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Cheap Trick

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Cheap Trick is an American rock band formed in 1973. Their biggest hits include "Surrender", "I Want You to Want Me", "The Flame" and "Dream Police".

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Years on tour

• 2024  ( 34 )
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• 1992 Summer Tour  ( 14 )
• 2009 Summer Tour  ( 41 )
• 2015 Australia & New Zealand Tour  ( 11 )
• 2015 North American Tour  ( 74 )
• 2016 Japan Tour  ( 3 )
• 2016 North American Tour  ( 44 )
• 2017 European Tour  ( 5 )
• 2017 North American Tour  ( 76 )
• 2017 South American Tour  ( 5 )
• 2018 World Tour  ( 84 )
• All Shook Up  ( 120 )
• At Budokan Tour  ( 19 )
• Busted  ( 118 )
• Dream Police  ( 28 )
• Global Warming Tour  ( 38 )
• Heaven Tonight  ( 10 )
• Lap of Luxury  ( 193 )
• One on One  ( 10 )
• Rock Hall Three for All  ( 35 )
• Rock of Ages  ( 10 )
• Special One  ( 188 )
• Standing on the Edge  ( 98 )
• The Doctor  ( 35 )
• Under the Southern Stars  ( 11 )
• Vegas Residency 2022  ( 4 )
• Woke Up With a Monster  ( 160 )
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Concert Map

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Cheap Trick

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Schottenstein Center | Columbus, OH

Allstate arena | rosemont, il, little caesars arena | detroit, mi, ppg paints arena | pittsburgh, pa.

Camping World Stadium | Orlando, FL

Def leppard / journey: the summer stadium tour and cheap trick, canadian tire centre | kanata, on.

• Parking: Heart

MGM Music Hall at Fenway | Boston, MA

• Fast Lane Access - Cheap Trick (Not a Concert Ticket)
• MassMutual Lounge Access - Cheap Trick (NOT A CONCERT TICKET)
• Truly Rooftop Access - Cheap Trick (Not A Concert Ticket) 21+

Mohegan Sun Arena | Uncasville, CT

Centre videotron | québec, qc, centre bell | montreal, qc, keybank center | buffalo, ny.

• Heart Parking

Heritage Bank Center | Cincinnati, OH

Fiserv forum | milwaukee, wi.

• 5th Street Parking Structure at Fiserv Forum
• Highland Parking Garage at Fiserv Forum

Charleston Coliseum | Charleston, WV

Food city center | knoxville, tn, scope arena | norfolk, va, allentown fairgrounds | allentown, pa.

• Prepaid Premium Parking: Heart

T-Mobile Park | Seattle, WA

Coors field | denver, co.

• DEF LEPPARD / JOURNEY - COORS FIELD PARKING

Moda Center | Portland, OR

• East / West Garage Parking for HEART

Maverik Center | West Valley City, UT

Chase center | san francisco, ca.

• Chase Center Parking - Heart

Footprint Center | Phoenix, AZ

Moody center atx | austin, tx, simmons bank arena | north little rock, ar.

• Legends Lounge - October 12, 2024
• Miller Lite Vibe Room - October 12, 2024

Bridgestone Arena | Nashville, TN

Greensboro coliseum complex | greensboro, nc, madison square garden | new york, ny.

Utilita Arena Cardiff | Cardiff, UNITED KINGDOM

Extramile arena | boise, id.

• ExtraMile Arena Parking: HEART

Golden 1 Center | Sacramento, CA

Latest setlist, cheap trick on may 13, 2024.

CFG Bank Arena, Baltimore, Maryland

Note: Opening Act for Heart. The band for this tour is Robin Zander (lead vocals, guitar), Rick Nielsen (lead guitar), Tom Petersson (bass), Daxx Nielsen (drums), and Robin Taylor Zander (guitar).

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Cheap Trick tour dates 2024

Cheap Trick is currently touring across 10 countries and has 70 upcoming concerts.

Their next tour date is at Schottenstein Center in Columbus, after that they'll be at Allstate Arena in Rosemont.

Currently touring across

• 🇱🇺 Luxembourg
• 🇳🇱 Netherlands

Upcoming concerts (70) See nearest concert

Schottenstein Center

Allstate Arena

KFC Yum! Center

Little Caesars Arena

PPG Paints Arena

Uber Eats Music Hall

Helsingin jäähalli

Busch Stadium

First Direct Arena

Camping World Stadium

Progressive Field

Canadian Tire Centre

Rogers Centre

MGM Music Hall at Fenway

Mohegan Sun Arena

Fenway Park

Centre Videotron

Bell Centre

KeyBank Center

Heritage Bank Center

Fiserv Forum

Grand Casino Hinckley Amphitheater

Pinnacle Bank Arena

Van Andel Arena

Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center

Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center

Scope Arena

Allentown Fairgrounds

Coors Field

Moda Center

Maverik Center

Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Chase Center

Crypto.com Arena

Footprint Center

United Supermarkets Arena

T-Mobile Center

Toyota Center

Moody Center ATX

Simmons Bank Arena

Bridgestone Arena

Past concerts

CFG Bank Arena

Spectrum Center

State Farm Arena

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Recent tour reviews

I've seen Cheap Trick live 7 times (2 last year) and will try to get them as many times feasable w/in reason. They ALWAYS electrify the crowd withe sheer power of their rock'n'roll. they are one of the best live acts just on that merit alone. I saw them alone at Lima and later in the year billed with ZZ Top. both times it was terrific. ZZ Top were even better last year than when I first saw them in 2018. Whether with or without another act, when Cheap Trick gets on stage you know it's party time. Guaranteed to please. That Cheap Tick magic works fine, every time!!!!

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The show was everything I hoped it would be. Good energy, blast from the past, we will retire together. ZZ Top was over the top as well. It's just sad to see with the amount of people there, very few were even alive. I guess a lot of them were to old or too afraid to express themselves.

Though I couldn't stop moving to the fabulous sounds of both Cheap Trick and ZZ Top. What a great night, heck even the weather was the best for a night time concert.

OMFG it was totally kickass and the meet n greet and aftershow back stage party is still effecting me 231pm the day after and I'm still half hammered and hung over like a MOFO.

BUT it was a top notch show and was more that one could expect

I would have to give the concert 5+ Stars not just because I am a loyal longtime fan of Cheap Trick but because the concert was that good as always.

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Wed, May 15, 2024

Shows: 3949 Earliest: Jun 28, 1973 Latest: May 13, 2024 Next Show: Wed May 15,2024 at Value City Arena at The Schottenstein Center in Columbus, OH view all upcoming shows >

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Cheap Trick Announces Fall 2023 North American Headlining Tour

Cheap Trick is in the throes of a monthslong North American tour, and they show no signs of stopping. The road warriors just announced new headlining dates that will keep them on the move through late October.

The newly announced tour leg begins on Oct. 2 in Springfield, Missouri, and ends on Oct. 22 in Reno, Nevada. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday. You can find more information on Cheap Trick's  website and see all of their upcoming tour dates below.

Before they embark on their headlining run, the power-pop veterans will spend all of August opening for Rod Stewart . They'll also visit West Salem, Ohio, for the inaugural Dragway 42 Music Festival at the end of July and the Tennessee Soybean Festival in September.

Cheap Trick released their most recent album,  In Another World , in April 2021. They've toured rigorously in support of it over the past two years, notably playing 66 different songs during a four-night stand in Las Vegas in 2022.

