Close your eyes and you won’t know the difference. Open them and you still might be fooled. The Insiders present the premier Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers experience. With 6 veteran musicians and decades of combined stage and touring experience, The Insiders are genuinely running down the dream.
It all starts with frontman Max Lockwood. “I grew up listening to Tom Petty. My mom would play the Greatest Hits record while she worked out. I’d sit at the top of the stairs and listen to those songs—it was my most requested CD as a young kid.” In high school, Lockwood’s band Big Dudee Roo started covering Petty songs at their frequent shows in West Michigan. “Tom Petty was part of the great American landscape to me—a legend by the time I was musically conscious. We got a great crowd reaction with Petty tunes, and people frequently commented that I sounded a lot like him.”
Nothing has changed with time. After the passing of Tom Petty in October of 2017, Lockwood organized the band by pulling together some of his favorite musicians for a benefit concert. After a sold-out show that raised thousands for a local domestic violence shelter The Insiders decided they wouldn’t back down. “We try to honor what Mr. Petty and the Heartbreakers have done for rock and roll each night. We’re fans of the music first and foremost. These songs are woven into the fabric of the American identity.” They’ve found no shortage of demand, selling out shows everywhere they go. Local Spins’ John Sinkevics had this to say: “The Insiders set the bar at a new level for Tom Petty tributes.”
https://www.theinsiderstribute.com
Pre-Show
Sophia McIntosh
Michigan Native Nashville Recording Artist Sophia McIntosh was born and raised into a musical family. As a result, Sophia has been singing and performing since she was very young. At age sixteen, she is an accomplished Singer Songwriter and Pianist with maturity well beyond her years. Sophia’s vocal range extends five full octaves. Industry leaders describe her tone as similar to Adele or Lauren Daigle. When she sings, people listen.
Sophia had formal Vocal Training with Tony Award Winner Alice Ripley, Broadway and Film Star Curtis Holbrook, and a host of Michigan talents. She also developed performance skills early on through theatre and competitive dance, starting at age five.
Sophia’s full-length album is currently in production. Her originals are fresh, talented pop music with very seasoned vocals. In addition to writing her own music, Sophia has enjoyed co-writes with two time Grammy Award Winner Rebecca Lynn Howard, Industry legend Rick Beresferd, newcomer Linde LaChance, and Brian Maher, probably best- known for co-penning Justin Moore’s #1 songs “Small Town USA” and “’Til My Last Day.”
