Linkin Park Concerts Setlist

Linkin Park is an American nu metal band. They were formed in 1996 in Agoura Hills, California. The founding members were lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and keyboardist Mike Shinoda (born in 1977 in Los Angeles, California), drummer Rob Bourdon (1979, Calabasas, California), and lead guitarist Brad Delson (1977, Agoura, California).

The three founders were high school friends. After graduation, they decided to try to make it in the music industry together. They formed a band in 1996, and called it “Xero” then. They recruited Mark Wakefield to be their lead singer, Dave Pharrell to be their bassist, and Joe Hahn to be the DJ of the band. On a shoestring budget, they produced a self-titled album together, “Xero”, which came out in November 1997. However, since the project yielded no sales, nor did it lead to a record deal, frustration took over the band. The original lead singer Wakefield and bassist Pharrell left. However, the rest of the crew didn’t give up: they chose Chester Bennington from Arizona as their new vocalist. Also, they changed their name to “Hybrid Theory”.

After many rejections from labels skeptical of their rock-hip hop fusion style, they finally landed a contract with Warner Bros. Records in 1999, with the help of music executive Jeff Blue. However, the label asked the band to change their name, as “Hybrid Theory” was too similar to “Hybrid”, the name of a British EDM duo. The band obliged, and changed their name again. Thus, they became “Linkin Park”, an alternative way of spelling Lincoln Park, a location in Santa Monica, California.

However, they made their old name, “Hybrid Theory”, the title of their debut album, released in October 2000. It brought enough luck: unexpectedly, the record became a massive hit, peaking at the #2 spot on the Billboard 200 chart. The standout tracks on it were “One Step Closer” and “In the End”. They also went on their first nationwide Linkin Park concert tour, the “Hybrid Theory Tour”.

Since then, the Californian nu metal band has released 6 more albums, thus they have 7 in total. The best selling one among them has remained their first one, which sold a staggering 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best selling albums of all time. Meanwhile, the last new Linkin Park album came out in May 2017, with the title “One More Light”. Linkin Park’s biggest hits to date are the aforementioned “In the End” (2001), “Numb” (2003), “What I’ve Done” (2007), and “Castle of Glass” (2012).

Sadly, lead singer Chester Bennington committed suicide on July 20, 2017. The grief-stricken band members announced a hiatus immediately, and it is ongoing still. It is unclear when there will be another live Linkin Park concert show, or a new Linkin Park album released.