Cheap Trick 2023 North American Tour (New Dates in Bold) July 16 – Chicago, IL @ Metro July 27 – Saginaw, MI @ Temple Theatre July 29 – West Salem, OH @ Dragway 42 Music Festival * Aug. 1 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena † Aug. 4 – Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center † Aug. 5 – Chula Vista, CA @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre † Aug. 7 – Costa Mesa, CA @ The Pacific Amphitheatre # Aug. 8 – Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre † Aug. 11 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena † Aug. 12 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena † Aug. 15 – Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place † Aug. 17 – Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome † Aug. 19 – Saskatoon, SK @ Sasktel Centre † Aug. 20 – Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre Aug. 23 – Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre † Aug. 24 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre † Aug. 26 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena † Aug. 28 – Gilford, NH @ Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion † Aug. 30 – Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater † Sept. 1 – Bethel, NY @ Bethel Woods Center For The Arts † Sept. 2 – Williamsport, PA @ Community Arts Center † Sept. 7 – Martin, TN @ Tennessee Soybean Festival * Sept. 8 – Memphis, TN @ Graceland Soundstage Sept. 16 – Columbia, IL @ Songs4Soldiers Benefit Concert at Bolm-Schuhkraft City Park Sept. 22 – Albertville, AL @ Sand Mountain Park & Amphitheater Sept. 23 – Peachtree City, GA @ Frederick Brown, Jr. Amphitheater Oct. 2 – Springfield, MO @ Gillioz Theatre Oct. 3 – Omaha, NE @ Orpheum Theater Oct. 5 – Salina, KS @ Stiefel Theater for the Performing Arts Oct. 6 – Sioux City, IA @ The Sioux City Orpheum Oct. 8 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts Oct. 9 – Albuquerque, NM @ Revel ABQ Oct. 11 – Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre Oct. 12 – Las Vegas, NV @ Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort Oct. 14 – Temecula, CA @ Pechanga Theater Oct. 15 – Bakersfield, CA @ Fox Theater Oct. 18 – Fresno, CA @ Warnors Theatre Oct. 19 – Modesto, CA @ Gallo Center for the Arts Oct. 21 – Oroville, CA @ Gold Country Casino Oct. 22 – Reno, NV @ Grand Theatre

* Festival Appearance † w/ Rod Stewart # w/ Special Guests The Tubes

Cheap Trick Albums Ranked

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CONCERT REVIEW: CHEAP TRICK – Out of This World! Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, NJ (May 17th, 2023)

This past week, at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, NJ, Cheap Trick kicked off the first show of their 38-date summer tour that runs from May 17th to September 23rd!

A key benefit of attending a Cheap Trick concert is their set-list. With 19 albums worth of material at the band’s disposal, you can guarantee that no two Cheap Trick shows will be alike. For the diehard fans who attend multiple shows, this is a dream come true. For the casual fan, they will either walk away slightly frustrated or leave with a profound respect and appreciation for the band’s vast musical catalog. Every show offers an infinite number of musical possibilities. It’s a testament to the band’s strength that they can easily pull off deep tracks or obscure songs.

The band consists of the band of Robin Zander [vocals], Rick Nielsen [guitar], Tom Petersson [bass], Daxx Nielsen [drums], and Robin Taylor Zander , aka RTZ [guitar and backup vocal]. The Rockford Rockers have dubbed themselves the best garage band in the world, but in reality, they are the very definition of a great American rock band. Their songs offer a tremendous variety from hard, fast, and edgy, appealing to their rock fan-base, or poppy and melodic, which can be heard on the radio. They are an iconic band that broke the mainstream music mold.

Cheap Trick engaged in a continuous 90-minute sing-along to an exuberant New Jersey audience. Did they deliver on the hard-rocking tunes? You better believe it by performing “He a Whore,” “Light Up the Fire,” and “The House is a Rockin” ?. Did they give us ballads with lush vocals? Yes, indeed, as they gave us heartfelt versions of “Heaven Tonight” and “The Flame.” Did we get a cover tune that everyone thinks they wrote? “Ain’t That a Shame” hit the mark with its infectious opening drum beat.

Powerhouse vocalist Robin ‘s hypnotizing voice filled the theater while pulling you into the songs. His inescapably cool, whether on guitar or with his strong vocal performance, elevated the show. In an era where you are unsure whether the singer is really singing, the band is using backing vocals tracks, or if the guitarist is really playing, rest assured, Cheap Trick is the real deal.

