2025.09.06 - Phoenix, Arizona

[RogueSoul]

We're approaching the final stretch of the second North American Leg of the From Zero World Tour, Linkin Park are returning to the hometown of Chester Bennington for the first time in almost 10 years for a show at the PHX Arena in Phoenix, Arizona tonight, September 6, 2025!

 

 

This'll be the band's fifteenth show in Phoenix over the years, so you know today's history lesson is going to get interesting. Linkin Park's last few bouts in the Phoenix area were pretty interesting. Their last show there was on November 1, 2015 (the day after Halloween) at the Monster Mash festival in Tempe, the band coming out dressed in full zombie makeup to play the show! This show was the start of the final run of shows on The Hunting Party World Tour, with songs like 'Rebellion' and 'Final Masquerade' getting some of the limelight one more time before being dropped as setlist regulars. They performed in Scottsdale in 2014 as well for an even more unique event - a silent charity auction! Linkin Park performed at the Stars Of The Season Gala for a short set (shortened due to the auction running late), which opened with 'One Step Closer' and featured some sort of 'Papercut' Jam with Luis Ortiz (from the show "Million Dollar Listing") in the middle, as well. Chester had played this event with every single one of his active bands - Dead By Sunrise in 2011 (their final show ever), a solo show in 2012, Stone Temple Pilots in 2013, and finally Linkin Park in 2014. Talk about being a completionist! The band headlined their last proper show in Phoenix just a month before this at the US Airways Center at the end of the Carnivores Tour with Thirty Seconds To Mars. Delivering Set A to the crowd, bringing old tracks like 'Runaway' and 'Points Of Authority' into the mix with the likes of 'Wastelands' and 'Guilty All The Same.' 

 

The band didn't make it to the area on the Living Things World Tour, making their next most recent performance in Phoenix on the A Thousand Suns World Tour in February 2011 to top off the Winter North American Tour, headlining the same venue as in 2014. This show was the final full performance of 'Wretches and Kings' to date, and also featured the chorus of 'Burning In The Skies' during the extended bridge of 'Bleed It Out!' Jumping back to the Minutes To Midnight World Tour, the band visited Phoenix twice during this time. The band stopped at the Cricket Wireless Pavilion (now the Talking Stick Resort Amphitheater) in the middle of Projekt Revolution 2008, opening with 'No More Sorrow' and an intro from the Street Drum Corps into a massive opening run with 'Lying From You' and 'Points Of Authority.' Rare tracks like a full band 'Pushing Me Away' and 'In Pieces' made their way into the setlist, while other treats included 'Crawling' featuring Chris Cornell and a 'Krwlng' intro with a verse of 'Hands Held High' over it and the Minutes To Midnight Tour Version of 'Cure For The Itch.' Chester joined Chris Cornell during his set earlier on for 'Hunger Strike,' too! The band played at the same venue at the start of Projekt Revolution 2007, and is the source of a very famous speech from Mike Shinoda during the extended intro of 'Papercut:'

 

"A little fewer than 10 years ago, we had a problem in our band. We had this thing going on, but we didn't have a singer. Me and Brad started this thing in our apartment, fuckin' around with some friends, and we sent some demos out to some singers to see if we could find anybody that clicked. We got a demo back from a dude from Arizona, from Phoenix. Suffice to say, that shit worked out alright! Hey Phoenix, thank you for our friend Chester. We love you."

 

 

An almost full recording of Linkin Park's show at the Cricket Wireless Pavilion in Phoenix, Arizona on August 1, 2007. To hear Mike's speech about Phoenix and Chester, skip to 15:15! 

 

Onto the Meteora World Tour! The band made two ventures to Phoenix in this era, the last of which came near the end of Projekt Revolution 2004. Featuring every fan's favorite setlist of the band's career, Phoenix were treated to a slew of legendary moments including the band's cover of Nine Inch Nails' 'Wish,' the Hip-Hop Medley featuring parts of 'Step Up,' 'Nobody's Listening,' and 'It's Goin' Down,' and the Blood, Anger, Suffering Outro Transition between 'Figure.09' and 'From The Inside.' Projekt Revolution 2003 also saw the band in Phoenix, where fans were treated to even rare songs like 'Hit The Floor,' 'Easier To Run,' and 'P5hng Me A*wy!' A full performance of 'Nobody's Listening' with an extended outro featuring Xzibit rapping his verse from 'My Name' over it!

