By Scott Tady

PITTSBURGH — Emily Armstrong erased lingering doubts Tuesday.

Commanding a PPG Paints Arena stage, as co-vocalist for Linkin Park, Armstrong’s powerful singing proved the alt-rock band wisely embraced the instincts to reunite under that same band name, and deliver its earnest brand of cathartic, crunchy yet tuneful music to devout concert audiences.

Starting symbolically with “Somewhere I Belong,” a 2003 song about healing and overcoming negativity, Armstrong’s clear and impassioned vocals set the tone for the nearly two hours that followed. It’s a versatile voice, able to get guttural (“Lies Greed Misery”), gritty or pretty (“Lost”).

Rock ‘n’ roll fans raised their eyebrows — many, more antagonistically venting concerns — last September when Linkin Park announced its reformation with Armstrong as the replacement for popular lead singer Chester Bennington, who committed suicide in 2017, at the age of 41.

Armstrong’s lesser known pedigree (fronting club-level band Dead Sara) and surely her gender brought fodder for closed-minded skeptics, but a Pittsburgh crowd of 12,000-plus reacted with enthusiasm as she sang with conviction and effectively worked the large, rectangular in-the-round stage.

Armstrong shared the spotlight throughout the night with Linkin Park co-founder Mike Shinoda, who handled skillfully the band’s numerous hip-hop vocal cadences, including bangers like “Burn It Down” and slower burners such as “Where’d You Go.”

For a stage set with harsh lighting lacking visual interest, Shinoda brought a welcome showmanship, romping a few times through the general admission floor crowd.

“So many young faces,” Shinoda said, as he brushed past fans, pausing in front of a boy who looked maybe 12 years old. Shinoda gave the lad his ballcap — autographed by the full band — as the youngster fought back tears of joy. A slightly older female fan filming a TikTok video handed Shinoda her sunglasses and insisted he keep them, which he did for his journey back toward the stage. Later, Shinoda leaned his torso into the front row to get up close with ardent spectators while busting out the rhymes from his solo project song “Richard Bachman”

Another highlight on this ninth stop on Linkin Park’s North American tour featured an entertaining turntables and synth solo by Joe Hahn that also offered accompaniment from Pittsburgh Steelers-shirt-clad drummer Colin Brittain, the other new member of the band.

Fans routinely did what fans do when engrossed by a performance; singing along, cheering loudly and in the case of “Catalyst” waiving their arms side-to-side in unison while clutching illuminated cellphones.

The sound system was sharp — hardly a given for hard-rock arena shows.

The big hits — a fierce and exorcising “One Step Closer” with plumes of smoke, and an “In The End” that elicited all sorts of triumphant gestures from fans — will be remembered long afterward.

Linkin Park could have remained disbanded, or branched off in a new direction with a new name. Instead the band decided to reboot with a few new members, a decision that ultimately brought delight to its faithful in Pittsburgh, and fans who traveled from afar — including the United Kingdom according to one fan’s sign — to see for themselves.