Rick had his jogging sneakers as he roamed the expansive stage, throwing picks out to the audience and delivering his quirky facial expression to the front row. His signature sound clearly comes from switching from playing with a pick to using his fingers to achieve the song’s rich tone. His solos were a mix of rhythms and tasteful blues runs played over the solid foundation that Tom , Daxx , and RTZ were laying down. Rick also brought an army of guitars which he changed for every song. Guitar favorite is always the five-neck checkerboard guitar that he used on “Goodnight” and his “Uncle Dick” double-neck guitar made in his likeness on “ Auf Wiedersehen.” There may have been a new addition to his touring armamentarium: a gold sparkle Gibson Explorer that shined like a diamond to the last seat in the balcony. Other guitars that deserve an honorable mention were the Checkerboard Explorer and Flying V, along with his Beatles and Cherry Sunburst Gibson Les Paul.

Having Tom back in the fold after a brief hiatus due to heart issues was a blessing. Wearing a Stetson and keeping a low profile by the drum riser, he is single-handily responsible for giving the band’s songs their groove and swing. His hands moved in syncopated harmony on his 12-string Gretsch bass as he drove the songs home while playing perfectly in the pocket of Daxx ‘s drumming. Daxx embellished the iconic songs with interesting fills and a genuine sense of rhythm while following the guitar’s melody. He has a swing to his playing style that serves the song yet is unique in his execution. RTZ took on the heavy lift of second guitar, backing his father on vocals/harmonies, and even took lead vocals on “Downed” off In Color!

Like death and taxes, you will always know their Cheap Tricks will perform their biggest hits, “Surrender,” “Dream Police,” and “I Want You to Want Me.” When the lights went dark, the crowd demanded more before they returned to reality. The whistles and cheers were relentless, so the band obliged with “ Surrender,” “Auf Wiedersehen,” and “Goodnight.” Before departing the stage, Rick hinted at a new Cheap Trick album and quipped, “We’re too dumb to quit!”

To their credit, in 2016, Cheap Trick was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The band from Rockford, Illinois, finally got their just rewards for a triumphant career. This evening the band continued their tradition of giving everything they had, as it was all about having fun and enjoying some iconic classic rock. After rocking fans for nearly 50 years with 10,000s of shows in their wake, Cheap Trick remains strong as they delivered what people came for, a great rocking time. Tickets for their summer are available HERE .

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Two more concerts announced for 2024 California Mid-State Fair

The California Mid-State Fair has announced two more bands for this summer's concert lineup.

Sublime with Rome is scheduled to perform on Friday, July 19.

The show will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Chumash Grandstand Arena. An opening act will be announced at a later date.

Tickets are $50 and are general admission. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 17.

Sublime is best known for songs such as "Santeria," "What I Got," and "Badfish." Sublime with Rome is currently on its Farewell Tour.

On Friday, July 26, Cheap Trick will take the grandstand stage for An Evening of Music & Wine.

Tickets range in price from $40 to $85 and will go on sale starting at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 17. Those interested in being added to a waiting list for a table should call the Fair Box Office at (805) 239-0655.

Cheap Trick is known for hits such as "I Want You to Want Me," "The Flame," "Dream Police," and "Surrender." Cheap Trick is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

These latest concert announcements leave just one empty date on the fair's grandstand lineup — July 20.

Tickets to all of the concerts at the California Mid-State Fair can be purchased at MidStateFair.com .

The concerts featuring Carin Leon (July 22) and Jelly Roll (July 23) are already sold out.

The 2024 California Mid-State Fair will take place from July 17 to July 28 at the Paso Robles Event Center.

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Mid-State Fair announces Cheap Trick and Sublime with Rome joining concert series Monday

PASO ROBLES, Calif. – On Monday, the California Mid-State Fair announced that Sublime with Rome and Cheap Trick will be joining its Michelob Ultra Concert Series at the Chumash Grandstand Arena.

Sublime with Rome will be jamming the night of Friday, Jul. 19 and Cheap Trick will be live Friday, Jul. 26.

Both performances start at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets for Sublime with Rome and Cheap Trick go on sale Friday, May 17 at 10 a.m. and will be available at the Mid-State Fair website .

New to this year's Mid-State Fair is the "Local Fan of the Fair" program which allows registered local fans one-hour early access to ticket purchases.