 

The band was busy in the area during the Hybrid Theory World Tour, visiting the city and its suburbs seven times in about a year and a half! Phoenix may hold the record for the city visited most often on Projekt Revolution as the band stopped there once again on the inaugural Projekt Revolution 2002 (that's five for five for Phoenix!) in February 2002, which featured treats like complete performances of 'Step Up,' 'It's Goin' Down' (the latter of which featured DJ Z-Trip), and 'Forgotten.' The band also played 'My December' and a cover of 'My Own Summer (Shove It)' by the Deftones in the encore! The band hit the town on the Family Values Tour just three months before in November 2001, and again a few months before that on an off day of the Ozzfest in July. The band performed in Mesa in April on their US-To-Europe run, packing the setlist with goods including B-sides 'High Voltage' and 'And One!' Chester sported his iconic red mohawk for the first time at this show, and even climbed the 30-foot speakers during 'Runaway!' Linkin Park topped off KUPD's Red Christmas Party in December 2000 (the show before the famous KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas show), opening with a raucous combo of 'A Place For My Head' and 'Forgotten' to a sold-out crowd. The band played in the area less than two months prior, right off the release of Hybrid Theory at The Freakers Ball during the Kottonmouth Kings' Ridin' High Tour - the band reportedly changed the setlist for this show, dropping 'Forgotten' and moving 'In The End' up to the second spot for the first time. The band performed in Peoria the month before in the middle of the Ridin' High Tour, opting to play KEDJ's That Damn Show event rather than the tour stop in Providence, Rhode Island. Chester wore a necklace given to him by a fan named Jessica Green, and the band brought up a fan named Tyler who was covered in Linkin Park stickers! Another month before that in August, Linkin Park played the 98KUPD Show, the source of the earliest known live recording of the band! This ancient show features the band's earliest known setlist, featuring 'Cure For The Itch' and 'Papercut' as openers and a grand finale of 'One Step Closer.'

 

 

The earliest full recording of Linkin Park performing live, from the Mason Jar in Phoenix, Arizona at the 98KUPD Show on August 15, 2000. Now THIS is a time capsule right here! Will we ever get a full live recording of the band earlier than this?

 

Before ending this history lesson, there's a couple more very special shows to mention. Prior to Linkin Park, many will know that the band was known as Hybrid Theory up until May 2000. According to Jeff Blue in his book, the band changed their name to "Plear" on May 1 before changing to "Linkin Park" a week later. The ticket stubs for this show say "Hybrid Theory," but what could possibly be Linkin Park's very first show in Arizona (and one of their very first shows under the name Linkin Park) occurred in Tempe at the end of May. We've also found some Hybrid Theory shows in Tempe in August 1999, which could possibly have been the band's first shows outside of their native California. Linkin Park's history lies deeply within Arizona and Phoenix, and we're sure their first show there with Emily, Colin, and Alex will continue to add to that! 

 

The From Zero World Tour made its last stop in Denver, Colorado, bringing Set C ('Burn It Down' theme) to the crowd. Act I featured 'Points Of Authority,' 'Crawling,' and 'New Divide' with its short Moscow Intro, while 'Up From The Bottom' returned to its regular spot in Act II alongside rotations 'Castle Of Glass' featuring opener Jean Dawson and 'IGYEIH' at the end (after Mike whipped out the demo verse of 'Lift Off' from Post Traumatic during his solo medley). 'Stained' was played in its regular spot in Act III, and 'Let You Fade' made its way into Act IV. This setlist was pretty much the same as the last Set C performance in Minneapolis, Minnesota, so the band may have found their preferred run with this one after some mid-tour experimentation.

 

Phoenix is lined up for Set A ('Castle Of Glass' theme), which was last performed in Omaha, Nebraska. The band was still playing around with the set around this time, so we can't say for certain if they'll follow the same order as last time, but Nebraska's setlist saw the following: 'Lying From You,' 'Stained,' and 'New Divide' in Act I, 'Lies Greed Misery' and 'Casualty' in Act II, 'Over Each Other' in Act III, and 'A Place For My Head' in Act IV, where it replaced 'From The Inside' in the rotation spot. With 'Let You Fade' now in two sets and 'From The Inside' in none, it begs the question: where'd it go? Perhaps it'll return tonight, or perhaps 'Unshatter' will finally get its live debut after reportedly being soundchecked a few shows ago. 'Castle Of Glass' will likely get another performance in as it'll be Jean Dawson's last show of the tour with the band, so we might not see 'Lies Greed Misery' again until next week when the band resumes the tour. It's worth nothing that this show is the first following the one-year anniversary of the band's return, so it'll be interesting to see if the band has anything special to say about that or Chester in his hometown!

