LOAD-IN THROUGH THE BACK PODCAST Live w/ Wheatus and Steve Poltz

Vermont-based music interview podcast Load-In Through the Back brings their energetic and engaging interviews to life onstage May 2nd at Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center in Stowe, VT! Featuring a live concert and conversation with the 2000’s rock icons behind “Teenage Dirtbag,” Wheatus, and Americana legend Steve Poltz! The event also features a performance by Troy Millette & the Fire Below and a special pre-show busker-style performance from Washington DC’s Brian K. & the Parkway.

MORE ABOUT LOAD-IN THROUGH THE BACK:

Load-In Through the Back is a music podcast with personality. Hosted by singer/songwriter Troy Millette and producer Pauly Varricchione, the show has amassed a loyal following, regional press, and nearly 32,000 monthly impressions on Spotify since launching in August in 2024. 

Their families and friends are also extremely impressed (although a little tired of hearing about it). 

Past guests include Guster, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Five for Fighting, Wheatus, Steve Poltz, Collective Soul, the Wood Brothers, Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, Dar Williams, Asher Roth, Brett Dennen, Drowning Pool, STYX, Arrested Development, and many more. 

Be sure to follow the show on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, as well as across social media at @LoadInPodcast. 

If that doesn’t quite fill your sound holes, LoadInPodcast.com is their official website.

MORE ABOUT WHEATUS:

It’s hard to believe it’s been over 25 years since Wheatus released their debut album and still ubiquitous single “Teenage Dirtbag.” Yes, that’s right – Dirtbag is no longer a teenager. In honor of this anniversary, Wheatus are releasing a new and expanded edition of their now classic debut album. Says Brendan B Brown, “We found demos of ten more songs from throughout the band’s history, that had such an album-one vibe that they never made it on to our more recent records. So now we’re giving them a proper chance to be heard. The twenty-song version of the album will feature the originally-conceived track listing and sequence, plus the extra ten songs that have finally found a home on a record.” 

Pandemics notwithstanding, the band continues a seemingly endless tour cycle.  2019 took Wheatus on a coast-to-coast, almost entirely sold-out tour of America opening for (and then collaborating with) Mike Doughty on his Ruby Vroom 25th Anniversary shows. That tour culminated in a super-special sold-out hometown headline show where the “classic” line-up of Wheatus reunited for one night only – their first time on stage together in 18 years. After that, the current line-up flew to South Africa to play some festivals, and then headed to Europe and the UK for another six weeks of touring.  2021 saw the band travel all over America, supporting Everclear, Hoobastank & Living Colour on the Summerland Tour.

2022 saw the band explode back into the mainstream with the “Teenage Dirtbag” trend going hugely viral across social media, with over TWO BILLION views in less than a month.  The song has been shared & celebrated by Lil Nas X, Brooke Shields, Paris Hilton, Madonna, Alice Cooper, Jon Bon Jovi, Chevy Chase, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mark Ruffalo, Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera, Heidi Klum, Lady Gaga, Sammy Hagar, Nick Kroll, Mark Ronson, Lupita Nyong’o, LL Cool J, Tony Hawk, Victoria Beckham, Machine Gun Kelly, Anderson Paak, Jessica Alba, Mick Fleetwood, Millie Bobby Brown, Sheryl Crow, Chris Pratt, and Jamie Lee Curtis… to name a very select few.

MORE ABOUT STEVE POLTZ:

It might’ve even been last night, but Steve Poltz just played the greatest show of his life. Guess what? 

The next show will be even greater, making that show the greatest show of his life. 

Are you starting to notice a trend? 

He isn’t shy about it either. 

Even after most likely thousands of shows (but who’s counting?), he hits the stage with the same amount of energy and always makes sure to declare, “This is the greatest show of my life.” 

It’s why he’s quietly emerged as the kind of live phenomenon celebrated passionately by a diehard fanbase worldwide and renowned as a festival favorite everywhere from Bluesfest in Byron Bay and High Sierra Music Festival in California and Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado to Cayamo Cruise (where he actually got married). It’s why his music has crept into pop culture via collaborations with everyone from Jewel and Billy Strings to Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, Nicki Bluhm, Oliver Wood, and even the late Mojo Nixon. It’s why after over a dozen albums, he’s still creatively firing on all cylinders and critically acclaimed by the likes of Rolling Stone, Associated Press, Billboard, and many more. 

Nevertheless, the next gig will be the greatest show for him (and maybe for you too)…

MORE ABOUT TROY MILLETTE & THE FIRE BELOW:

Vermont’s TROY MILLETTE & THE FIRE BELOW are equal parts thoughtful and lively– a cocktail of rock, pop, folk, and americana music that grapples with love, loss, and the human experience. 

Millette’s emotive and relatable lyrics, as well as his energetic, banter-filled live performances have made him a staple of dives, clubs, theaters, and festivals across the northeast United States and Quebec. His work as a frontman and solo performer garnered the title of Vermont’s “Best Folk Group” from Seven Days Magazine in 2022 and 2023 (some guy named Noah Kahan beat them in 2024. No big deal). 

His “Errors Tour” and “Less Than 1% of the World Tour” have taken Millette to more than 20 states since fall 2023.

In addition to hundreds of headlining shows, appearances at renowned music festivals such as SXSW, Grace Potter’s Grand Point North, Waking Windows, and Twiddle’s Tumble Down, and a campaign run with Senator Bernie Sanders, Troy Millette and the Fire Below have shared bills with the likes of Counting Crows, Grace Potter, Guster, Bowling for Soup, Matt Quinn (of MT. Joy), Chadwick Stokes (of DISPATCH), +LIVE+, Richard Marx, Rick Springfield, Wheatus, Brett Dennen, the Marcus King Band, DEER TICK, the Front Bottoms, American Authors, Josiah and the Bonnevilles, Fantastic Cat, Willie Watson, Lee DeWyze, Fantastic Cat, the Ballroom Thieves, and more!

The debut solo EP from Troy Millette entitled  “Living With A Ghost” is a five-song collection that Seven Days says is “sure to strike a chord with fans of storytelling Americana troubadours such as [Jason] Isbell and the radio-friendly stylings of Kip Moore.” The singles that followed, “I Miss You,” and “Stay (Please)” have received recognition as a “Monthly Best” from Seven Days Magazine and entertainment blog County Tracks.

The full-band debut, a cover of Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well,” is available to stream now.

“In Another Life,” the first original single from the upcoming debut full-length LP is coming soon. 

Troy launched his music interview podcast “Load-In Through the Back” with co-host Pauly V in August of 2024, and has featured guests such as Soul Asylum, Five for Fighting, REO Speedwagon, Sierra Hull, Arrested Development, Everclear, and many more! Episodes are now streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or at their official website: LoadInPodcast.com.