Performing at the Apollo in Belvidere, Ill., on May 5 was blues-rock guitarist Jared James Nichols. He sang “Shadow Dancer” (from his new EP), “Threw Me to the Wolves,” “Skin ‘n Bone” and “Bad Roots.”
Live music is back on track in 2022, with rock, heavy metal and country artists returning to the stage, and fans couldn’t be happier.
Photographs by CBS News photojournalist Jake Barlow, Ed Spinelli and Kirstine Walton.
The Black Keys
Dan Auerbach, of the rock duo The Black Keys, performs at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Tinley Park, Ill., July 17, 2022. Auerbach and Patrick Carney are currently touring North America on their “Dropout Boogie” tour alongside Band of Horses.
The Black Keys
Drummer Patrick Carney, of The Black Keys. The rock duo, which has won four Grammy Awards, performed “Wild Child,” “It Ain’t Over” and “Your Team Is Looking Good,” from their latest album, “Dropout Boogie.”
Band of Horses
Band of Horses bass player Matt Gentling, at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Tinley Park, Ill., July 17, 2022. The indie rock band from Seattle, which is touring with The Black Keys, recently released their sixth studio album, “Things Are Great.”
Band of Horses
Band of Horses drummer Creighton Barrett.
Ceramic Animal
Appearing with The Black Keys and Band of Horses in Chicago on July 17 was Ceramic Animal, a rockabilly band produced by Black Keys singer Dan Auerbach.
Rage Against the Machine
Embarking on a reunion tour after 11 years, Rage Against the Machine performs at United Center in Chicago, July 11, 2022.
Rage Against the Machine
On the first night of their two-night stand in Chicago, Rage Against the Machine lead singer Zack de la Rocha – perhaps forgetting he is 31 years older than when the band first performed together – jumped on stage at the United Center during “Bullet to the Head,” and hurt his foot. He pushed through, sitting for the rest of both shows rather than cancelling.
Rage Against the Machine
Bassist Tim Commerford of Rage Against the Machine performs at United Center in Chicago, July 11, 2022.
Def Leppard
The English rock band Def Leppard performs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, July 8, 2022. Their setlist included “Love Bites,” “Rocket,” “Rock of Ages,” “Animal” and “Pour Some Sugar On Me.”
Def Leppard
Def Leppard lead singer Joe Elliot.
Def Leppard
Guitarist Phil Collen of Def Leppard.
Classless Act
The L.A. rock band Classless Act, touring this summer with Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard, performs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, July 8, 2022. Formed in 2016 through connections made over Instagram and TikTok, the band features lead singer Derek Day.
Mötley Crüe
The heavy metal band Mötley Crüe (featuring Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil and Mick Mars) performs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, July 8, 2022.
Mötley Crüe
Drummer Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe performs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, July 8, 2022.
Mötley Crüe
Vince Neil on stage in Chicago. Mötley Crüe’s set list included “Shout at the Devil,” “Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away),” “Dr. Feelgood” and “Primal Scream.”
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Singer-songwriter Joan Jett, of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, performs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, July 8, 2022. Her set list included “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah),” “Bad Reputation,” and “Cherry Bomb.”
Poison
Poison performs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, July 8, 2022. Among their lineup: “Talk Dirty To Me,” “Nothin’ But a Good Time,” and “Fallen Angel.”
Poison
Poison frontman Bret Michaels.
My Morning Jacket
The Louisville-based rock band My Morning Jacket (with guitarist Jim James in front) performs at the Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island, Chicago, July 2, 2022.
The band performed new songs from their latest, eponymous album (including “Love Love Love,” “Least Expected” and “Never in the Real World”), along with such past hits as “Holdin on to Black Metal,” “Friends Again” and “Feel You.”
My Morning Jacket
Drummer Patrick Hallahan of My Morning Jacket.
My Morning Jacket
Bassist Tom Blankenship of My Morning Jacket.
Santana
Carlos Santana performs on the “Miraculous Supernatural” tour, at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, Illinois, on July 2, 2022.
Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana performs on the “Miraculous Supernatural” tour, at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, Illinois, on July 2, 2022.