According to the California Mid-State Fair, Sublime with Rome is hitting the road one last time with the following line-up with vocalist Rome Ramirez: Joe Tomino on drums, Brian Allen on bass, and Gabrial McNair on trombone.

If you also don't practice Santeria and ain't got no crystal ball, this may be your last chance to catch this lineup with all your fellow badfish!

Cheap Trick was founded almost 50 years ago out of Rockford, Illinois with Robin Zander on vocals and rhythm guitar, Rick Nielsen on lead guitar, Tom Peterson on bass, and Bun E. Carlos playing the drums detail the California Mid-State Fair.

While the band has featured a new drummer, Daxx Nielson, for the past 14 years, the band still boasts over 40 international Gold and Platinum certifications and have had featured appearances on over 20 movie soundtracks.

The 2024 California Mid-State Fair runs from Jul. 17 through Jul. 28 with the theme "Wide Open Spaces".

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10 great concerts in Fort Myers, Bonita Springs this April: REO Speedwagon, Brandon Lake

C lassic-rock legends Cheap Trick and REO Speedwagon. Gulf Coast Symphony playing Disney tunes. Eye-popping Pink Floyd tribute Brit Floyd .

Those are just three of the biggest concerts happening this April in the Fort Myers, Bonita Springs and Cape Coral area. Here are our top picks for the best shows to see:

Cheap Trick and REO Speedwagon at Hertz Arena

Classic rockers REO Speedwagon play their first Hertz Arena show in more than a decade. Quirky rockers Cheap Trick opens. REO Speedwagon's many '80s hits include "Keep On Loving You," "Take It On The Run," "Time For Me To Fly" and "Can't Fight This Feeling." Cheap Trick's Top 40 singles include “Don’t Be Cruel,” “I Want You To Want Me” and the No. 1 “The Flame." 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 6. $70-$289. There are also verified resale tickets for sale via Ticketmaster. Parking on site is $30 (no cash). Hertz Arena, 11000 Everblades Parkway, Estero. 948-7825 or hertzarena.com

The Guess Who at B.B. Mann Hall

Canadian rock stars who brought us “American Woman” and other hits. 8 p.m. Saturday, April 6. $43-$83. Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, 13350 FSW Parkway, south Fort Myers. 481-4849 or bbmannpah.com

Rock the Arches Music Festival at Alliance for the Arts

The fourth-annual concert raises money for the nonprofit Restore Fort Myers Beach Arches, which wants to restore the Spanish-style arches that once marked the entrance to Fort Myers Beach. The fest opens Saturday with a day of rock acts, including Hairdaze, Rock Candy and Rock Republic. Then it continues Sunday with country bands, including Unforgiven. Hillbilly Ryezin and Way Out South. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 6-7. $13 per day. $70 for VIP seating per day. Alliance for the Arts, 10091 McGregor Blvd. Fort Myers. rockthearches.com

Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials at The Buck

The world-renowned Chicago blues act is led by singer/guitarist Lil’ Ed. 8 p.m. Thursday, April 11. $25. Buckingham Blues Bar, 5641 Buckingham Road, Buckingham. 693-7111 or buckinghambar.com

Victor Wainwright & The Train at Arts Bonita

The popular American singer/songwriter/pianist and his band return for another Arts Bonita show. Victor Wainwright has won multiple Blues Music Awards and was nominated for a 2019 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 13. $49-$55. Arts Bonita Center for Performing Arts , 10150 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs. 495-8989 or artsbonita.org

Sofia Talvik at the ACMA

Singer-songwriter Sofia Talvik's delicate music has been compared to “Laurel Canyon”-era folk artists such as Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins and Buffy Sainte-Marie. Kim Mayfield opens. 7 p.m. Saturday, April 13. $12-$18. The Americana Community Music Association Listening Room inside All Faiths Unitarian Church, 2756 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers. americanacma.org

Gulf Coast Symphony: 'Disney In Concert'

