Nita Strauss has made her first full onstage appearance with Demi Lovato this weekend (August 13) at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, Illinois.
The guitarist joined Lovato’s live band back in July, having been recruited ahead of the release of the pop star’s rock-oriented new album Holy Fvck, which arrives this Friday (August 19).
Following the show, Strauss shared on Instagram: “Had a blast on opening night with @ddlovato!” She also shared a clip of the show.
According to Setlist.fm, the 21-song set included live debuts of new tracks Holy Fvck, Freak, Eat Me, 29, Happy Ending and 4 Ever 4 Me, alongside a cover of the Goo Goo Dolls classic Iris and rock reinterpretations of older Lovato tunes, including Sorry Not Sorry, Heart Attack and Cool For The Summer.
Fan-shot footage of tracks Cool For Summer and Skin Of My Teeth has surfaced and can be seen below.
Prior to joining Lovato’s band, Strauss was performing regularly with Alice Cooper – a gig she had enjoyed since 2014 – and had planned festival appearances in support of her solo material. She announced her departure from Alice Cooper on July 11, tellings fans:
“After this absolutely incredible run in Europe, it is bittersweet for me to let you guys know that I will not be joining the Alice Cooper band for the upcoming fall tour. I will also regretfully have to cancel the festival dates my solo band had planned for the rest of the year.
"I am not pregnant! There is no drama whatsoever and my touring year is still very full – in fact, I’m on a flight straight into the next adventure as I post this, and I’ll be on stage again much sooner than you think. But that’s news for another day.”
Soon after Strauss revealed she had joined Lovato’s group and her diary has been packed ever since, with rehearsals, an early appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and now tour dates.
The group will head to South America next for a run of dates across Brazil, Columbia, Argentina and Chile, before returning to the US for a fall headline tour.
Head to Demi Lovato’s site for the full list of tour dates.
