Halestorm: Lzzy Hale and the art of the rock voice

When Halestorm play as a support act, the headliners have to work hard. In November 2022 the band joined Alter Bridge at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna as special guests on the Pawns & Kings tour. The Halestorm gallery has photos from their set.

A family band from Pennsylvania

Halestorm began in rural Pennsylvania in the late 1990s with siblings Lzzy and Arejay Hale, who were still children when they started playing together. Guitarist Joe Hottinger and bassist Josh Smith completed the line-up, which has stayed the same for well over a decade.

Years of playing anywhere that would have them turned into a record deal, and their self-titled debut came out in 2009.

A Grammy and a voice

In 2013 Halestorm won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance with "Love Bites (So Do I)", making Lzzy Hale the first woman-fronted band to win that category. Her voice is the band's calling card: powerful, raw and able to move from a whisper to a full-throated scream in a single line. She is also a strong guitarist, which is easy to forget when she is singing.

Arejay Hale is one of rock's most entertaining drummers, known for oversized sticks and solos full of showmanship.

Back from the Dead

In 2022 the band released Back from the Dead, their fifth album, written during the pandemic years. The title track and songs like "Wicked Ways" brought a heavier, angrier edge, and they sounded built for arenas.

Sharing the stage

Touring with Alter Bridge and Mammoth WVH put three very different rock bands on one bill. Halestorm brought the most raw energy of the night, and many in the Vienna crowd were clearly there for them as much as for the headliners.

See the Halestorm photos, with Alter Bridge and Mammoth WVH from the same tour.