Alice In Chains Concerts Setlist

Alice in Chains, often abbreviated to AIC, is an American grunge rock band. They were formed in 1987 in Seattle, Washington. The founding members were guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell (born in 1966 in Tacoma, Washington), lead singer Layne Staley (1967, Bellevue, Washington), and drummer Sean Kinney (1966, Renton, Washington).

Cantrell was homeless for a while in Seattle after his parents kicked him out of his home before he joined the funk band "Diamond Lie". However, that band soon dismantled, so he needed a new gig to stay afloat. Layne Staley, a musician who let Cantrell stay in his rehearsal studio in his roughest times, introduced him to drummer Kinney through his girlfriend at the time. In the meantime, Staley asked Cantrell to join his funk band. Cantrell accepted, but only on the condition that they start working on a new band of their own on the side. Since Staley's funk group also broke up pretty soon thereafter, Cantrell, Staley, and Kinney were left with their fresh new band.

They recruited bassist Mike Starr, Staley took on the duties of the lead singer, and they started doing the earliest versions of an Alice in Chains concert in the Seattle area. They named themselves "Alice in Chains", a variation of the name of Staley's old band "Alice N' Chains". That group used to be called that because they called the backstage areas "wonderland"; thus the band's name is a reference to the famous 19th Century novel and its many film adaptations, "Alice in Wonderland".

They produced their first demo tape in 1988, later dubbed "The Treehouse Tapes". It was sent out to music labels, and an A&R rep at Columbia Records was so impressed by it that they ended up signing with the major label in 1989. Their single "We Die Young" off of their debut EP became a massive hit on metal radio stations.

AIC's debut album came out in August 1990 with the title "Facelift". It became a success, peaking at the #42 spot on the famous Billboard 200 list in the US.

Since then, the Seattle-based grunge band has released 5 more studio albums, thus they have 6 in total. The best selling one among them so far has been their second one, "Dirt" from September 1992, which sold over 4 million copies worldwide. Meanwhile, the latest new Alice in Chains album came out in August 2018, with the title "Rainer Fog".

Alice in Chain's biggest hits to date are "Rooster" (1987), "Man in the Box" (1990), "Would?" (1992), and "Nutshell" (1993). The original lead singer and co-founder Staley passed away due to a prescription drug overdose in 2002. After a 3-year hiatus, he was replaced by William DuVall. Their current line-up is complete with two co-founders, Jerry Cantrell on the lead guitar and vocals and San Kinney on the drums, as well as Mike Inez on the bass. Check where the next Alice in Chains concert is playing on the page above.