 

 

Linkin Park's full show at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on September 3, 2025. How lucky we are that nearly every show on this tour gets a full recording uploaded a day or two after!

 

Who's going to the show? As I said, this'll be Jean Dawson's last show of the tour with the band before JPEGMAFIA takes over for the west coast, so if you can make it early enough to see him, be sure to! Weatherman Rogue Soul here to report it'll be a goddamn hot day in Arizona (no surprise there for you guys who live down there I'm sure) with temperatures up to 95°F and only going down to 88°F at night. An Excessive Heat Warning is in effect, so be sure to prepare in whatever that means staying really hydrated or slapping that sunscreen on! After this show, Linkin Park takes a week off of touring before resuming the From Zero World Tour on the west coast, beginning with a hometown show in Los Angeles on September 13. 

 

With all the recent Linkinpedia updates we've been doing as far as the show pages show, we'd like your help in expanding them further! We are looking for pictures or scans of a number of items from the band's 2025 tour, including wristbands, tickets, setlists, exclusive pop-up store content, and more. If you have anything to contribute, check out our thread on the matter and submit your pictures directly to us - if they meet the mark we will get them uploaded to the show pages and credit you (and also blur your information out where applicable)! Be sure to check out the site to see our recent changes to the show pages (including marked rotation songs, album breakdowns, and more statistics) if you haven't already, and enjoy the upgrades to our LPLive and Linkinpedia servers with faster loading times on both sites! We've also recently launched an LPLive Newsletter for those looking for more of a TL;DR version of what's going on with the tour than my pre-show posts - we'll be sending it out every couple of weeks so as to not flood your inbox, but we'll be bringing you an overview of both tour and general news updates in these, so be sure to sign up if you haven't already!

 

We'll have you covered on everything the band does at this show and everything they whip out for the rest of the year, so be sure to sign up on the forums and follow us on social media (Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook)!

[Laylalu]

Is there going to be a pop up in Phx? I haven’t seen anything yet and I’m kinda bummed. I mean all the other places got one, so I am eagerly hoping! 

[LPLStaff]

No pop up, it's only a few per tour. LA will get one. None in a while before that.

[LESTAT]

If the band doesn't mention/acknowledge Chester at this show then it has problems.

[JZLP-Benningstrong]

59 minutes ago, LESTAT said:

If the band doesn't mention/acknowledge Chester at this show then it has problems.

pretty sure that they won't do it, its part of their agenda, its going to be sad if they dont mention him at all.. why not dedicate a moment for him once in a while.

 

without his contributions they would never be this legendary band.

 

being totally honest the only member that has that rockstar status its him, i still find it weird that they dont mention him at all, it feels wrong.

 

Edited Saturday at 04:51 PM by JZLP-Benningstrong

[KeysToTheLinkinPark]

 

[Noodlebacca]

I was also at the show Chester mentioned with Type O and Deftones and one of the craziest, most unhinged concerts I had ever seen here at the Phoenix Coliseum Nine Inch Nails with opening act Marilyn Manson.  When NIN opening music started, people started jumping from the upper levels to get to the heavily guarded floor level seating.  People were just spilling over the sides to get down there.  I had never seen anything like it and was so out of control security could do nothing but just scramble and retreat.  We love and miss you in Phoenix Chester, rest in peace friend!  See you all downtown at the show tonight!   

[Stewe]

3 hours ago, LESTAT said:

If the band doesn't mention/acknowledge Chester at this show then it has problems.

They need to do a tribute in his hometown.

I've watched My Chemical Romance doing a video tribute to. Bob Bryar in Chicago a few weeks ago and he was just an ex bass player.

 

Chester is the singer and the most recognisable member of the band and they did nothing.

I know they want to move forward but it seems very wrong 

[bloodbath]

Are we having this fucking debate again?

[rracer2013]

34 minutes ago, bloodbath said:

Are we having this fucking debate again?

Hopefully not—it would end in disaster. The band and their management know very well why they don't do certain things.