The Fort Myers orchestra performs a family concert packed with "magical music" from Disney movies. The program includes songs from “The Lion King," “Frozen,” "Beauty and the Beast," “Aladdin” and more. 7 p.m. Sunday, April 14. $35-$90. Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, 13350 FSW Parkway, south Fort Myers. 481-4849 or bbmannpah.com

Pink Floyd tribute Brit Floyd at Hertz Arena

The popular Pink Floyd tribute act celebrates the 30th anniversary of the band's hit 1994 album "The Division Bell." The show includes songs from that album and more, plus a Pink Floyd-style lasers and light show. 8 p.m. Friday, April 19. $45-$65. Parking on site is $30 (no cash). Hertz Arena, 11000 Everblades Parkway, Estero.  948-7825 or  hertzarena.com

Wheeler Walker Jr. at The Ranch

The foul-mouthed outlaw-country singer is actually a satirical character played by comedian Ben Hoffman. He brings his The Spread Eagle Tour to The Ranch. Logan Halstead opens. Show starts at about 9 p.m. Friday, April 26. Doors open at 7 p.m. $35. The Ranch Concert Hall & Saloon, 2158 Colonial Blvd., Fort Myers. 985-9839 or theranchfortmyers.com

Brandon Lake at Hertz Arena

The Christian worship singer, songwriter and guitarist brings his Tear Off The Roof Tour to Hertz Arena. The nearly sold-out show also features Doe and Jon Foreman. 7 p.m. Sunday, April 28. $48-$200. Parking on site is $30 (no cash). Hertz Arena, 11000 Everblades Parkway, Estero.  948-7825 or  hertzarena.com

MORE SHOWS IN FORT MYERS, NAPLES, BONITA SPRINGS

There are many more worthy concerts happening this April in Southwest Florida. Here are some other shows that might interest you:

Three Dog Night: 8 p.m. Thursday, April 4 at Seminole Casino Immokalee. seminoleimmokaleecasino.com

The Blue Dogs: 7: 30 p.m. Friday, April 5 at Arts Bonita Center for Performing Arts. artsbonita.org

Damon Fowler: 2 p.m. Saturday, April 6 at at Buckingham Blues Bar in Buckingham. buckinghambar.com

Stacey Kent: 8 p.m. Saturday, April 6, at BIG ARTS on Sanibel Island. bigarts.org

Southland Bluegrass Music Festival: Sunday, April 7, at Seminole Casino Immokalee. seminoleimmokaleecasino.com

Lee County Community Band: 3 p.m. Sunday, April 7, at Mariner High School in Cape Coral. leecountyband.org

The Stardust memories Band: 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, at Riverside Park in Bonita Springs. stardustmemoriesbigband.com

Led Zeppelin tribute Zoso: 9 p.m. Thursday, April 11, at The Ranch Concert Hall and Saloon in Fort Myers. theranchfortmyers.com

Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper: 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 12, at Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center in downtown Fort Myers. sbdac.com

Southwest Florida Symphony's 'Cryptic Symphony': 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 13, at Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall in south Fort Myers. bbmannpah.com

The Upchurch Show: 8 p.m. Saturday, April 13, at The Ranch Concert Hall & Saloon, Fort Myers. theranchfortmyers.com

Patti LaBelle: 7 p.m. Sunday, April 14, at Seminole Casino Hotel Immokalee. seminoleimmokaleecasino.com

High Lonesome Sound Songwriter Round: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18, at Nice Guys Pizza, Cape Coral. facebook.com/NiceGuysPizza

Zach Bartholomew Trio: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18, at Arts Bonita Center for Performing Arts. artsbonita.org

New Jazz Underground: 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 19, at Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, downtown Fort Myers. sbdac.com

Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. To reach him, call 239-335-0368 (for tickets to shows, call the venue) or email him at [email protected] . Follow or message him on social media: Facebook ( facebook.com/charles.runnells.7 ), X (formerly Twitter) ( @charlesrunnells ), Threads (@crunnells1) and Instagram ( @crunnells1 ).

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: 10 great concerts in Fort Myers, Bonita Springs this April: REO Speedwagon, Brandon Lake

Music and Concerts | In memoriam: As a ’90s producer and music…

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Music and concerts | in memoriam: as a ’90s producer and music tastemaker, steve albini was brutally honest — and usually right.

