On This Day in Music • July 2, 1989

Spokane, Washington – Raceway Park
Alice in Chains opens for Tesla and Great White

It was a summer night like any other — dusty, loud, and buzzing with the raw energy of live rock music echoing across the open air at Raceway Park. But something subtle and seismic happened that evening in Spokane. A young, unpolished Alice in Chains walked onto the stage, unknown to most of the crowd, and played like they had something to prove. Because they did.

This was Alice in Chains before the record deals, before “Man in the Box” blew up on MTV. No debut album yet. Just raw attitude, ferocious riffs, and Layne Staley’s voice — that voice. Even in its earliest form, Layne’s vocals had a rare, tortured soulfulness that stopped people in their tracks. Grit and vulnerability layered into every word, every scream, every note. His presence wasn’t flashy — it was magnetic. And it marked the arrival of something new.

Back then, the Seattle sound hadn’t yet become a global force. Grunge was still incubating in dim clubs, basements, and backyards across the Pacific Northwest. But here, in this seemingly ordinary support slot, the gears of a movement were turning. A band no one had heard of was about to become one of the most defining voices of a decade.

The audience came for Tesla and Great White — big names in glam and hard rock. But many left talking about that other band. The one with the long-haired frontman who sang like a wounded angel. The one whose sound didn’t quite fit into the mold — darker, heavier, more real.

Within a year, Alice in Chains would release Facelift. Within three, they’d be icons. But on that July night in 1989, they were still a secret. A spark. A storm gathering in the distance.

The ‘90s were coming. And Alice in Chains was already plugged in, tuned up, and ready to break through.