Edited Saturday at 08:23 PM by rracer2013

[AceWav]

4 hours ago, KeysToTheLinkinPark said:

 

LMAO! I see now. xD

[AceWav]

To add my 2 cents in. History and fame speak for Chester at this point. Is there REALLY a need to mention Chester at this Pheonix show? Chester is a goat. EVERYONE knows who he is, and where he is from as far as LP fans and even casualties (my name for the casuals). However, the possibility that haters LIKE JAMIE BENNINGTON attending new LP concerts to start crap, is VERY possible right now. Do LP want Emily to get boo'd on stage? Do LP want to spark social media posts about Chester's mention, effectively causing more combative behavior in every comment section related to every post about this mention? I swear, some of you need to fucking think deeper before acting like no mention = disrespect. It's not about forgetting Chester, it's more about crowd control, and media control for the sake of the current health / mental well being of it's newest members. It's only been 1 year, go anywhere online and look at the comments. It's just TOO SOON and unfortunately, we live in a world where honoring a past band mate will actually cause more problems and fuel fires because a new one now exists. Now, with all that being said, LP might still do it... good for them and I hope it satisfies you whom are concerned about it, but the consequences of doing that are still fact. It's up to the band if they want to take a few hits or not right now. They already had an entire show dedicated to Chester, and apparently some of y'all haven't accepted that. There was a BETTER time and place, and that was the Hollywood bowl show. 

Edited Saturday at 09:46 PM by AceWav

[RogueSoul]

Write a pre-show post mentioning Chester in his hometown, they said. What could possibly go wrong, they said.

[KeysToTheLinkinPark]

4 minutes ago, RogueSoul said:

Write a pre-show post mentioning Chester in his hometown, they said. What could possibly go wrong, they said.

I feel like my GTA quote summed that up pretty well. 

[mac]

5 hours ago, JZLP-Benningstrong said:

pretty sure that they won't do it, its part of their agenda, its going to be sad if they dont mention him at all.. why not dedicate a moment for him once in a while.

 

without his contributions they would never be this legendary band.

 

being totally honest the only member that has that rockstar status its him, i still find it weird that they dont mention him at all, it feels wrong.

 

 

Imagine people watching the astounding return of Linkin Park, singing his songs and sharing his legacy with hundreds of thousands of fans all over the world in the biggest celebration of his work imaginable, and still thinking...

'Man, I can't believe they don't honour Chester'

[Cesar656]

7 minutes ago, mac said:

 

Imagine people watching the astounding return of Linkin Park, singing his songs and sharing his legacy with hundreds of thousands of fans all over the world in the biggest celebration of his work imaginable, and still thinking...

'Man, I can't believe they don't honour Chester'

But do they really believe that? You guys that are always online and on reddit/forums might think that. The average show crowd wont give a fuck. Apart from 10/20 hardcore-stuckinthepast fans. Grow up, move on, understand why things are being done the way they are, and enjoy a band that a year ago we thought was done

[mac]

4 minutes ago, Cesar656 said:

enjoy a band that a year ago we thought was done

 

Agreed completely

Edited Saturday at 10:06 PM by mac

[bloodbath]

1 hour ago, AceWav said:

To add my 2 cents in. History and fame speak for Chester at this point. Is there REALLY a need to mention Chester at this Pheonix show? Chester is a goat. EVERYONE knows who he is, and where he is from as far as LP fans and even casualties (my name for the casuals). However, the possibility that haters LIKE JAMIE BENNINGTON attending new LP concerts to start crap, is VERY possible right now. Do LP want Emily to get boo'd on stage? Do LP want to spark social media posts about Chester's mention, effectively causing more combative behavior in every comment section related to every post about this mention? I swear, some of you need to fucking think deeper before acting like no mention = disrespect. It's not about forgetting Chester, it's more about crowd control, and media control for the sake of the current health / mental well being of it's newest members. It's only been 1 year, go anywhere online and look at the comments. It's just TOO SOON and unfortunately, we live in a world where honoring a past band mate will actually cause more problems and fuel fires because a new one now exists. Now, with all that being said, LP might still do it... good for them and I hope it satisfies you whom are concerned about it, but the consequences of doing that are still fact. It's up to the band if they want to take a few hits or not right now. They already had an entire show dedicated to Chester, and apparently some of y'all haven't accepted that. There was a BETTER time and place, and that was the Hollywood bowl show. 

I couldn't have said myself better.

[xxHybridXeroxx]

1 hour ago, AceWav said:

To add my 2 cents in. History and fame speak for Chester at this point. Is there REALLY a need to mention Chester at this Pheonix show? Chester is a goat. EVERYONE knows who he is, and where he is from as far as LP fans and even casualties (my name for the casuals). However, the possibility that haters LIKE JAMIE BENNINGTON attending new LP concerts to start crap, is VERY possible right now. Do LP want Emily to get boo'd on stage? Do LP want to spark social media posts about Chester's mention, effectively causing more combative behavior in every comment section related to every post about this mention? I swear, some of you need to fucking think deeper before acting like no mention = disrespect. It's not about forgetting Chester, it's more about crowd control, and media control for the sake of the current health / mental well being of it's newest members. It's only been 1 year, go anywhere online and look at the comments. It's just TOO SOON and unfortunately, we live in a world where honoring a past band mate will actually cause more problems and fuel fires because a new one now exists. Now, with all that being said, LP might still do it... good for them and I hope it satisfies you whom are concerned about it, but the consequences of doing that are still fact. It's up to the band if they want to take a few hits or not right now. They already had an entire show dedicated to Chester, and apparently some of y'all haven't accepted that. There was a BETTER time and place, and that was the Hollywood bowl show. 

