In a recent interview with Igor Miranda, Dream Theater singer James LaBrie discussed the band’s upcoming ’40th Anniversary Tour 2024 – 2025.’ This tour is the band’s first outing since drummer Mike Portnoy rejoined last October.
When asked about the setlist for the upcoming tour, James mentioned that it was in Portnoy’s hands and that he is enjoying it a lot:
“Well, absolutely. And just so you know, we let Mike Portnoy take over the setlist again. So he’s back to creating the setlist and he’s doing, like we were almost positive he would, he’s done a terrific job. I mean, the setlist he put together… And the thing is with Mike, he was saying, ‘Hey, guys, if there’s a song you don’t wanna do, let me know. If there’s songs that you really wanna do, let me know.’ And so there’s some very strong and cool communication going on. But yeah, he’s glad to be putting the setlist together.”
However, the singer didn’t reveal too much about the new setlist:
“I can’t reveal what the setlist will be, but I can tell you that it’s amazing.”
Why Portnoy Took Over The Setlist
It has been more than a decade since the rocker left the band. He rejoined in October 2023.
In late January this year, the drummer explained why he was the one to prepare the setlists now. Apparently, he didn’t want to play the same songs over and over again because they were getting ‘complacent’:
“For me, changing the setlist for all those years with Dream Theater, a lot of it was a reaction to me kind of — I don’t wanna say ‘get bored’, but you get a little complacent playing the same songs over and over and over and over. So I would switch it up a lot, not only for the fans, but for ourselves to keep it fresh. But now, coming back after 13 years, it’s gonna be fresh every night for me. So that in itself will be exciting. But all that being said, I think the band really does want to interject those kinds of things back into the live show.”
You can watch the interview below.