Local rock band releasing new song ahead of East Coast tour opening for Pat Benatar
After a successful nationwide tour as the opening act for Pat Benatar, a Youngstown band is going back on the road for an East Coast tour.
Lead singer Jackie Popovec said there will be a new Vindys song coming out March 21, right before the band sets out for round two of the tour with Benatar and Neil Giraldo.
“We’ve opened for national acts before like ZZ Top and Ann Wilson, but going on tour and seeing day-to-day how to run the show was a whole eye-opening experience,” Popovec said. “We went on tour with Pat Benatar in July and August of 2024 and it took us all the way from Atlantic City to Washington State, San Diego, LA all over the West Coast and back.”
Now that the Vindys are going back on the road, Popovec said the band is feeling more prepared as well as excited to visit Graceland for the first time.
“It’s really exciting. All of our goals, hopes and dreams have always been to get to this moment where we’re just playing and that’s all we’re doing every night,” she said. “Traveling another four, six hours to the next town over, playing a 40 minute-set on stage - it’s all worth it.”
The East Coast tour will take the Youngstown band from Canada all the way to Florida.
Popovec said one of the highlights of touring was singing a duet with Benatar on stage while battling nerves, which was a surprise for the Youngstown singer.
“It’s my favorite song with Pat Benatar, so I don’t want to mess it up,” she said. “I’m nervous, and I’m usually not. It was like I blacked out while I was standing a foot away from Pat Benatar singing We Belong. She went to try to grab my hand, show unity and I didn’t realize what she was doing. I was mortified but I got through it.”
The Vindys started playing music together in 2014 and officially released their first album in 2017.
One memory that sticks out to Popovec is a Federal Frenzy appearance in 2017.
“That same day we played Federal Frenzy was the moment that we released our first full length original album and got to be on the radio station with the Summit in Akron, our favorite radio station in northeast Ohio,” she said. “What a magical day that was, because we were done being a cover band or playing these tribute shows. We decided, ‘We’re doing this.’”
Fans can pre-save the Vindys new single now and tickets are available online on their website for the upcoming tour, which is starting in Pittsburgh.
“The next time we’re in Youngstown will be May 31,” Popovec said. “We’re opening up for Lita Ford, and that will be the tail end of the Pat Benatar tour. We’re coming straight home to do the one off show, then head back out to Delaware the next day. It’s going to be at the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheater, and I love concerts in the summertime at the amphitheater. They’re always fun.”
