Alice In Chains are set to headline Musikfest this summer in Bethlehem, PA. The band will close out the
festival on August 16 at 7pm at the Sands Steel Stage at PNC Plaza. Tickets are $45-$55 and go on sale starting tomorrow, 10 a.m., to ArtsQuest Members and March 13, 10 am, and to the public via Musikfest.org and 610-332-3378. Alice In Chains make their triumphant return to Musikfest after serving as one of the festival’s headliners in 2006. Back in January, Alice In Chains played the halftime show at the NFL’s NFC Championship Game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers at CenturyLink Field. The band formed in 1987 and were one of the great bands to come out of the thriving Seattle music scene in the early 90s along with the likes of Soundgarden, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam to name a few. Alice In Chains were one of the most successful music acts of the 90s, selling over 25 million albums worldwide throughout the decade. Guitarist Jerry Cantrell is a life-long Seahawks fan. “It’s an honor to be asked to take part in anything to do with the Seahawks,” Cantrell stated in an interview with Clare Farnsworth, a journalist for Seahawks.com. “I’m always happy to show up and lend a helping hand, absolutely.”
Alice In Chains have been taking some time off in the wake of the success of their latest album The Devil Put The Dinosaurs Here which dropped on May 28, 2013 and hit #2 on the Billboard Top 200. The disc made TheRockRevival.com’s list of The Top Rock Albums of 2013 at #16 and the video for the single “Hollow” was #3 on our list of The Top 2015 Rock Music Videos of 2013. Debuting at #2 on the Billboard Top 200, the disc sold over 62,000 copies in it’s first week of sales and, so far and produced three hit singles. The follow-up to 2009’s Black Gives Way To Blue, disc is the band’s second album with vocalist/guitarist William DuVall. The album was released to much fan praise and critical acclaim. The record hit #5 on the Billboard Top 200, and garnered the band two Grammy Award nominations. Alice In Chains garnered a Grammy Nomination for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical for The Devil Put The Dinosaurs Here.
Alice In Chains are largely credited for ushering a new brand of heavy metal at the turn
of the decade in 1990. While it only hit #42 on the Billboard Top 200, their debut album, Facelift, has gone on to be certified double-platinum and features arguably their biggest hit: “Man In The Box”. After the explosion of their first record, AIC returned in 1992 with their sophomore effort, Dirt, which hit #6 on the Billboard Top 200. The album has since gone on to sell over 5 million copies, achieving 5x platinum status by the RIAA. In 1995, the band released what would be their final album with vocalist Layne Staley. The self-titled LP debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, and eventually went triple-platinum. During this five-year stretch, Alice In Chains toured with the likes of Van Halen, Iggy Pop, Poison, Anthrax, Slayer, Megadeth, and Ozzy Osbourne. They also toured on Lollapalooza in the summer of 1993. Throughout their entire career, the band has been nominated for 8 Grammy Awards and 1 American Music Award. They have also been nominated for 3 MTV Video Music Awards, winning 1 in 1993 for the song “Would?”.
The band has enjoyed much success in recent years since their reformation in 2005. After playing a series of 1-offs with special guest vocalists, the band officially reformed with new vocalist William DuVall in 2008 and entered the studio to begin work on a new album. Much like contemporaries Soundgarden, it had been 14 years since AIC’s last studio effort. In 2009, Black Gives Way To Blue was released to much fan praise and critical acclaim. The record hit #5 on the Billboard Top 200, and garnered the band two Grammy Award nominations. Alice In Chains were one of the most successful music acts of the 1990s, selling over 25 million albums worldwide throughout the decade. In 1992, the band released sophomore album, Dirt, which was critically acclaimed and has been certified quadruple platinum. Two of the band’s albums, Jar of Flies and Alice in Chains, both hit #1 on the Billboard Top 200. In total, Alice In Chains have received eight Grammy Award nominations throughout their career. – by Matt Bishop
ALICE IN CHAINS – Live Photo Gallery
