The Insiders - WKTV Journal

The local band presents a premier Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers experience with six veteran musicians and decades of combined stage and touring experience (Courtesy, Wyoming Parks & Recreation Department)

By Deborah Reed

WKTV Managing Editor

“Close your eyes and you won’t know the difference. Open them and you still might be fooled.” The Insiders: A Tom Petty Tribute Band

Beloved rock and roll icon Tom Petty may have died in 2017 at age 66, his music lives on in soloists and tribute bands worldwide. One such band is West Michigan’s own The Insiders: A Tom Petty Tribute Band who will take the stage at Lamar Park in Wyoming on Tuesday, July 15 at 6 p.m..

According to The Insiders’ website, the local band presents the premier Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers experience with six veteran musicians and decades of combined stage and touring experience.

The Insiders: A Tom Petty Tribute Band (Courtesy, Jessica D. Cowles Imagery)

Growing up on rock-n-roll

The Insiders’ frontman, Max Lockwood, is a songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist who grew up listening to Tom Petty.

Max Lockwood is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (Courtesy photo)

“My mom would play the Greatest Hits record while she worked out,” Lockwood says on his website.

“I’d sit at the top of the stairs and listen to those songs—it was my most requested CD as a young kid.”

Lockwood’s high school band frequently performed Petty songs at local shows.

“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.”

Lockwood’s music is a combination of rock-n-roll with folk and pop genres, and is known for heartfelt lyrics that contemplate truths of love, adversity and growth. The musician’s powerful voice, raw emotion and flair onstage draw crowds at each performance.

Honoring a legend

After Petty’s passing in 2017, Lockwood organized the tribute band by performing a benefit concert with a group of his favorite musicians. The sold-out show raised thousands of dollars for a local domestic shelter – and The Insiders was born.

There has been no shortage of demand, and the band continues selling out shows across the midwest.

“We try to honor what Mr. Petty and the Heartbreakers have done for rock and roll each night,” Lockwood says on the website. “We’re fans of the music first and foremost. These songs are woven into the fabric of the American identity.”

The Insiders are based in Grand Rapids and are available for public and private functions. Find out more here.