 Couldn’t have said it any better myself 

[JZLP-Benningstrong]

2 hours ago, RogueSoul said:

Write a pre-show post mentioning Chester in his hometown, they said. What could possibly go wrong, they said.

you did the right thing and whoever is sharing all the photos on Facebook an X by LPLive w Chester photos and mentions about his hometown also did the right thing.

 

What's awful its that some people try to make us look like crazy people stuck in the past just because we love him so much and its our childhood hero our opinion matters too.

[RogueSoul]

3 hours ago, JZLP-Benningstrong said:

What's awful its that some people try to make us look like crazy people stuck in the past just because we love him so much and its our childhood hero our opinion matters too.

it’s not that we are tired of hearing how much you love him - probably quite the contrary. It’s more the fact that one little detail gets people so caught up about this that we can’t take a step back and appreciate what’s going on. No need to belittle the band or the show because it doesn’t meet your own personal criteria, and in fact hasn’t shown any indication that they will. It’s obvious this is the first Emily era and they want to keep things focussed on that, but there’s no “erasure” going on, it’s simply just playing their show and promoting their new era, keeping things focussed.

 

ever take a second to think that maybe mentioning Chester is hard on them too? like when Mike had to shorten Over Again because of the emotional toll it took on both him and the crowd. I’m sure maybe you’d light up at the mention but others will still feel some sort of way if they did - not everyone is in the same boat as you are with this. Don’t you think, as a Chester superfan, that this is what he would’ve wanted anyway? For them to be able to move forward without the anchor of his passing holding them back? It’s not easy anyway you look at it, but its pointless at being upset at it.

 

anyway, one and a half hours til show time!

 

 

 

10 hours ago, Noodlebacca said:

I was also at the show Chester mentioned with Type O and Deftones and one of the craziest, most unhinged concerts I had ever seen here at the Phoenix Coliseum Nine Inch Nails with opening act Marilyn Manson.  When NIN opening music started, people started jumping from the upper levels to get to the heavily guarded floor level seating.  People were just spilling over the sides to get down there.  I had never seen anything like it and was so out of control security could do nothing but just scramble and retreat.  We love and miss you in Phoenix Chester, rest in peace friend!  See you all downtown at the show tonight!   

awesome story! as a little aside, I actually do listen to the shows I link in the pre-show posts while I write them. I usually go into the show pages and add more info (more in line with how we’d do them today - I added a lot of details on the Phoenix 2007 and Phoenix 2000 pages!

 

 

EDIT: After all this arguing... lol

 

Mike Shinoda: "We're feeling very grateful to be here, in the birthplace of Chester Bennington... and as luck would have it, a year since the relaunch of the band. So a lot of emotions for us, thank you guys very much for supporting the journey and the band and the new music."

[Xero21]

Nah some of you are weird and very bored.

[capoofan3]

This was my first ever Linkin Park concert I've ever been to... and IT WAS AWESOME!

[Justin]

You literally made up a scenario in your head, in which Mike is angry at Chester and resents him for dying, and then wrote an essay about how it’s wrong for Mike, who has never shown any indication that he feels that way, to feel that way.

 

You even put ruin in quotes, saying that Chester’s goal wasn’t to “ruin” the band.

 

No one in the band has ever said that.

 

I am a hardcore fan and have been since 2001. Mike literally wrote an album about processing Chester’s death, and then did an entire tour where he spoke about Chester every single night, usually sharing a memory or story about him that related to whatever city he was in.

 

I have no idea why you’re saying they’ve failed to honor the past. They literally spoke about Chester tonight on stage. What exactly do you want from them? What would make you feel satisfied that they’re honoring the past? A video montage and a eulogy for their friend at every concert?

[MMM]

7 minutes ago, ramanlfc said:

20 years of listenting to the band and the crap they've received, specially since MTM, has me convinced they've always had one of the most difficult fan base to please. 

LP in their songs touches the problem of mental illness and they are a symbol for people with mental illnesses, so it's no wonder that it has one of the most difficult fanbases. XD

Edited yesterday at 07:26 AM by MMM