Clarkston,Michigan (September 13,2026)-A four-band modern-rock bill can sometimes feel like four separate concerts sharing the same stage. Sunday night at Pine Knob, it felt more like one show building toward its headliner, with Kami Kehoe, Starset and Chevelle each bringing something different before Breaking Benjamin took over for the final stretch.
Kami Kehoe had the unenviable task of starting the show at 6 p.m., with daylight still hanging over the amphitheater. She made the most of a nine-song set that moved her between the drum kit and microphone, opening with “Psycho” and eventually reaching “Sleep When I’m Dead” and “Dopamine.” Kehoe, whose third album Love Is a Weapon was released Aug. 28, is still establishing herself on bills this size, but she looked comfortable with the opportunity.
As the daylight faded, Starset had the backdrop it needed for a much bigger stage production. The Columbus, Ohio, band used futuristic costumes, elevated platforms, electronics and large video projections to turn its eight-song set into something considerably more elaborate than the average opening slot. Dustin Bates and company opened with “p a r a d 0 x 1 c,” followed by “Carnivore,” “Brave New World” and “Monster,” before moving through “SILOS,” “TokSik” and “My Demons.”
The contrast within the eight songs was striking. Starset would go from strings and electronic sci-fi inspired soundscapes to heavy guitar riffs without making any of it feel out of place. The violin and cello added another dimension to the arrangements, while the futuristic stage setup gave the band considerably more visual space than most opening acts receive. It was one of the night’s most complete performances, musically and visually.
By the time Chevelle took the stage at 8 p.m., darkness had settled over Pine Knob and the Illinois trio went straight to work. Pete Loeffler’s guitar and vocals, Sam Loeffler’s work behind the kit along with Kemble Walters’ bass were enough to fill the amphitheater without any oversized production. Chevelle simply took the stage and jammed. “Family System” got things rolling, followed by “Self Destructor” and “Vitamin R (Leading Us Along),” with “Pale Horse” keeping the guitars smoking as the set moved along.
The deeper Chevelle fans had plenty to grab onto as “Hats Off to the Bull,” “An Island” and “Face to the Floor,” found their way into the set. Loeffler didn’t spend much time talking, but when he did it was usually just enough to point the audience toward the next song. Most of the communication with the fans came through the guitar, shifting from thick, heavy riffs to cleaner runs without breaking the three-piece’s stride. “The Clincher” brought another heavy turn before “Send the Pain Below” pulled one of the band’s most recognizable songs into the mix.
“Comfortable Liar” and “The Red” highlighted the run toward the finish, with Sam Loeffler driving both songs hard from behind the kit. By the time “Mars Simula” closed the 60-minute performance, Chevelle had given longtime fans plenty to dig into while still delivering songs that had the rest of Pine Knob singing along. The band played loud, tight and without much unnecessary fuss, making the most of its hour onstage.
That put the night’s biggest share of the spotlight on Breaking Benjamin, which took the stage at 9:30 p.m. with an 18-song set that started with “I Will Not Bow.” The response was loud, with the packed amphitheater quickly joining in on “Until the End” and “Evil Angel.” “Crawl” followed, pushing the guitars to a new level before “Red Cold River” and “Blow Me Away” reached further into the band’s catalog.
Burnley has built Breaking Benjamin’s sound around thick guitars, dark subject matter and dynamic sonic shifts that tend to ingrain themselves in fans memory. That combination was all over the 90-minute set, whether the band was tearing through “Follow” and “Angels Fall” or moving into the more familiar territory of “You” and “So Cold.” “Polyamorous,” from the band’s 2002 debut Saturate, reached back into the beginning of the group’s career, while “Dear Agony” slowed things down and gave Burnley a chance at one of the night’s strongest vocal performances.
The newer stuff fit neatly into the set without getting lost or worse yet, overlooked. “Something Wicked,” released this year as Breaking Benjamin’s first new single in five years, was followed later by “Awaken.” Neither song felt out of place in a stacked setlist that has been part of the band’s live shows for years. It really didn’t matter where they were in the mix, Pine Knob was singing along to nearly everything.
“Breath,” brought another huge response from the crowd, followed by “Failure” and “Dance With the Devil.” The band typically saves its signature cut, “The Diary of Jane,” for the end, and Sunday was no different.
The songs were there all night, and Burnley and the band delivered them with the power and intensity the fans came for. The bigger problem was the production surrounding them, particularly the lighting.
For a headlining production at a venue the size of Pine Knob, Breaking Benjamin’s lighting was surprisingly limited. There is speculation that Burnley has sensitivity issues with bright lights which is understandable. That said there were stretches when Burnley and other members of the band disappeared almost completely into the darkness, making it difficult to see the the artists at the center of the performance. The problem was even more noticeable after Starset had spent its set making such effective use of lighting, video and production. Breaking Benjamin didn’t need to match Starset’s spectacle, but Burnley and company shouldn’t have been disappearing from view, either.
That was a frustrating visual drawback on a night when the music itself rarely missed. The guitars were loud, the drums hit hard and Burnley’s familiar voice carried the songs the crowd came to hear. Pine Knob knew nearly every word, and judging by the response throughout the 18-song set, the catalog still has plenty of life in it.
With Starset and Chevelle both turning in standout sets before the headliner, there wasn’t much dead space in the four-band lineup. Each act took a different route to the same basic destination, and by the time Breaking Benjamin finished, Pine Knob had spent nearly four hours with four distinct versions of modern rock.
STARSET Gallery:
CHEVELLE Gallery:
BREAKING BENJAMIN Gallery:
