Linkin Park has begun to forge a new path, eight years after the death of their beloved frontman Chester Bennington, but there are still some songs of his they won’t play live, and one specifically because it’s just “too sad.”
In a new interview with The Guardian, co-vocalists Mike Shinoda and Emily Armstrong, who joined the band last year, opened up about the band’s current status, with Shinoda explaining that there are some songs from their catalog that they do not perform because it would “feel weird playing” on stage. The title track from the band’s seventh studio album, “One More Light,” is such a song.
“We all wanted our show to be really good vibes,” Shinoda shared “I want you walking away feeling like this was such a wonderful, special, fun night.” For this reason, the band skips “One More Light” because of the life it took on in the wake of Bennington’s death.
The song was originally written “for a woman at the label that we worked with who passed away,” Shinoda explained, but it has since become a way for fans to memorialize Bennington. “After Chester passed, the world decided that it was about him,” Shinoda said. “And so, that’s just too sad to play.”
Chester Bennington was Linkin Park’s vocalist from 1999 until his death in 2017. The singer died by suicide just two months after the release of One More Light. The band went on hiatus for the next seven years and reemerged in late 2024 with a new lineup, album, and tour plans.
Linkin Park’s current band roster is Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Phoenix, Joe Hahn, along with new co-vocalist Emily Armstrong and new drummer Colin Brittain. Notably, Delson is not be joining the band on tour due to personal reasons. Alex Feder will be filling in. Check out a full list of Linkin Park’s upcoming concert dates below:
7/29 Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY (+ PVRIS)
8/1 TD Garden Boston, MA (+ PVRIS)
8/3 Prudential Center Newark, NJ (+ PVRIS)
8/6 Bell Centre Montreal, QC (+ PVRIS)
8/8 Scotiabank Arena Toronto, ON (+ PVRIS)
8/11 United Center Chicago, IL (+ PVRIS)
8/14 Little Caesars Arena Detroit, MI (+ PVRIS)
8/16 Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, PA (+ Jean Dawson)
8/19 PPG Paints Arena Pittsburgh, PA (+ Jean Dawson)
8/21 Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN (+ Jean Dawson)
8/23 Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO (+ Jean Dawson)
8/25 Fiserv Forum Milwaukee, WI (+ Jean Dawson)
8/27 Target Center Minneapolis, MN (+ Jean Dawson)
8/29 CHI Health Center Omaha, NE (+ Jean Dawson)
8/31 T-Mobile Center Kansas City, MO (+ Jean Dawson)
9/3 Ball Arena Denver, CO (+ Jean Dawson)
9/6 Footprint Center Phoenix, AZ (+ Jean Dawson)
9/13 Dodger Stadium Los Angeles, CA (+ Queens Of The Stone Age & JPEGMAFIA)
9/15 SAP Center San Jose, CA (+ JPEGMAFIA)
9/17 Golden 1 Center Sacramento, CA (+ JPEGMAFIA)
9/19 Moda Center Portland, OR (+ JPEGMAFIA)
9/21 Rogers Arena Vancouver, BC (+ JPEGMAFIA)
9/24 Climate Pledge Arena Seattle, WA (+ JPEGMAFIA)
10/26 Venue TBA Bogota, CO
10/29 Venue TBA Lima, PE
11/1 Venue TBA Buenos Aires, AR
11/5 Venue TBA Santiago, CL
11/8 Venue TBA Rio de Janeiro, BR
11/10 Venue TBA São Paulo, BR
11/13 Venue TBA Brasilia, BR
11/15 Venue TBA Porto Alegre, BR
The post Linkin Park Refuses To Play One Chester Bennington Song, and the Reason Will Make You Cry appeared first on VICE.