Like, a lot a lot. The first time I met him was about 30 years ago. I was a graduate student at Northwestern University and assigned to interview somebody, and I had just bought “In Utero,” Nirvana’s follow-up to its blockbuster album “Nevermind.” Albini was the producer of “In Utero,” and one of my favorite albums, The Pixies’ “Surfer Rosa,” and so I called him, he agreed to chat, and while I remember little of what he said, I remember we talked for hours.

He had studied journalism himself at Northwestern, so he was generous. He had endless opinions on culture and music and what it means to stand by your convictions. I remember at some point simply asking what a record producer did. He said he wasn’t a record producer, he was a record engineer. I asked what that was, and he said it was like a record producer.

A year ago, the last time I spoke to him, I asked about his first concert , and he replied as he replied to everything, with too much knowledge and detail and an opinion so insightful and provocative and hilarious that it sucked the air from the room. The concert was the Edgar Winter Group, Sept. 27, 1975, Montana, where he lived as a teenager. He recalled his father saying people only went to rock shows to buy drugs. He recalled, as Edgar Winter launched into a 20-minute keyboard solo, the “dead-eyed gaze” of Johnny Winter “navigating solo breaks in this tumultuous excess, like Ahab resigned to his fate in a dinghy, tossed by the sea and pernicious corpus of his brother’s prog rock white whale …” He didn’t know if the concert itself was exactly a good idea, but: “An impressionable young Steve thanks whoever set it up for those enduring images of madness and futility.”

Albini talked like that.

He was an intimidating guy, and eventually, a sweet guy. He was, as kids say these days, a “gatekeeper,” the prototypical record store owner who frowns at what you bring to his cash register — though he made records, he didn’t sell them. The day after he died, the satirical website Hard Times posted this headline: “Steve Albini standing outside gates of Heaven telling everyone how much he hates the Smashing Pumpkins.”

He could go off on corporate culture and its deadening effects on artists and consumers (and did so elegantly at times, for literary journals like the Hyde Park-based Baffler ). He produced famous records and made lesser-known ones with his bands Big Black and Shellac, but also became, by dint of his taste, a sought-after totem of cultural integrity — a representative of a way of being. Or as comedian Fred Armisen told this newspaper several years ago: “Steve Albini became a huge influence on me, which I don’t know if he knows. He had this philosophy on how to live and be and gave me advice I still keep in mind.” As for Albini, he always kept it blunt: “I wasn’t a fan of Trenchmouth (Armisen’s Chicago-based punk band) — and so that’s not why we would have become friends.”

He was vintage Gen-X sarcastic, ironic, contrarian, defiantly principled. One of the best things ever written on music was Albini’s 1993 essay “The Problem With Music” for the Baffler, in which he laid out finances, empty promises, unnecessary flourishes. It opens with quite the metaphor: a band (“some of them good friends, some of them barely acquaintances”) standing at one end of a trench filled with waste and at the other end is a music industry “lackey” with a fountain pen and contract. Whoever swims the trench first will get the deal. Only then, the industry insists: “Swim it again, please. Backstroke.”

Thomas Frank, the founder of the Baffler, told me in an email that he never knew Albini personally, but that essay for the journal would become its “consummate expression”: “Seeing through the falsehoods of the culture industry was the first order of business, and no one was better at it than Steve Albini.”

By credits alone, Albini was not only a glue stick of underground music, and a major influence around the country as Wicker Park became an early ‘90s music mecca, but a tastemaker for what was once called college radio music and later rebranded “alt rock.”

He held it to ideals that no popular cultural business could entirely satisfy.

He recorded a who’s who of ‘90s Chicago bands (including Urge Overkill, Veruca Salt and Jesus Lizard); alt superstars (PJ Harvey, Bush); and the occasional icon (Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, The Stooges, Cheap Trick). He became known for applying loving sonic care to acts best known by their fields of distortion. He captured, as the cliche went, how a performer sounded live. But attaining clarity, power and honesty seemed deceptively easy. As Albini told Chicago magazine in 1997: “I honestly just feel that music like this deserves to be taken seriously. And that means people who record them should be as concerned about quality as if they were recording the (expletive) Chicago symphony.”

