Staind Return To A Packed Amphitheater

Concert Review
Staind
Seether
Hoobastank
Hinder
Saturday September 19, 2026
Darien Lake Amphitheater
Darien Center, NY
Review/Photos: Joseph Suto

It was a chilly night out at the Darien Lake Amphitheater Saturday evening. Hoodies and sweatshirts were donned by the majority of the sold out crowd as everyone gathered for the final rock concert out at the amphitheater for 2026. Staind brought the goods celebrating twenty-five years of their seven times platinum album, Break the Cycle. Along for the ride were Seether, Hoobastank and Hinder.

It’s been awhile (three years) but Staind finally returned to town. They are no strangers to the area and have visited it more frequently than the other bands on the bill. It also helped that Aaron Lewis has played here solo in between Staind dates as well. Why this show was sold out was a big surprise to many. I would say there were a few factors involved. In a new era where many established artists are having issues selling tickets known as blue dot fever it must have been a sigh of relief for Live Nation who promoted the tour. The fact many of the bands on this bill haven’t oversaturated the mark, being the final fling of the season and that it was a Saturday all played contributing factors.

Lewis was joined by guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist Johnny April and drummer Sal Giancarelli. This lineup has been intact since 2011 and it showed. Staind clearly had the best sound of the night as Lewis was in fine form vocally. From the opening notes of “Open Your Eyes” to the closing of “Mudshovel” it was a joyous journey through the discography of Staind.

Seether warmed up the crowd with authority as expected. The band is led by vocalist/guitarist Shaun Morgan and he was joined by bassist Dale Stewart, drummer John Humphrey and guitarist Corey Lowery. It had been almost ten years that the band last played the area so you knew the fans were hungry for Seether and they showed it.

Seether came blistering out of the gate with “Pride” and “Lost All Control” taking no prisoners. Definitely the band was the heaviest sounding band of the night delivering the goods and was a good follow up from the first two acts of the night. Despite Seether’s set clocking in just under one hour they pulled out all the stops and mixed up their set list like they have throughout the tour. So if you catch another date on this tour expect variety.

Hoobastank preceded Seether and were actually the biggest surprise of the night. Vocalist Doug Robb led the band through a 40-minute set that featured four songs from the band’s biggest selling album The Reason. It had been thirteen odd years that Hoobastank last performed in Western New York so it was good to have them back. Robb mentioned to the crowd that it was a great night for nostalgia and that the whole show would be one long sing along.

Joining Robb were guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse and bassist Jesse Charland. Charland has been present in the band since 2009 and had his young son come out and play alongside him wearing headphones and wielding a toy guitar during “Running Away”. Quite a feel good moment of the night.

The night began with Hinder as they not only took the crowd back but also played a pair of new cuts from their latest album Back To Life. While the songs sounded okay, the fact they were only allowed thirty five minutes would have been better served playing songs fans knew. The proof was in the evidence during the band’s biggest hit “Lips Of A Angel” as the crowd sang along with authority. More hits and less filler would have made their set stronger.

Hinder has the distinction of starting off strong selling three million copies of their debut Extreme Behavior right outta the gate but then each successive album selling less. A major part of that was Austin Winkler the band’s original singer leaving the band in late 2013. Current singer Marshall Dutton, who had worked with the band during Winkler’s time in the band has a different vocal style. Dutton has been aboard in the lead vocalist spot since 2015 with the band releasing just three albums since he had joined the band.

The core of the band still includes drummer Cody Hanson, bassist Mike Rodden and lead guitarist Joe “Blower” Garvey who all have played on every album to date. Joining the band on stage was touring guitarist Justin Shipley who has done so since 2021. Overall the Hinder set was better than I expected but still to me I feel the band has seen better days.

Staind Gallery

Seether Gallery

Hoobastank Gallery

Hinder Gallery

Set Lists

Staind
Open Your Eyes
Warm Safe Place
Fade
Raining Again
Everything Changes
Take It
Right Here
Believe
Something To Remind You
Suffer
Pressure
So Far Away
Outside
For You
It’s Been Awhile
Mudshovel