Cindy Blackman Santana
Drummer Cindy Blackman Santana performs at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Tinley Park, Ill., July 2, 2022. Carlos Santana proposed to Cindy during a concert in 2010. She’s since become a regular part of his touring band, and has also recorded her own material.
Earth, Wind & Fire
Opening for Santana on their tour: Earth, Wind & Fire, here performing in Tinley Park, Illinois, on July 2, 2022. And what would an EWF setlist be without “Boogie Wonderland,” “September” “Celebrate,” and “Shining Star”? They did not disappoint.
Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire bassist Verdine White.
Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire singer Philip Bailey.
Lamb of God
Spread across three weekends in June and July, Milwaukee Summerfest features more than 1,000 performances at venues overlooking Lake Michigan, with an expected attendance of 750,000.
A headliner act on June 30 was the heavy metal band Lamb of God.
Chevelle
Touring bass player Kemble Walters of the rock band Chevelle performs at Milwaukee Summerfest, June 30, 2022.
Disturbed
Yeah, I’m lookin’ at you: Dan Donegan of the metal band Disturbed performs at Milwaukee Summerfest, June 30, 2022.
Gayle
Pop singer Gayle, who had an international hit in 2021 with “ABCDEFU,” performs at Milwaukee Summerfest, June 30, 2022.
The Indigo Girls
The Indigo Girls (Amy Ray and Emily Saliers) perform at Milwaukee Summerfest, June 30, 2022.
Juliana Hatfield
Singer-songwriter Juliana Hatfield performed “My Sister” and “Spin the Bottle” at Milwaukee Summerfest, June 30, 2022.
Sir Mix a Lot
Rapper Sir Mix a Lot performs at Milwaukee Summerfest, June 30, 2022.
The Fixx
The London new wave band The Fixx (featuring lead singer Cy Curnin) performs at Milwaukee Summerfest, June 30, 2022. Their setlist included “One Thing Leads to Another,” “Red Skies,” “Secret Separation” and “Are We Ourselves?”
Todd Rundgren
At Milwaukee Summerfest, June 30, 2022, Todd Rundgren‘s setlist included songs from his days with Nazz (“Open My Eyes,” “Hello It’s Me”) and Utopia (“One World,” “Lysistrata”).
Royal & the Serpent
Singer-songwriter Royal & the Serpent (a.k.a. Ryan Santiago) performs at Milwaukee Summerfest, June 30, 2022.
The Revivalists
The New Orleans rock band The Revivalists perform at Milwaukee Summerfest, June 30, 2022. Among their hits: “Wish I Knew You,” “All My Friends” and “Oh No.”
Machine Gun Kelly
Hip hop-rock artist Machine Gun Kelly was headliner of Milwaukee Summerfest on July 1, 2022. He performed such hits as “Bloody Valentine,” “My Ex’s Best Friend,” and “Make Up Sex.”
Avril Lavigne
Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne, an eight-time Grammy-nominee, performs at Milwaukee Summerfest, July 1, 2022. She performed “Complicated,” “Girlfriend,” “What the Hell” and “Sk8er Boi.” She also joined Machine Gun Kelly in performing “Bois Lie.”
Alessia Cara
Canadian singer-songwriter Alessia Cara performs at Milwaukee Summerfest, July 1, 2022. Among her songs: “Scars It to Beautiful,” “Stay,” “Sweet Dream” and “How Far I’ll Go.”
Howard Jones
British synth-pop musician Howard Jones performs at Milwaukee Summerfest, July 1, 2022.
Iann Dior
Rapper Iann Dior performs at Milwaukee Summerfest, July 1, 2022.
Scarypoolparty
Musician Alejandro Aranda, whose stage name is Scarypoolparty, performs at Milwaukee Summerfest, July 1, 2022.
The Steepwater Band
The Steepwater Band, rockers from Chicago, performs at Milwaukee Summerfest, July 1, 2022.
Summer Smash 2022
Sheck Wes was one of the artists performing at Summer Smash, a hip hop festival in Chicago, on June 17-19, 2022.
Wiz Khalifa
Wiz Khalifa performs at Summer Smash in Chicago, June 17, 2022.
Lil Uzi
Lil Uzi was the headliner on Day One of Summer Smash 2022 in Chicago.
Bia
The rapper Bia performs at Summer Smash in Chicago, June 18, 2022.
Dreezy
Dreezy performs at Summer Smash in Chicago, June 18, 2022.
Post Malone
Post Malone headlined Day Two of Summer Smash 2022 in Chicago.
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant
Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant and bluegrass star Alison Krauss began collaborating with their 2007 album “Raising Sand,” a Grammy-winner for album of the year. They are currently on tour supporting their latest album, “Raise the Roof.” Here they perform at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago, June 7, 2022.
Alison Krauss
Alison Krauss performs at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago, June 7, 2022.
Robert Plant
Robert Plant performs at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago, June 7, 2022.
Plant and Alison Krauss’ setlist included songs from their new album (including “Rich Woman,” “Please Read the Letter,” and “Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson”), Everly Brothers covers (“Gone Gone Gone,” “Stick With Me Baby”), and some Zeppelin (“The Battle of Evermore”).
John 5
While some bands are on hold, members of bands have picked up solo shows on the road. Guitarist John 5 (who has been performing with Rob Zombie) is now on tour with his band, John 5 and the Creatures, while Zombie is making a movie. John 5 appeared at the Apollo Theatre A.C., in Belvidere, Ill., on May 4.
Adept at both heavy metal and country (as a child he was a fan of “Hee Haw”), John 5 performed “Six Hundred and Sixty Six Pickers in Hell, CA,” “Land of Misfit Toys,” “Season of the Witch,” “Howdy,” and “The Black Grass Plague.”
The Haxans
The Haxans, featuring Rob Zombie’s bass player Matt Montgomery, opened for John 5 in Belvidere, Ill., on May 4, 2022. Here Montgomery performs without stage makeup.
Zakk Wylde
Ozzy Osbourne’s longtime lead guitarist Zakk Wylde, on tour with his heavy metal band Black Label Society, performs at the Apollo Theatre A.C., in Belvidere, Ill., May 5, 2022.
Nita Strauss
Opening for Wylde and Black Label Society in May was solo guitarist Nita Strauss. A descendent of classical composer Johann Strauss, she has toured with Alice Cooper, performed at football games and wrestling events, and was featured in “Hired Gun,” a documentary about touring and session musicians.
Her setlist included “Mariana Trench,” “The Quest,” “Our Most Desperate Hour,” and her 2021 #1 hit, “Dead Inside.”
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Brian Jonestown Massacre, pioneers of alternative and psych rock, are on their first nationwide tour since 2018. (Their latest music dropped in March.) Here they perform at the Vic Theatre, Chicago, on April 8, 2022. Touring with Anton Newcombe are Hallberg Daði Hallbergsson on bass, Hakon Adalsteinsson and Enrique Maymi on guitar, Uri Rennert on drums, Joel Gion on tambourine, and Ryan Carlson on keyboards.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
In April, while touring in Portland, the bus being used by the band was broken into, and their gear stolen. Newcombe tweeted: “To the mother f*****s that stole my s*** that I feed my family with: it will be my hand that greets you when you die. you will [fire emoji].”
Less than two weeks later, most of the guitars and other equipment were recovered by police from a homeless encampment.
Volbeat
The Danish rock band Volbeat – whose music is a blend of rock, rockabilly and heavy metal – appeared at Allstate Arena in Chicago, February 8, 2022, opening for Ghost.
Ghost
The setlist for the Swedish rock band Ghost included “Square Hammer,” “Rats,” “Hunter’s Moon,” Dance Macabre,” and “From the Pinnacle to the Pit.” They also covered Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”
Tool
On March 10, 2022, the Los Angeles rock band Tool played at the United Center in Chicago. Performing were vocalist Maynard James Keenan, guitarist Adam Jones, drummer Danny Carey and bassist Justin Chancellor. “They technically strive for perfection in their show, and achieve beyond it,” noted Barlow.
Their tour is in support of Tool’s 2019 album “Fear Inoculum,” their first album in 13 years. “Fear Inoculum” debuted at #1 on the Billboard chart, and featured the hits “Invincible,” “Descending,” “Culling Voices,” and “Chocolate Chip Trip,” all of which turned up on the setlist.
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Photographer Jake Barlow (Instagram)