Yet, at the peak of his influence, he also said: “If you wanted to take punk seriously on a more significant level, you could. If you pretend to take dance music seriously on a more significant level, that is a delusional pretension. There really is no substance to it.”

Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick said they first met in the late 1970s. A teenage Albini sold him a guitar. Nielsen’s son Miles, now of the Rockford-based band Rusted Hearts, even helped Albini physically build his Electrical Audio recording studio in Avondale. When Albini later produced Cheap Trick, he was “a stickler, but excellent,” Nielsen said. He had “this reputation as a tough guy,” though Nielsen suspects “a lot of it came from record execs because Steve was so different. He was the most honest person in the music business.

“And that’s a list without a lot of company.”

Still, as Albini got older, he came to regret some of the hardline things he spouted. (He once wrote for a music zine that the Replacements’ breakthrough “Let It Be” was a “sad, pathetic end to a long downhill slide.”) Michael Azerrad, biographer of Nirvana and author of “Our Band Could Be Your Life,” posted Wednesday on X that Albini “was a great artist and underwent the most remarkable and inspiring personal transformation.” With years came warmth, pleasantness. He faced his incendiary urges. After all, here was a man who once, for a Northwestern art class, invited 100 of his enemies to throw stuff at him as he swore at them behind Plexiglass.

People threw dog poop, bricks, bowling pins.

Martin Atkins , former drummer of Public Image Ltd., a Pilsen resident and an industrial mainstay with bands such as Pigface, Nine Inch Nails and Killing Joke, recorded with Albini for years. “We would argue,” he said. “He didn’t like the idea that Pigface was touring in a bus. He would say, ‘Oh, what a bunch of (expletive) rock stars!’ And I would go, “Steve, there are 16 of us! What would you want us to do — tour in five mini-vans?

“I remember in Minnesota, coming back from one of his favorite studios, he agreed to drive me to the airport and we argued music for so long that he drove 40 minutes past the airport and I missed my flight. Things were often very cut and dry to Steve, but always centered on the glorious movement of sound. Whatever personal, spiritual, creative problems he might have had, he worked hard to clear them out to get you your sound.”

Indeed, of all the legendary tales of Steve Albini, one of the best is the long letter that he wrote to Nirvana before recording “In Utero,” to lay out his philosophy and expectations:

“I do not want and will not take a royalty on any record I record. … I think paying a royalty to a producer or engineer is ethically indefensible. … I would like to be paid like a plumber: I do the job and you pay me what it’s worth. The record company will expect me to ask for a point or a point and a half. If we assume three million sales, that works out to 400,000 dollars or so. There’s no (expletive) way I would ever take that much money. I wouldn’t be able to sleep.”

Nirvana, eager to retain a shred of indie cred after becoming the biggest band in the world, was a natural fit with Albini. The problem was, after they made “In Utero,” the record company hated its sound; the band itself began airing doubts. And so, before release, changes were made. Moreover, Albini’s reputation as a pedantic, prickly and iconoclastic collaborator, quick to question someone’s ideology, caught up to him.

He told interviewers major labels didn’t want to work with him; critics accused him of selling out by working with them at all, then being fast to complain if it went badly.

But as goofy as it sounds now, since the concept has lost its meaning: He never could sell out. Not the way we assume artists inevitably do. He retained a pure righteous punk intention, except when such astringent logic failed. Talking about his younger, uncompromising self, he gave himself little room to hide. Last year he told the Guardian newspaper: “The one thing I don’t want to do is say: ‘The culture shifted — excuse my behavior.’ It provides a context for why I was wrong at the time, but I was wrong at the time .”

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Armisen said that just the other day Albini had texted him about cymbals. He didn’t get cymbals: “Like I can tell the difference between this one and that one but if I’m honest they both sound like cymbals and I don’t care.”

Armisen concluded: “I always loved hearing him say ‘I don’t care.’”

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