PHOTOS + RECAP: Sevendust, Theory Of A Deadman Kick Off ‘Dead Seven’ Tour In Duluth
Rock returned to Duluth as Theory of a Deadman and Sevendust kicked off their 2026 'Dead Seven' Tour at the DECC Arena on Friday night.
The nearly 40-stop tour around the U.S. that runs until October started at the historic complex that has seen the likes of Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper, Metallica, Aerosmith, and KISS over the years added another rock show that rattled the walls of the harbor side arena.
Los Angeles-based Return to Dust took the stage first, warming the crowd up for Sevendust, the second act of the night.
Sevendust released their new album One at the beginning of May, but opted to stick mostly to battle-tested songs in their catalog like "Black", "Enemy", "Angel's Son", "Rumble Fish", and "Face To Face".
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The group did give fans a taste of the new album, playing the album's title track and "Is This The Real You" in the first half of the set.
Lead singer Lajon Witherspoon seemed to be happy to be kicking off this new tour, interacting with the crowd throughout the band's set, often smirking, and commenting at one point "you guys make me smile".
Theory of a Deadman wrapped up the night of rock, giving fans a taste of their upcoming EP Funeral Songs that comes out in September. Tyler Connolly and gang kicked off their set with "Barricade", which came out this spring and included the new song "Winnebago" into their set that included a number of fan favorites from their catalog.
Among them were songs like "Lowlife", "Blow" "Santa Monica", "Not Meant To Be", "RX (Medicate)", and "Bad Girlfriend".
A standout moment a little more than halfway into their set included an impressive cover of "Wicked Game", which started with Tyler by himself at a keyboard before being joined by the rest of the band for the rest of the song.
While Theory seemed a little more "strictly business" with their performance than Sevendust did, Tyler take a moment to relate with the Duluth crowd, setting the scene of those -35 degree mornings in the winter when you're miserable driving to work, setting the stage for the band to play the fitting song "Hate My Life".
While he interacted less directly with the audience, he and the band still seemed to be having fun performing, and they sounded good while doing it.
Here are some photos from the show:
'Dead Seven' Tour with Sevendust and Theory of a Deadman at the DECC Arena in Duluth
Gallery Credit: Nick Cooper - TSM Duluth