The next Pittsburgh concert for Ghost Hounds will take place in quite a different environment than their last one.
Last April, they played outside of Acrisure Stadium as part of the Monster Energy Supercross Fanfest. But on Feb. 7, the country rock band with local roots will perform at the historic Byham Theater in Downtown Pittsburgh.
“Extremely different,” Ghost Hounds frontman SAVNT said with a laugh. “But I’m super excited, man. A portion of the proceeds are going to the Children’s Hospital so I’m super excited. It just feels like this is a part of what Ghost Hounds is consistently doing because we had a show in Boston and we did the same thing. It feels good to be able to give back to our community.”
The concert will raise funds for UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, much like a Feb. 5 show in Erie will support the children’s hospital at UPMC Hamot.
“It’s something that’s super near and dear to my heart, because my little cousin was about six and he passed away from brain cancer in 2024,” SAVNT said. “So again, to be able to use our talents to give back to the community and give back to kids, why else do we do this?”
The show will also feature Don Felder, lead guitarist of the Eagles from 1974 to 2001, with his band. Playing with huge acts hasn’t gotten old for SAVNT, as the band has opened for The Rolling Stones and Guns N’ Roses in the past.
“I think for me, everything is always new. It’s always like a breath of fresh air, because you get legends, you know what I mean? Actual legends. Taking it for granted is just, I think, ungrateful at that point,” he said. “But it’s always kind of like a stamp of approval and even more validation that we’re on the right path and people actually care about us and people actually support us. So for me, every time I hear a new name, like when Patty Griffin hopped on our record. Or when Lainey Wilson was just like, ‘Yeah, I heard about you guys.’
“I was like, you did what?” he added with a laugh. “About who? So it’s really cool every single time. It’s just more and more validation.”
In a Zoom conversation Tuesday from Denver, SAVNT spoke with TribLive about being starstruck, the band’s Grand Ole Opry debut, bucket list venues and more. Find a transcript of the conversation, edited for clarity and length, below.
With this show, do you get together a little bit beforehand or is it a well-polished machine by now?
Oh, 100%. Even if we are well polished, because we definitely are over-rehearsers. We go in and we make sure that everything is like, well, what if this happens? But we also enjoy just being around each other, so any excuse we get, we’re just gonna come in.
Is it hard to avoid being starstruck around the big acts you’ve played with? You just want to have like a normal interaction so how do you handle that?
So Ciara stopped by the studio one day. And it just so happened I was able to meet her, and I forgot my name. And so I just hugged her. She was like, “Hey, I’m Ciara.” And I was like, (makes hug motion). That was it. So hopefully I’m better. That was in 2024 when I first got here, but I think I’m a little bit better now in treating them like human beings because everybody is.
The band made its Grand Ole Opry debut in October so what was that experience like for the band?
I feel like every time we have a conversation, I’m just like, it’s so insane, but it actually was insane, right? Because I was walking into my little brother’s apartment just to say hi, because he lives in Denver here, too. And as I was walking in, the band thread goes off and it says, “Hey, dust off your spurs, we’re going to the Opry.” And I was like, the Grand Ole Opry? Are you sure? So actually getting there and receiving the love, not only from the crowd, but even Pam Tillis was just like, “I think I found my new favorite band,” it was just, again, more and more validation. I was able to do the radio show for the Grand Ole Opry as well. So it was almost like bucket list items, things that you dream of, but you’re just like, how is this ever going to happen? I actually said that on stage. I was like, it’s interesting to see as artists, we have outlandish, almost delusional dreams. So it’s interesting to see it when it actually comes to fruition.
Can you feel the history in a venue like that?
100%. To be standing in the circle while Carrie Underwood is talking about the history of the Opry, you’re just like, what is life right now? You know what I mean?
You mentioned that as being a bucket list item. What other places are there? Have you played Red Rocks yet? What other venues would be on there?
So, Red Rocks is at the top of the list, because I have some friends here in Denver as well, and they’re just like, when are you guys going to do this? And I was like, look, just keep manifesting it, you know? I would love to play something overseas, like in Brazil or Wembley Stadium. I would love to do that. I’m a tri-state kid, so Madison Square Garden, I would love to. We’ve been pretty close, we’ve played Mercedes Benz (in Atlanta), Acrisure Stadium. We’re getting there. (laughs)
It’s been a little bit more than two years since you joined the band, so how have you adjusted to those group dynamics coming in from a solo career? Is it getting easier for you every day?
100%. I would say actually within the first couple of months, because what I had to remember is that most of these people have been working in music their entire lives. And me, it was always a dream to be able to do that. So when I got into it, a lot of the things that were happening to me, they were like, oh yeah, this is just tour manager stuff. And I was like, oh, I’ve never experienced a tour manager. As a solo artist, you do everything yourself. So I think now I feel like we’re all kind of settled into that space of like, we’re going out. I want to go to Sandbox VR when I go back to Pittsburgh this coming week just so we can just do more bonding stuff. It’s been really fun. It’s cool because my drummer, when we went to Sarasota, after the show, he was like, it’s really weird. You don’t get a band that everybody genuinely likes each other. From the crew to our background singers, everybody likes spending time together. So it was a lot easier for me because there was no weird tension or animosity.
How have you seen the band grow and evolve in these past two years? Where have you seen those changes?
I would say definitely in the making of the music. So before, Thomas (Tull), who is our lead guitarist but also producer and lead songwriter, he’s kind of like a mad scientist, which is really cool, right? (laughs) So he’ll bring everything. He’ll write the song essentially, and then bring it to me and be like, OK, so how can you sing it like this? And before I almost had to be the character in this world. And now he and I are in a spot where we’re building the song together. He’s still very much, I’ll be in the studio and he’d be like, “Oh, try this word. Oh, try this.” He’s giving me a whole bunch of different papers. So it’s cool to be a part of that process now. I’m really excited about these next couple of songs that we’re working on. It feels like we really are even more true to the music. We’re not forcing it in any direction. It’s just wherever this song says it wants to go, that’s where we’re going to go. So that’s what I’ve seen overall.
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Working with Ghost Hounds, how has that impacted you and your craft? What are you doing differently now because of this band?
I think it was interesting for me because when I was first coming from my solo career, in more of these singer-songwriter vibes, you could be a little bit more laid back. You can talk to people about “And this song was written in June when…”, you know what I’m saying? You can do stuff like that. And then when you get to be a part of essentially a rock band, that doesn’t necessarily translate on stage, not in the same way. So I would say that that’s something that I’ve learned is you have to channel a different energy to make the show move the way that you want it to move. But I think for me personally, that’s what it’s been.
What’s the latest on new music? When we talked last April, you’d mentioned about possibly doing a blues album. Is that in the works or did the direction change?
Oh yeah, the blues album is already done. It’s just about when we want to slow roll that. Right now, we’re working on even more songs. So it’s kind of like we’re still again being like mad scientists like, do we want to put this one first or how about this? You know, the artist’s dilemma, where it’s like, which one is going to show people who we are right now?
What does the rest of the year hold for the band then? Are you looking for more shows?
We definitely have a couple of shows coming up. We have a show in Texas that I’m excited about. We have a show in Chicago that I’m excited about. Also Kansas City. While we’re doing these shows, we’re also gonna be continuously working on this next project. And then it’s gonna be the slow rollout from there. So you’re gonna expect more music, great vibes and more concerts. So we’re looking forward to it. Hopefully you guys are, too.