Sunday evening kicked off around 7pm at Jergels with local pop rock artist ALLISSA performing in support of headliners Stryper, who took the stage around 8:15 pm to overwhelming applause from the packed house. The band was one of few acts we have ever seen with a barricade at the stage, giving the 600+ venue more of an arena-rock feel for the night.
On that note, the set began with a heavy-hitting intro before breaking into to “In God We Trust,” which instantly reminded me of my square souvenir pin of that album cover from the band’s 1988 performance at the AJ Palumbo center, and how mind-blowing it is to be seeing this band delivering such a high-caliber performance some forty years later. Despite the added security, the club still allowed the crowd to plenty of chances to interact with the band, and perhaps even bring home a souvenir guitar pick, drum stick, or even bible along with whatever black and gold treasures fans grabbed from the merch stand (because you know we love our black and gold here in the ‘Burgh).
As we settled in for the night, the band continued on with a solid mix of classics and newer anthems that kept the momentum going throughout the night including “Free” and “Sorry” early in the set while saving their biggest hit “To Hell with the Devil” for their three song encore (which was really just an extension of an already lengthy set, as the band never left the stage). The energy was contagious as yellow-green lights strobed across the room and fans chanted along to the Christian rock melodies with hands raised in praise during the Sunday-evening show.
The current line-up of Stryper features brothers Michael Sweet (guitar, vocals) and Robert Sweet (drums), along with Oz Fox (guitar) and Perry Richardson (bass). With the band just returning from a tour of Latin American, where Oz Fox was temporarily replaced by Howie Simon due to medical advice, it was great seeing Oz on stage last night at Jergels for their last US show of this tour.
Currently, the band has just one more date on the books on September 20th, they are scheduled to perform at Germany’s “Loud and Proud Festival” and they also have plans to follow-up the tour with a Christmas album, before the release of their next studio album.
Coverage by Editor and founder Kara Marie Uhrlen on 8/18/2025. All event photos © Kara Uhrlen and The Pure Rock Shop.
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