Tom Petty Quotes

What turns me on is to walk into a sold-out venue. The audiences are so much the same as they were in the '60s. It's just an amazing thing. I can't explain it, but I hope it never stops.

It's the same thing now. When I go onstage the young people scream and holler as much as the older generation.

When I go to shows, I'm really looking forward to hearing the songs I know. I don't like it when a band tries to expose me to new stuff.

I'm not one of those spoiled rock stars who complains about how tedious it is to perform my old hits.

I've been playing music since I was 12. I love performing live.

My fans, country radio, friends, family, you name it - they know I love to perform.

I actually feel I'm in a much better place than I've ever been because I'm thankful people still love the songs that I've written, and they seem to like me. And they come to the shows in droves, and they get all excited, and I can still hit all the notes, and I don't look terrible.

I grew up loving Broadway musicals. I'd put on my parents' cast albums and stand on the stool and sing in the mirror.

I love being in a small club where everybody has a good seat, and we don't look like ants. And you can feel the audience, which makes it kind of magical, and I miss that. I guess I have the best of both worlds.

Doing new stuff live is tough just simply because I pay my money, I stand in my seats, and I see the guys I love. And if I paid that ticket, there's a good chance that I'm there to hear the stuff that made me fall in love with 'em - we call it the 'old stuff.'

I had a couple CDs. But I never had that first concert experience, that first record thing.

It's great to play live. I love it and appreciate it more than I did in the early days. It's a central part of being in A-ha.

There is nothing like the buzz of singing one of your songs during a show and hearing your fans singing with you.

I went to see Ocean Colour Scene at Shepherds Bush and and felt part of something. They paved the way for me.

I like to see other bands, and I like to hear their songs, but I really like it when they engage the audience.

I love music but I never went to a concert in my life. The first time I went to a concert I performed on a stage with Drake.

The thing about doing gigs is you make music, and then it is gone and that is being watched by thousands of people.

I always use the Rolling Stones as the whipping boy for this, but they still play old songs as 90% of their set, and we would die if that were the case.

There are moments, when you're playing your songs to thousands of people, which are amazingly satisfying. I'm very self-critical, so I find it hard to go along with moments like that.

When Xscape came back together for a tour in 2017, and all of our shows were selling out, it made me miss being on stage and producing music on a regular basis. That's what I did for most of my life.

It's so incredible performing in front of 10,000-15,000 people singing along and giving off great energy.

When I was about 13, I went to see this band called Free, who I'd never heard, and I just fell in love with them. I found my heroes. I stood at the front with my chin on the stage.

I especially like the songs Hurry Up and The Curse Of Castle Dragon, and I often include them in my live show.

I think what's cool about about going on a co-headline tour is everyone's bringing a huge show, so it's not like opening band, opening band, then here's the big show. It's like two big shows.

I think the best part for me is just being able to perform for people every week.