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Live from Bridgestone Arena – Nashville
November 5th, 2026 Review by Traci Turner
Three Days Grace’s Alienation Tour stopped in Nashville and melted everyone’s faces off. Three incredible bands, scads of pyro, plus a costumed mosh pit of characters.
The night was my introduction to The Funeral Portrait, and I already look forward to seeing the Atlanta band again. Lee Jennings is an engaging frontman who speaks from the heart, performed some epic combat maneuvers, and made me crave more of their catalog.
They kicked the evening off with their hugely popular cover of Tears for Fears’ “Mad World” followed by “Holy Mind.” By “Generation Psycho,” I was hooked and “Blood Mother” sealed the deal. Jennings had everyone take out their phones and light them up during “Voodoo Doll” and it showed the venue was nicely packed already.
Donning a cowboy hat, Jennings asked, “Is it cool if we get a little y’all-ternative with you?” He told the story of a record exec telling him he would need to lose 100 pounds to be successful as a frontman. In response the band and the audience raised middle fingers in that exec’s honor.
“Holy Water” was followed by the live debut of “My Future Prediction,” their newest song, which will drop on Friday. “Dark Thoughts” and the My Chemical Romance-ish “Suffocate City” closed their set.
When the arena darkened, I PREVAIL was shown in bold red letters on a black screen behind the stage. Red lights began flashing, a thundering bass riff began, and the band walked out. Then frontman Eric Vanlerberghe growled, “Nashville, turn it the fuck up!”
What followed was a screaming, howling, epically loud set with a crap ton of pyro. I Prevail launched into “NOW” and “Bow Down” before Vanlerberghe asked to see the mosh pit. As it was the day after Halloween – at least, I assume that’s why – a group was dressed in various costumes that included a hot dog, a pickle, a bottle of Fireball, and Pikachu. He said it was time to get the pit moving and that brought “Self-Destruction.”
The thundering drums in “There’s Fear in Letting Go” were super impressive and Vanlerberghe once again checked on the pit, joking, “The pit has been too chill! What are you doing, Pikachu? Pooh? Teletubbies? Whatever!” He said, “Some of you are thinking ‘I am sick of this screamo shit. I’m here for Three Days Grace.’” But the crowd screamed in support and kept it up for “Choke.”
After “Hurricane” and “Bad Things,” there was a snippet of Metallica’s “Sad but True,” and Vanlerberghe yelled, “Get your fists in the mother fuckin’ sky!”
He intro-ed the next song, “This next one is a newer one about the weather. It’s called ‘Rain.’” Gabe Helguera’s drumming blew me away on this one, and an epic drum solo followed.
After “God,” Vanlerberghe growled, “We’ve got two more song and they are ass beaters, baby!” They then released all the things – lights, fire, fog, screams to go with “Violent Nature.”
In the middle of their closer, “Gasoline,” Vanlerberghe stated, “We’ve got two more minutes. Get on your feet; love me or hate me, you will respect me. Get up!” The few remaining sitters complied.
I Prevail. Ok, I get it. Respect.
While it already felt like we experienced a full rock show, there was still the headliner to go. I last saw Three Days Grace in 2023 with Matt Walst as the frontman, but on that night, they brought former frontman Adam Gontier onstage to sing a few songs. After that show, Gontier rejoined the band and he and Walst share singing duties – it works.
As the humungous white words, “LET’S FUCKING GO,” flashed on the black screen, Three Days Grace almost seems more subtle in their entrance, but once the lights hit, the screams started and “Dominate” got things going.
As “Animal I Have Become,” began, the fans started screaming in appreciation. Walst and Gontier traded vocals and covered the full stage, getting the crowd into the singalong. Gontier visited each band member, making funny hand gestures in front of guitarist Barry Stock, who always amazes me.
It was at this point I looked at the drummer and went, “Wait a sec! That’s Shaun!” TDG drummer Neil Sanderson was injured last month and underwent surgery last week for a ruptured tendon in his left bicep. Despite this, he was still onstage playing keyboards and providing background vocals. But behind the kit as he heals is former Breaking Benjamin drummer, Shaun Foist, who appeared to be having an absolute blast.
“So Called Life” and “Break” were next, after which Gontier gave details on Sanderson’s injury, then said the next song was about feeling like a machine going through the motions,” “I Am Machine.”
Gontier stopped to give the history of the band, their childhoods in Canada, their albums, his departure in 2013, and said, “But these guys kept going, they kept it alive, and I am so grateful. We would not be here if not for Matt and the guys.” This led to “The Mountain.”
Last year TDG released “Alienation,” their first album with the two singers. After they did a single from it, “Kill Me Fast,” Gontier said it had been written in the Nashville area, where he now lives. But he said it was time to go back to the oldest TDG song, and that it “can be an anthem about breakups, or drugs,” “I Hate Everything About You.”
Walst announced it was time to go back to the 2000s, “when shit was still good,” there were no smart phones, and we had CDs. A medley of the frontmen’s solo tracks, “Gone Forever,” “Porn Star Dancing,” and “I Don’t Care” provided a party and when it ended, Walst told Gontier, “These are our people!”
The mosh pit was crazy during “Time of Dying,” but then the band slowed things down. Gontier spoke of their Canadian childhoods in a tiny town with “only one of everything.” He said there were three things to do there: sports, drugs, or music. He joked that they had dipped into some of the other, but “luckily we are here to do this.” He invited a special guest out – his cousin, Saint Asonia bassist, Cale Gontier.
What followed was an emotional rendition of “Don’t Wanna Go Home Tonight” complete with a video montage of childhood photos, early touring images, and a lookback and the band’s entire history.
Things got changed up as the band moved to an acoustic portion, complete with camp chairs around a firepit and a starry sky behind them. “Lost in You” was done with them sitting around the camp fire and Gontier said, “This is how it all began; sitting around together singing.”
As much as I adore “Pain” as a rock song, the stripped down version was lovely. “Lifetime” was introduced as a “song for everyone who has lost somebody,” and we were instructed to light up the arena with our phones. “Let’s light this up for everyone looking over us from heaven,” exclaimed Gontier.
To wrap the simpler set portion up, the lights went off and Gontier was spotlighted on the stage walkout as he sang a portion of 3 Doors Down’s “Here Without You” acapella before having the crowd assist.
We were back to the full band rock show with “World So Cold” and “Just Like You,” which included The Funeral Portrait’s Jennings onstage to be a vocal trio. Once again I noticed Foist smiling brightly behind the kit, spinning his drumsticks in between hits.
Following “Mayday,” Walst gave the order we had to follow: “I know it is Sunday, but let’s party like it’s Saturday. Call your boss and say ‘I was partying with TDG, so fuck off!’”
“The Good Life,” “Painkiller,” and “Never Too Late” were crowd pleasers with what seemed like the entire arena singing along.
After leading the packed venue in a “Riot!” call and response, Walst yelled, “Keep that mosh pit going. Keep the crowdsurfing going. Let’s. Start. A rrriiiioooootttt!” Obviously, “Riot” wrapped the set.
An absolutely amazing night of growls, screams, green hair, fire, and riots (the good kind). Plus, some fantastic fucking music, courtesy of Three Days Grace, I Prevail, and The Funeral Portrait. The Alienation Tour marches west and will stop in SoCal November 20th at Viejas Arena in San Diego, and November 22nd at the Intuit Dome in LA.
SHOW PHOTO GALLERY
by Stephanie Pepper Photography
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SID 261107 | TRACI TURNER | EDITOR
