Located in the northern Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, Georgia, the Ameris Bank Amphitheatre hosted the latest stop on the “Summer Camp with Trucks Tour” Friday night. Anchored by Grammy-award winning pop-rockers Hootie & the Blowfish, this tour bill was rounded out with special guests Collective Soul and Edwin McCain. Built in 2008, this 12,000 capacity open air venue is a destination spot for summer concert goers, especially for those looking to brave the typically unbearable heat with uncovered lawn seats to simply enjoy an evening of familiar musical hits from their favorite touring artists.
Fall may officially start on Sunday, but summer refused to release its grip on the South as singer-songwriter Edwin McCain, flanked by Larry Chaney (guitar) and multi-instrumentalist Craig Shields, all casually strolled out at 7:00pm sharp to fans looking for relief from the 90-degree heat. Following a joke that the last time he visited this venue he was in the audience with his daughter for an Arctic Monkeys show, McCain started his set off with “Darwin’s Children” from his second album, Misguided Roses (1997).
McCain only played five total songs, but his stage time certainly felt longer as he intertwined personal anecdotes about his family and musical influences along the way. McCain’s moving performance included his two most commercial hits in “I Could Not Ask for More” and “I’ll Be,” but the highlight for me was the unexpected inclusion of “Shooting Stars,” an enjoyable track pulled from 2004’s Scream & Whisper release. Don’t let McCain’s “everyone’s dad” image fool you — his smooth voice and guitar charm will touch your soul.
Edwin McCain band:
Edwin McCain – Vocals, guitar
Larry Chaney – Guitar
Craig Shields – Saxophone
Setlist:
1.) Darwin’s Children
2.) I Could Not Ask for More
3.) Shooting Stars
4.) When It Does
5.) I’ll Be
Following a fairly quick equipment turn, locally-based Collective Soul took to the stage around 7:50pm and blasted into “Mother’s Love” from the band’s latest double album release, Here To Eternity (May 2024). Anchored by founding brothers Ed and Dean Roland, Collective Soul was rounded out by long-time bassist Will Turpin, drummer Johnny Rabb, and guitarist Jesse Triplett.
Out on the road in celebration of their 30th anniversary, the ever-charismatic Ed Roland lead Collective Soul through an energetic set that largely delivered on their classic hits that landed them on heavy radio repeat during the mid-1990s. Collective Soul’s musicianship sounded as tight as ever live, layering their gritty hard rock tone behind Ed Roland’s distinctive vocals in support of chart-toppers such as “Heavy,” “Shine” (which included McCain), “The World I Know,” “Where the River Flows,” and “December.” Collective Soul wrapped up their 9-song performance with “Run,” a spirited tune pulled from their fourth studio album, Dosage (1999).
Collective Soul:
Ed Roland – Lead vocals, additional guitar, keyboards
Dean Roland – Rhythm guitar
Will Turpin – Bass guitar, backing vocals, auxiliary percussion
Johnny Rabb – Drums, percussion, backing vocals
Jesse Triplett – Lead guitar, backing vocals
Setlist:
1.) Mother’s Love
2.) Bluer Than So Blue
3.) Heavy
4.) Shine (with “Livin’ on the Edge” tease by Aerosmith with Edwin McCain)
5.) The World I Know
6.) Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (AC/DC cover with Edwin McCain)
7.) Where the River Flows
8.) December
9.) Run
With the clock ticking towards 9:15pm and the sun mercifully setting to usher in more comfortable evening temperatures, beloved band Hootie & the Blowfish appeared before a capacity audience. Similar to Collective Soul, Hootie & the Blowfish hit the road this summer to mark a career milestone. It is the band’s 30th anniversary of their multi-platinum certified and Grammy Award-winning debut studio album, Cracked Rear View (1994).
Hootie & the Blowfish’s core quartet since the late 1980s has been Darius Rucker (lead vocals/guitar), Mark Bryan (lead guitar), Dean Felber (bass), and Jim “Soni” Sonefeld (drums), which makes the band somewhat unique to their musical contemporaries whom have frequently changed lineups throughout the decades. When fans flock to a Hootie & the Blowfish concert, they will see and hear the band in their original form. This did not go unnoticed on Friday night, as Rucker and the band sounded as crisp and on point as ever.
The band started their set off with “I Go Blind,” a fan-familiar 54-40 cover song, before rolling into back-to-back tracks in “Wishing” and “I Will Wait” from their third studio album, Musical Chairs (1998). From there, Hootie & the Blowfish finally touched Cracked Rear View, bringing the entire crowd to their feet as the band launched into the single “Time.” While other ’90s artists out on the road these past few months have taken the approach of performing celebratory albums in their entirety, that was not to be for Cracked Rear View.
In additional to “Time,” Hootie & the Blowfish mixed in the Cracked Rear View tracks of “Running From an Angel,” “Hannah Jane,” “Not Even the Trees,” “Let Her Cry,” “Hold My Hand,” and “Only Wanna Be With You,” among a larger setlist of cover songs that included “Wagon Wheel” (Old Crow Medicine Show), “Hey, Hey, What Can I Do” (Led Zeppelin), and “Losing By Religion” (Georgia’s own, R.E.M.). The band also touched on Rucker’s solo career with a rendition of his country-themed single, “Alright.” Filled with songs that brought me back to my college days, catching this tour stop was the perfect way to roll into the weekend.
The “Summer Camp with Trucks” Tour rumbles on for just another week, wrapping up on Saturday, September 28th, in West Palm Beach, Florida, at the iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre.
Hootie & the Blowfish:
Mark Bryan – Lead guitar, backing vocals, piano
Dean Felber – Bass guitar, backing vocals, piano
Darius Rucker – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Jim “Soni” Sonefeld – Drums, percussion, backing vocals, rhythm guitar
Current touring musicians
Gary Greene – Percussion, drums, piano, banjo, backing vocals
Garry Murray – Banjo, mandolin, fiddle, additional guitars, backing vocals
Lee Turner – Keyboards, mandolin, accordion, additional guitars, backing vocals
Setlist:
1.) I Go Blind (54-40 cover)
2.) Wishing
3.) I Will Wait
4.) Time
5.) Running From an Angel
6.) For What It’s Worth (Buffalo Springfield cover)
7.) Hannah Jane
8.) Not Even the Trees
9.) Will the Circle Be Unbroken? / Desert Mountain Showdown
10.) I Hope I Don’t Fall in Love With You (Tom Waits cover)
11.) Wagon Wheel (Old Crow Medicine Show cover)
12.) Miss California
13.) Hey, Hey, What Can I Do (Led Zeppelin cover)
14.) Solitude (Edwin McCain cover with Edwin McCain)
15.) Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven) / Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems / Big Poppa
16.) Let Her Cry
17.) Losing My Religion (R.E.M. cover)
18.) Alright (Darius Rucker song)
19.) Hold My Hand
Encore
20.) Go and Tell Him (Soup Song)
21.) Interstate Love Song (Stone Temple Pilots cover with Jesse Triplett)
22.) Only Wanna Be With You (with snippet of “Get Down on It” by Kool & the Gang)
Follow Edwin McCain Online
Follow Collective Soul Online
Follow Hootie & the Blowfish Online
Elliott is a music photographer covering shows in Atlanta, Georgia, and the surrounding area. The highlight of his photography career was back in the early ’90s, when he sold Neil Diamond the rights to his negatives from a show and then purchased a set of tires for his 1979 280ZX during college with the money.
