Like many millennial women around my age, my 14-year-old self would have freaked out knowing I had the opportunity to speak with Chris Kirkpatrick of *NSYNC, Jeff Timmons of 98 Degrees, and Erik-Michael Estrada of O-Town.
The trio will appear at Heinz Hall Mon., April 7 for A Boy Band Symphony, a night featuring the bands’ greatest hits accompanied by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The performance arrives shortly after the PSO showcased another ’90s hitmaker, the R&B artist Shaggy, in February. A Boy Band Symphony stemmed from a conversation Timmons had with Estrada about the success of their A Boy Band Christmas tour. A song from the tour, “O Holy Night,” was performed with an orchestra and did well on music charts.
“Erik and I got to talking on that tour, and thought, what if we start doing this with an orchestra, and all the great pop songs that we have been fortunate to be a part of?” Timmons tells the Pittsburgh City Paper.
The two asked Kirkpatrick, who was friends with Timmons for years and performed with Estrada on the Pop 2000 Tour, to join them
“I think the coolest part of the show is that you can see us and hear the music as we wrote it, recorded it, and made it,” Kirkpatrick tells City Paper. “It takes a lot of time to make a track when you’re stacking violins, cellos, and strings, and to actually see the parts and hear them come to fruition is an awesome experience.”
The trio plans on telling brief stories in between performances. “We sort of allow the songs to just live, and we find these moments where we can tell unique stories,” Estrada tells CP. “You’re going to get some insight for sure.”
Timmons still tours with 98 Degrees, and Estrada still tours with O-Town. Occasionally, the bands will all cross paths. As members of the late-‘90s/early-’00s
boy band fraternity, the three joke and poke fun at each other while also displaying a mutual respect and admiration for each other’s careers.
“I appreciate Chris plugging our album,” Timmons says. “It’s only a matter of time before *NSYNC comes back and does their thing — that’s about to happen hopefully at some point.”
All three singers look forward to spending some time in Pittsburgh, a city close to each of their hearts — Kirkpatrick was born in Clarion, Pa., Timmons is from Canton, Ohio, and Estrada is a self-described “Pittsburgh activist.”
“I think Pittsburgh is one of the coolest cities in America, and one of the most underrated cities in America, from sports, to culture, to its aesthetic, and I’m not just saying this because I’m on the phone with you,” Estrada says.
Estrada, a Yankees fan, plans to arrive early in Pittsburgh for the Pirates and Yankees series and see PNC Park for the first time.
“I’m Puerto Rican and Roberto Clemente has always been a staple, and I’ve always had Pittsburgh memorabilia in my house because of him,” he says.
Timmons reminisced about 98 Degrees headlining their first big radio show with the former local station B-94. He remembers seeing their band name next to the B-94 logo on the setlist and thinking “how unreal it was to be a part of something” like that.
Kirkpatrick mentions that he visited Pittsburgh a few days before the interview. He went to a Penguins game, and, on his flight home, noticed Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph. Kirkpatrick and his children took a photo with Rudolph.
“It was awesome playing Three Rivers Stadium,” he says, referring to the final July 2000 concert at the stadium before it was imploded in February 2001. He remembers the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette headline afterward: “Pittsburgh Says ‘Bye Bye Bye’ to Three Rivers Stadium,” referencing *NSYNC’s iconic single from their No Strings Attached album.
The boy band statesmen still make women blush. When I thanked them for fulfilling a teenage dream of mine, Estrada replied, “We love to bring liquid dreams to life,” a reference to O-Town’s suggestive 2000 single.
“Oh my god, okay, we got to close it up,” Timmons laughed.
“I just threw up a little bit,” Kirkpatrick said.
A Boy Band Symphony with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. 7:30 p.m. Mon., April 7. Heinz Hall. 600 Penn Ave., Downtown. $40-150.
pittsburghsymphony.org
This article appears in Mar 26 – Apr 1, 2025.
