Los Angeles vocalist to perform at the Rooster

Noah Weiland has been singing for as long as he can remember, but it wasn't until he was 21 that he performed his first real show.

It was two years ago, at a venue in Los Angeles on Weiland's 21st birthday.

"It was awesome. I think it made me realize, I guess all the practice as a little kid… was worth it, and all the times singing in my room. It felt really powerful," he said.

Weiland, the son of Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland, will perform with singer Anella Herim at The Rooster in Gastonia on Nov. 30. The show starts at 5 p.m.

Now 23, Weiland described a diverse array of key musical influences ― Kanye West, Young Thug, Green Day and My Chemical Romance. Still, he said that the music he makes now is similar to pop.

"It has a similar sound, but, like, refreshing sonics, like a new way to do it. A little more edge and, like, grit," he said.

At the same time, he said his music isn't encompassed by any one genre.

"I started off making more hard rock and punk rock, and now it's kind of something that doesn't really have like one genre," he said.

On Friday, Weiland released his latest single, "Yesterday." He said that the song shows a more vulnerable side of him.

"When I first wrote the song, it was kind of like supposed to be a final message. This girl who I was in love with for a long time, we were together on and off and had a bad relationship," he said. "It was kind of like a last message to her before finally letting go."

At the show in Gastonia, fans can expect a lot of new music, but also a song that is close to Weiland's heart. Weiland's father died in 2015 of a drug overdose, and Weiland intends to play a song his father was writing at the time of his death.

"It's just one that he never finished. He has a bunch of unfinished songs, but… this one specifically, I've actually known for years, and I wanted to just be able to say I have a song with my dad one day, you know?" he said. "I think obviously if he was still here he would definitely approve of that."

Like his father, Weiland himself has struggled with addiction. The other members of his LA rock band, Suspect 208, kicked him out in 2021, saying that it was over Weiland's drug use. Weiland said that his addiction to opiates did not start until after that happened, and that it was a confusing time for him.

"The people that I was making music with at the time, they were my band, kind of just kicked me out without saying anything and never told me any of the problems," he said.

Weiland became addicted to opiate pain pills, but he eventually sought treatment, and he has been sober from the pills for most of this year.

"Definitely for those last two years… up until the beginning of this year, I've been in and out of treatments and couch surfing… trying to just save money while going through addiction," he said. "It's been a battle ever since to try and be done with it. But I mean, I think I'm doing a pretty good job right now, I'd say. Definitely probably the happiest place I've been in honestly since 2020."

Music, for Weiland, has come naturally. He said that his father encouraged him to sing, even as a young child.

"My dad always wanted to include me in everything… Even when I was like a little kid, he would always want me to come on stage, sing a song that I learned in school," Weiland said. "He danced with me and pretended like we were on stage together when we were at home… He was always trying to make me feel included, so I guess that's why I felt so close to him, and why I wanted to be like him when I got older."

Still, despite Scott Weiland's fame, Weiland doesn't feel it's been a struggle to differentiate himself from his father's legacy.

"The music scene is so different now. And also the genres that are popular are way different," he said. " It's easy and possible to have a fan base that has no idea who he is."

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Los Angeles vocalist to perform at the Rooster