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BUY TICKETS | (508) 746-4488 | BOX OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday – Friday | 12 PM – 5 PM and 2 Hours Before Every Show
BIO:
SINGER/SONGWRITER/GUITARIST AND FOUNDING MEMBER OF STRYPER EMBODIES ROLE AS HARDEST WORKING MUSICIAN IN THE BUSINESS
“I’m fortunate to have so many opportunities with all sorts of projects on the table,” says the multifaceted singer/songwriter/guitarist from his Massachusetts home. “Sometimes I get overwhelmed, but as an overachiever I tend to work really well under pressure.”
It would be extremely tough to find a more hardworking and accomplished musician in the business than Sweet. Need evidence?
For starters, he continues to helm Grammy-nominated Christian hard-rock outfit Stryper, which he co-founded more than 35 years ago. With more than 10 million career album sales worldwide, the venerable band ascended to prominence in the 1980s with Billboard Top 40-charting singles like “Calling on You,” “Honestly” and “Always There for You.”
Stryper’s 1986 multi-platinum release To Hell with the Devil has been lauded by critics and fans alike as among the best Christian rock albums of all time. The group also made history when it scored two songs simultaneously in MTV’s Top 10 with enduringly popular videos “Honestly” and “Free.”
Along the way, Sweet also managed to churn out first-rate solo albums like his self-titled release in 1994, which yielded five No. 1 singles, Truth in 2000, the critically acclaimed 2015 project I’m Not Your Suicide (peaked at No. 10 in Billboard’s Hard Rock albums), and 2019’s Ten, which reached No. 4 on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart.
Sweet is no stranger to witnessing success all while maintaining positive spiritual themes in his prodigious catalog of work. What’s more, he consistently takes on significant side projects like a provisional stint as co-lead singer and guitarist for legendary rock band BOSTON. Never mind cooperative endeavor Sweet & Lynch with guitarist George Lynch, best known as a former original member of metal quartet Dokken, and a metal project called Sunbomb with Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns.
“Collaborating with different people really helps pull the best out of you,” he explains. “I get bored easily, so I love to experiment and try new things. If a strong challenge comes my way, I usually take it on.”
No doubt what helped lay Sweet’s solid foundation over the years was his keenness for wide-ranging styles of music.
“When I was growing up, my dad would come home from the railroad and blast Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry,” he says, “and then he would move to Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jimi Hendrix and stuff as heavy as Black Sabbath. He loved all types of music, and that led to me listening to country, 50s rock, jazz, rock and metal.”
These varied influences have helped Sweet to continue pushing himself to ascend to new heights musically.
Whether it’s recording a magnum opus like Stryper’s Even the Devil Believes, which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart in 2020, or a solo modern worship album with Dove Award-winning producer Jeff Savage in 2021, Sweet keeps the creative fires burning brightly.
As of this year, Sweet and his bandmates are commemorating 40 years of recording and releasing music as Stryper, as they continue to churn out rock-solid albums and pulsating live performances. The group shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Following on the heels of their 2022 studio project The Final Battle (Frontiers Music Srl), the definitive foursome released their first-ever acoustic album, Acousticyzed, on February 16, 2024. The double-disc set features an audio CD and DVD/Blu-ray video recorded and filmed at Spirit House Studios in western Massachusetts. Due to high demand for the acoustic project, the group decided to partner with Flatiron Recordings on an additional release – To Hell with the Amps, the first Stryper album to be available in Dolby Atmos.
Stryper will be kicking off their 40th Anniversary Tour on September 13, 2024.
“The anniversary tour will feature songs ranging across our entire discography,” he reveals. “We’ll perform a set consisting of our classic songs, then play a second set containing more recent material.”
Sweet further shares that the band’s live shows will feature everything from heightened production to variations in wardrobe.
“We will be changing outfits from a classic look to a modern look, with production to match,” Sweet says. “It will definitely be unprecedented because it’s important to come up with a unique way for fans to celebrate this milestone anniversary with us.”
While kicking off their 40th Anniversary Tour, the band will also be releasing their new, highly anticipated studio album, When We Were Kings, described by Sweet as “all killer and no filler.”
“We’re hoping it will continue the trend of our music getting better with each release,” Sweet says. “It’s loaded with high-quality tunes and great energy.”
Stryper also has made solid progress on a much-anticipated Kickstarter-fueled documentary film. More than 1,700 backers helped the band far exceed its original funding goal, earning a “Projects We Love” tag on the popular crowdfunding platform.
“We found a brilliant director, Chris Atkins, and it’s being filmed now,” says Sweet, adding that footage will be captured throughout the rest of this year. “We’re excited to see it’s finally happening.”
Today, some 40 years after emerging from the southern California nightclub scene, the foursome continues to record, tour and perform for devoted fans around the globe. Comprising three original members including brothers Michael Sweet, Robert Sweet (drums) and Oz Fox (guitar) plus longtime bandmate and veteran bassist Perry Richardson, the group finds itself continuing to create their finest, most powerful music yet.
Join Michael Sweet, the Voice of Stryper, for an intimate Christmas show with special friends John O’Boyle (bass) Mike Kerr (Guitar) Keith Pittman (Drums)! Michael will be singing Christmas classics, Stryper hits, solo songs and more!
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2024
Spire Center for Performing Arts