. Michael was absent on the band’s 2022 album, Liberté, and is back with his fair share ...
Mark as Played
May 15, 2025 • 51 mins
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 album Repeat Offender went to No. 1 in 1989. Richard has had an immensely successful career as a songwriter-producer and helped craft hits ...
Mark as Played
May 1, 2025 • 42 mins
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 musi...
Mark as Played
April 17, 2025 • 52 mins
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...
Mark as Played
April 4, 2025 • 42 mins
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 Co...
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com