Billy Idol
Support: Devo
Aug. 20, 2026
The Pavilion at Star Lake, Burgettstown, Pa.
by Robert McCune
Between them, Devo and Billy Idol changed outfits more times than Taylor Swift.
Devo, the post-punk new wave geniuses out of Akron, Ohio, and English punk-rocker Billy Idol have their own Eras, too.
Both have been making music for 50-plus years now, and combined, they’ve put out more than 20 full studio records.
Legends, icons and, yes, idols, both have earned a status that would allow them to settle a bit.
Face it, there are plenty of legacy bands and performers who are phoning it in, to cash out on anniversary tours.
But not these two.
Watching them on stage, their experience shines, but their age fades away.
You might never guess, from a fair distance, that these rockers are in their 70s.
Devo, led by Mark Mothersbaugh, is still just as quirky as ever in their jumpsuits and signature pyramidal hats, which they tossed into a crowd where a good number of fans where already wearing them. And their sound is still almost otherworldly, and still feels experimental, like science fiction playing out on stage.
At the same time, Idol in studded and spiked leather and hair still struts a stage like he did in the early 1980s, when he was part of a “Second British Invasion” of the U.S.
On classic rock anthems such as “Cradle of Love” and “Rebel Yell,” he was a beast unleashed. For softer sonnets such as “Eyes Without a Face,” he crooned with a voice unstrained. On dance hits such as “Mony Mony,” “Dancing With Myself” and “Hot in the City,” he swayed seductively with his backup singers/dancers like a man unrestrained.
A three-song encore ended with the goth-iconic “White Wedding,” from his 1982 solo, self-titled debut.
On paper, Billy Idol and Devo might seem an odd pairing. But on a starry night at a pavilion on a lake in little Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, they were a wedding in rock-and-roll heaven.
Follow Robert McCune on Instagram (@Every_Thing_After_Photo) and listen to the “Every.Thing.After Podcast” on Spotify.
Billy Idol- Website | Facebook | YouTube | TikTok | Instagram | X |
