Linkin Park's last show with Chester Bennington: Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, July 6, 2017

About the artist

Linkin Park formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996^[1]; according to Mike Shinoda, their first name was Xero^[2]. Their debut album, Hybrid Theory (2000), reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200, and by 2017 every studio album since had gone to No. 1 except The Hunting Party (2014)^[3]. They won Grammys for "Crawling" (Best Hard Rock Performance, 2002) and for "Numb/Encore," their collaboration with Jay-Z (Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, 2006)^[1]. In 2017 the band were Chester Bennington and Shinoda on vocals, Brad Delson on guitar, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell on bass, Rob Bourdon on drums and Joe Hahn as DJ^[4][1].

Why this was thought to be the end

Linkin Park released their seventh studio album, One More Light, on May 19, 2017^[5][6]. It entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1, the band's sixth chart-topper^[3]. The world tour behind it opened on May 6 at Maximus Festival in Buenos Aires^[5], and in early summer the band played across Europe, including Amsterdam, Kraków, Berlin and London^[7].

The Birmingham show on July 6 was not billed as a farewell. A Manchester Arena date had been booked for the following night, but it was called off in June because the arena was to stay closed until September after the May 22 bombing^[8]. The tour was due to resume in North America on July 27 in Mansfield, Massachusetts, with ONE OK ROCK joining some dates^[5][9]. Three November shows at Makuhari Messe, near Tokyo, had also been announced, with ONE OK ROCK as special guests^[10][11].

Chester Bennington died on July 20, 2017, at the age of 41^[1][6].

The next day Live Nation canceled the North American dates^[12], and on October 5 the Japanese shows were canceled too^[13][11]. In a message to their Japanese fans and to ONE OK ROCK, whom they called their brothers, the band said they were grieving and working their way back to the stage^[11][13]. Birmingham had become Linkin Park's last concert with Bennington^[6][9].

On September 5, 2024, the band returned under the same name with new members^[2]. Under this site's rules, a later reunion or restart under the same name moves a show into the "Not the end after all" category, which is where this one now sits.

What is known about the day

The venue opened in October 1991 as the NIA and had carried the Barclaycard name since December 2014^[14]. Less than two months after this show, on September 1, 2017, it became Arena Birmingham^[15], and since April 15, 2020, it has been Utilita Arena Birmingham^[14][16]. It holds up to 15,800 people^[14].

No attendance figure has been published. Kirsten Rawlins of the Express & Star, reviewing the show the next day, described a packed, sweltering arena and a crowd of every age and background^[17].

According to the setlist published by Radio X, the band came on after a taped intro of "Fallout" and "Roads Untraveled" and opened with "Talking to Myself" from the new album^[6]. The 21-song main set mixed new songs such as "Good Goodbye" and the title track, "One More Light," with older ones including "One Step Closer," "In the End" and "Faint," and "Crawling" came as a piano version^[6]. Rawlins thought the new material sounded strong, though some of the slower, pop-leaning songs were less gripping, and singled out Shinoda's rapping as the highlight. The crowd sang along to "One Step Closer," "From the Inside," "In the End" and "Numb," and Bennington thanked the audience, calling them the best fans in the world^[17].

The encore opened with an acoustic "Sharp Edges" and ran through "Numb," "Heavy" and "Papercut"^[6]. The last song was "Bleed It Out," the second single from 2007's Minutes to Midnight^[6][9][18]. Describing fan footage of the final two songs, Billboard reported that Bennington stretched the song out, came down close to the crowd to lead a call-and-response, and was the last member of the band to leave the stage^[9]. In all, the band played 26 songs^[6].

What the show left behind

In Birmingham, fans calling themselves One More Light planned a memorial for July 29: a gathering at the arena to leave flowers, ending with a release of white balloons^[19].

On October 27, 2017, the band played a tribute concert, Linkin Park and Friends Celebrate Life in Honor of Chester Bennington, at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. It sold out, was streamed free on YouTube, and raised money for the One More Light Fund of Music For Relief, the band's charity^[20][5]. Guests included Jonathan Davis of Korn and members of Blink-182 and System of a Down, and during "In the End" the crowd sang Bennington's part^[21].

One More Light Live followed on December 15^[22]. According to Warner Music Japan, it was drawn mainly from the Amsterdam show, with recordings from Kraków, Berlin, London and Birmingham as well^[7]. The band dedicated the album to Bennington, saying he had felt it was their best tour ever and recalling the pre-show huddles in which he made a pun on each city's name^[22].

After 2017 the band went quiet. Shinoda, Delson, Farrell and Hahn gradually began meeting again, and through studio sessions with friends they came to work with Emily Armstrong and Colin Brittain^[4]. On September 5, 2024, a livestream from Los Angeles introduced Armstrong, of the rock band Dead Sara, on vocals and Brittain, a songwriter and producer, on drums; Rob Bourdon had chosen not to return^[2]. The album From Zero, released on November 15, takes its title from the band's first name, Xero^[2]. It and "The Emptiness Machine" were nominated at the 68th Grammy Awards^[1]. When the new lineup played their first shows in Japan since the return, at Saitama Super Arena on February 11 and 12, 2025, "Bleed It Out" closed both nights^[23][24][25].

Radio X revisited the Birmingham show in 2019, publishing the full 26-song setlist and calling "Bleed It Out" the last song the band played with Bennington^[6].

Linkin Park's last night with Chester Bennington ended in Birmingham on July 6, 2017, with "Bleed It Out."