AiC’s Jerry Cantrell wants to ‘celebrate any and all of the work that I’ve done as a writer’ on solo tour

Alice in Chains‘ Jerry Cantrell launches a North American tour Friday in support of his latest solo album, I Want Blood. It marks his first full headlining outing since putting out the record in October, though he did have the chance to preview the material while on a 2024 summer tour opening for Bush.

“When you’re playing any sort of new piece of music, it usually takes a few reps before you feel like you’ve got it handled,” Cantrell tells ABC Audio. “The first week or maybe week-and-a-half is a little kinda like, ‘Holy s***, OK.’ Like, ‘OK, I need to use more breath on this one,’ and ‘We’re playing this too slow.'”

On the Bush tour, Cantrell played I Want Blood cuts including lead single “Vilified” and “Afterglow,” both of which he feels translated strongly to the live stage.

“On a personal level, just feeling how they felt in a live context, it was, like, ‘Oh yeah, this s***’s good,'” Cantrell says.

If you catch any of the shows, you can also expect to hear a few Alice songs alongside Cantrell’s solo stuff.

“I’m not just out here to promote the four records I’ve done,” Cantrell says. “I’m here to celebrate any and all of the work that I’ve done as a writer.”

Cantrell adds that he tries to “focus more on the solo records,” but laughs, “I don’t see anybody running for the exits when I play ‘Rooster’ or ‘Would?’ or ‘Down in a Hole’ or ‘No Excuses’ or something.” 

Cantrell’s tour, which also features Filter on the bill, launches on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls before coming to the U.S. starting Saturday in Sayreville, New Jersey. It wraps March 9 in Alice’s hometown of Seattle.

Alice in Chains‘ Jerry Cantrell launches a North American tour Friday in support of his latest solo album, I Want Blood. It marks his first full headlining outing since putting out the record in October, though he did have the chance to preview the material while on a 2024 summer tour opening for Bush.

“When you’re playing any sort of new piece of music, it usually takes a few reps before you feel like you’ve got it handled,” Cantrell tells ABC Audio. “The first week or maybe week-and-a-half is a little kinda like, ‘Holy s***, OK.’ Like, ‘OK, I need to use more breath on this one,’ and ‘We’re playing this too slow.'”

On the Bush tour, Cantrell played I Want Blood cuts including lead single “Vilified” and “Afterglow,” both of which he feels translated strongly to the live stage.

“On a personal level, just feeling how they felt in a live context, it was, like, ‘Oh yeah, this s***’s good,'” Cantrell says.

If you catch any of the shows, you can also expect to hear a few Alice songs alongside Cantrell’s solo stuff.

“I’m not just out here to promote the four records I’ve done,” Cantrell says. “I’m here to celebrate any and all of the work that I’ve done as a writer.”

Cantrell adds that he tries to “focus more on the solo records,” but laughs, “I don’t see anybody running for the exits when I play ‘Rooster’ or ‘Would?’ or ‘Down in a Hole’ or ‘No Excuses’ or something.” 

Cantrell’s tour, which also features Filter on the bill, launches on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls before coming to the U.S. starting Saturday in Sayreville, New Jersey. It wraps March 9 in Alice’s hometown of Seattle.