Punk-fueled rocker Billy Idol brought his 2026 tour to Grand Rapids on Friday, with opener Susanna Hoffs. Check out the Local Spins review and photo gallery.
Idol, Indeed: Billy Idol lit up the Grand Rapids amphitheater on Friday night. (Photo/Adam Briggs)
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The appearance of two ’80s-era pop stars at Acrisure Amphitheater may not seem like a culturally significant event, but their Friday night performances left no doubt that the powerful influence of MTV still resonates more than four decades later.
Billy Idol and The Bangles’ Susannah Hoffs showed why their songs and camera-friendly personas were once staples on the first 24-hour cable channel dedicated to music videos, which launched in 1981. Their audience-pleasing sets delighted faithful fans, who felt the passing years fade away as their visually inspired music transported listeners back in time.
Idol, in particular, seems like a force of nature.
His Vegas-inspired set is a master class in the way to stage a live rock show – a dynamic, highly theatrical performance that showed the rebel-rousing rock singer has perfected the art of bringing massive hits to life.
The punky sneer of his Generation X beginnings has been co-opted into an expertly staged show that is both efficient and effective while exuding a strong sense of class and professionalism that might surprise those uninitiated to his present-day talents.
The appropriately named Idol (born William Michael Albert Broad) has a commanding stage presence that belies his 70 years of age and pays tribute to five decades of perfecting his art. His opening number, “Still Dancing,” set the tone for a high-energy show with a bigger-than-life, Broadway-inspired backdrop that often referenced his status as one of the definitive faces of the early MTV era.
Idol was supported by a top-notch band that featured the frequently fiery guitar playing of longtime foil Steve Stevens, the big-haired, Brooklyn-born musician who has been at his side since 1981 and co-wrote many of Idol’s biggest hits.
“Flesh for Fantasy” saw Idol strip off his shirt for the first of several costume changes that were largely variations on leather. New song, “77,” taken from his ninth and latest album, “Dream Into It,” sounded strong, even though Idol acknowledged he would have loved to perform the song with the help of Avril Lavigne, who is featured on the 2025 single.
The Rock Spectacle: Acrisure Amphitheater on Friday. (Photo/Adam Briggs)
Another new song, “Too Much Fun,” alluded to Idol’s well-publicized wild side. “I used to do a lot of motorcycle riding – I still ride at home – and in all my travels, I run into these guys who have too much fun,” he said. “I felt ‘Too Much Fun’ is too good of a title. I’ve got to use it and make it about all my crazy antics, all my peccadilloes, and all my foibles you’ve heard about, no doubt.”
His 90-minute set was ideally paced, mixing new songs with well-worn hits like “Eyes With a Face” and covers like “Mony Mony” by Tommy James and the Shondells or “Night of the Cadillacs” by the aforementioned Generation X, all building to the crescendo of “Rebel Yell,” and finishing with his encore of “Dancing With Myself,” “Hot in the City,” and “White Wedding.”
Through it all, Idol had the crowd firmly in his grip, repeating “Grand Rapids, Michigan” enough times that it almost became a lyric, and the masses thundering their approval by answering his call-and-response antics song after song with their cheers.
If Idol and Hoffs are two sides of the same coin, she was surprisingly the less polished, although equally engaging. There were some rough edges to her hour-long set, which either made her more endearing or a bit more ramshackle.
“Wait, are we in the right key?” she asked after starting “Another Girl,” her cover of the Beatles song from their 1965 album, “Help!” – one of several remakes in her set that began with “Manic Monday,” originally written by Prince, and closed with the Simon & Garfunkel-penned “A Hazy Shade of Winter.”
Hoffs featured several songs from her soon-to-be-released album, “The List,” which is her first collection of all-new material since 2012. The new numbers included “Casablanca,” “Bad Case of Loneliness,” “None of Them Were You,” and “Time.”
Dressed in a short-sleeved, striped shirt and black pants, Hoffs frequently tossed her hair in Clairol Girl fashion, her casual countenance making her come across more as your friendly neighbor than a seasoned rock star.
In a way, Hoffs’ down-home approach seemed rather refreshing, especially for someone who has earned her renown as an intimate interpreter of other people’s songs, whether it’s the Velvet Underground’s “Sunday Morning” or “Willin'” by Little Feat.
“It’s been a long time since I found myself on a giant stage, so thank you for supporting my music and being here tonight,” she said. “It means the world to me, and we’re so grateful for you all being here.”
PHOTO GALLERY: Billy Idol, Susanna Hoffs at Acrisure Amphitheater
Photos by Adam Briggs
