Photos/Review: Chevelle @ NYC's Rooftop Pier 17

Back on March 25th, Hard Rock outfit Chevelle gave fans two reasons in one to get excited as they took to social media asking fans if they were ready for new music and if they wanted to hear it live. With that, fans knew the countdown was on for the release of the band’s tenth studio release, Bright as Blapshemy (read our review here), as well as an accompanying tour. After making several festival appearances, including Coachella, Sonic Temple, and Welcome to Rockville, the band’s 2025 North American tour got underway properly on August 7th in San Antonio, Texas. Chevelle scored big with their supporting acts, with Asking Alexandria and Dead Poet Society joining the group for the entirety of the 38 stop run.

As the tour was nearing its halfway point, Chevelle and company found themselves up atop New York’s The Rooftop at Pier 17 for a show with an unrivaled view on Tuesday, August 26th. With the Brooklyn Bridge serving as the backdrop behind the stage, Pier 17 also includes fantastic views of the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, and One World Trade Center. As fans took the escalators up to the rooftop, many of them had their phones out to take photos of the surrounding sights while waving at the occasional water ferry.

As eye-catching as the surroundings were, the stage took fans’ attention as Dead Poet Society took to the stage at 6:30PM. The Alt-Rock foursome hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, released their second album, FISSION, last year and have been enjoying the response to it since. The band even linked up with a fan and released a piano-driven version of the album’s single “Running In Circles” earlier this month. Jack Underkofler (Vocals, Guitar), Jack Collins (Guitar), Nick Taylor (Bass guitar), and Will Goodroad (Drums) were met with cheers as they opened with “.intoodeep.” off their first album, -/-. Other tracks on offer off their debut release included “CoDA” and “SALT,” which got fans who weren’t familiar with the act wanting more.

The new album was also on display with “I hope you hate me.” “Running in Circles” and the closing track “HURT” had fans contemplating a stop at the merch booth after the band’s time on stage came to an end. Throughout their set, the band had a ton of infectious energy. Great tracks, great energy, and a few high kicks thrown in for good measure turned out to be the perfect recipe for winning over the New York crowd and got the ball rolling on what was going to no doubt be a great night. Aside from the tour, Dead Poet Society are also set to take part in El Paso, Texas’s KLAQ Rocks the Park for a one day festival headlined by Creed’s Scott Stapp and Poppy.

Dead Poet Society

Up next, Asking Alexandria was ready to stir things up. Danny Worsnop (Vocals), Cameron Liddell (Guitar), Sam Bettley (Bass), and James Cassells (Drums) have collectively become one of the most formidable Metcal-Core bands in the industry. With nine studio albums under their belt and over fifteen years together, Asking Alexandria was the ideal addition to Chevelle’s tour. Joining them is touring guitarist Paul Bartolome to round out the group. The rooftop was well packed when the band opened up with “Things Could Be Different”. “Dark Void” and “Down to Hell” soon followed before “Into The Fire” kicked things into another gear.

“Where Did It Go?” marked the middle of the band’s set, before the band remarked about how great the views were from the New York City rooftop. As day turned to night, Worsnop polled fans if they minded him slowing things down. While some fans didn’t want the band to hit the brakes on their hard-hitting pace, most got excited as the lead singer grabbed an acoustic guitar while the rest of the band left the stage. What followed was a rendition of “Someone, Somewhere” sung from the heart. The band soon rejoined Worsnop, though the acoustic guitar stayed for one more track in “Moving On” before the band brought the heat back for their closing track, appropriately “The Final Episode (Let’s Change the Channel)”.

Asking Alexandria made their mark wherever they went, and this night was no different. A band that absolutely delivers live had the New York crowd eating out of the palms of their hands by the end of their set. Upon finishing up the tour in October, Asking Alexandria will have a couple taking part in Las Vegas’s When We Were Young Festival, a who’s who of bands within the Hardcore, Emo, and Metalcore scenes.

Asking Alexandria

With the outdoor venue’s curfew time of 10:00 PM, the night was still young when Chevelle’s time to take the stage arrived at 8:20 PM. Brothers Pete Loeffler (Vocals) and Sam Loeffler (Drums), along with Kemble Walters (Bass), came out to put on a rock clinic. The group got fans singing right away with “Family System”. Fans started banging along, and the crowdsurfers began hailing rides to the front of the stage as the band blasted through their 2002 hit.

When a band has released as much as Chevelle has over the years, showing off new tracks and playing the ones that got you to the big stage becomes quite the balancing act. While fans may have wanted more of the former, sadly, only three tracks off Bright as Blaphemy made it onto the night’s setlist. ‘Rabbit Hole – Cowards, Pt. 1” broke into the set early before “Pale Horse” and “Jim Jones (Cowards, Pt . 2)” followed later in the set. Each one brought intrigue into the band’s newest release. With the band offering signed copies of the album on sale for the night, it was a bit of a headscratcher not to hear more of the album live.

That’s not to say the setlist wasn’t great. On the contrary, there was something for Chevelle fans of every era to enjoy from 1999’s “Prove to You” (Point #1) all the way through more recent releases like 2021’s “Self Destructor” (NIRATIAS). By the end of the set, only 2009’s Sci-Fi Crimes wasn’t represented in some way across the 18 cuts played for the live crowd. Speaking of the crowd, that same range was shown amongst the fans from those who probably first heard Chevelle as teens back before we rang in the new millennium to those who hadn’t been born yet for the band’s first release. The Jumbotron in the arena even showed off a young fan in attendance perched on his father’s shoulders, having a great time.

The band’s main set came to an end with fan-favorite “Send The Pain Below” before the band took a quick break offstage to the always-familiar chants of “One more song!”. But, why have one when you can have two… or three… or, in this case, four? That’s right, Chevelle had a few treats on the ready for the New York crowd as they opened up their extended encore with “The Red”. From there, the band gave fans cuts of “Comfortable Liar” and “I Get It”. With that 10 PM cutoff time looming nearby, Chevelle gave fans one more chance to rock along with them as they closed out the night with “Mars Simula,” sending fans back into the busy nightlife of the Big Apple with stories to tell.

Chevelle’s 2025 North American tour with Asking Alexandria and Dead Poet Society is set to conclude on October 2nd. Catching Bright as Blasphemy has already proven the band’s staying power as it debuted number 1 on the Billboard Rock Album Chart, a well-deserved accolade. The festival scene comes calling again when Chevelle finds themselves sharing a stage with bands including Korn and Gojira at Aftershock Festival in Sacramento, California, two days later.