Located in the northern Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, Georgia, the Ameris Bank Amphitheatre welcomed co-headliners Collective Soul and +LIVE+ to town on Saturday night. This concert event, billed as the Summer Unity Tour, was rounded out with support from Our Lady Peace and Greylin James Rue. Built in 2008, this 12,000 capacity open air venue is a premier destination spot for summer concert goers, especially for those brave enough to tolerate the sweltering Southern heat by selecting uncovered lawn seats just to enjoy an evening of familiar musical hits from their favorite artists. However, unlike most concerts I have covered at Ameris Bank, the orchestra seats were removed on Saturday night making way for a large general admission audience pit for fans to mingle freely throughout the 4-artist night.
First up in front of the early arrival 6:00pm audience was singer-songwriter/actress/model Greylin James Rue from Los Angeles, California. Out on the road for her first major touring experience, the 24-year-old Rue offered up a short set that showcased her emerging songwriting talents anchored in combining her sultry voice with a self-described “blending of rock, folk, and indie with poetic introspection” for a unique musical vibe. I particularly enjoyed her tune “Happy,” which to me had a splash of Alanis Morissette come through. Rue’s stage presence was captivating, and I am sure she garnered a few new Atlanta fans with her performance.
Greylin James Rue Band
Greylin James Rue – Lead Vocals
Zoë McMillan – Drums
Brandon Dove – Lead guitars
Kyle Briskin – Bass
Setlist:
1.) It Gets Bad
2.) Happy
3.) Steve’s House
4.) Birth of Venus
Canadian alternative rockers Our Lady Peace followed Rue shortly after 6:30pm with a energetic performance that kicked off with “Sound the Alarm.” Featuring ’90s hits like “Superman’s Dead” and “Clumsy,” OLP — still anchored by founding frontman Raine Maida — delivered a punchy 7-song set of tunes that arguably helped influence a generation of alt-rockers. Rounded out by Duncan Coutts (bass), Steve Mazur (guitar), and Jason Pierce (drums), Our Lady Peace never let up, eventually putting an exclamation point on their evening with their breakthrough 1994 single “Starseed” off their first album Naveed, a song that was eventually remixed and released on the soundtrack for the movie Armageddon (1998). For a tour rooted in ’90s musical nostalgia, Our Lady Peace was the perfect atmosphere-setter for rolling into the co-headliners.
Our Lady Peace
Raine Maida – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar
Duncan Coutts – Bass, backing vocals
Steve Mazur – Lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Jason Pierce – Drums, percussion
Setlist:
1.) Sound the Alarm
2.) Superman’s Dead
3.) Whatever
4.) Innocent
5.) Clumsy
6.) Somewhere Out There
7.) Starseed
With the clock creeping just past 7:45pm and the audience finally getting some temperature relief due to a cool breeze in the air, the venue house lights went dark to a large video screen flashing imagery that included the +LIVE+ logo. Busting out first with “Pain Lies on the Riverside” from Mental Jewelry (1991), +LIVE+ remains anchored by lead vocalist and founding member Ed Kowalczyk, with the band rounded out by touring musicians Nick Jay (keyboards), Zak Loy (guitar, backing vocals), Johnny Radelat (drums), and newcomer Pat Seals (bass).
As timing would have it, +LIVE+ actually played Ameris Bank Amphitheatre just under a year ago (August 31, 2024) when their co-headlining Jubilee Tour with Stone Temple Pilots came to town. Much like that set, +LIVE+ delighted their dedicated fan base with familiar hits in “Selling the Drama,” “All Over You,” as well as the gutturally toned “Lakini’s Juice” from their fourth studio album, Secret Samadhi (1997). Kowalczyk’s vocals continued to deliver throughout the 14-song set, with Loy flawlessly complimenting his partnership on guitar. It is also worth mentioning that bassist Seals (who seemingly took over from Chris Heerlein) brought an elevated persona to the band, with an image that made me question whether or not he should be on tour with a thrash metal band like Slayer or Testament instead.
While +LIVE+’s setlist did switch it up a bit from last summer’s tour with song additions such as “Iris” and “Rattlesnake,” the band closed out their Atlanta evening in the same cadence with back-to-back iconic ’90s hits in “I Alone” and “Lightning Crashes,” both pulled from their multi-platinum third studio album, Throwing Copper (1994).
+LIVE+
Current members
Ed Kowalczyk – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Touring musicians
Zak Loy – Lead guitar, backing vocals
Pat Seals – Bass
Johnny Radelat – Drums
Nick Jay – Keyboards
Setlist:
1.) Pain Lies on the Riverside
2.) Selling the Drama
3.) All Over You
4.) Iris
5.) Lady Bhang (She Got me Rollin’)
6.) T.B.D.
7.) Shit Towne
8.) The Dolphin’s Cry
9.) Leave the Radio On
10.) Rattlesnake
11.) Lakini’s Juice
12.) Turn My Head
13.) I Alone
14.) Lightning Crashes
As irony would have it, fellow Georgia-founded band Blackberry Smoke was also headlining a show barely 30 minutes away, but that did not impact the sea of hometown fans crowded into Ameris Bank Amphitheatre for the anticipated start of Collective Soul’s evening at 9:30pm. Similar to +LIVE+, Collective Soul cruised through this venue at about the same time last summer, but for them it was in support of Hootie & The Blowfish’s Summer Camp with Trucks Tour (September 20, 2024). Like that gig, Collective Soul immediately launched into “Mother’s Love” from their most recent album release, Here To Eternity (May 2024), to begin their night.
With ever-charismatic frontman Ed Roland donning a blue and white suit and shorts (with a little chest glitter for additional flare) at the helm, Collective Soul navigated through a 13-song set that largely delivered on their classic hits which had landed them heavy radio play during the mid-1990s. As always expected, the band’s musicianship sounded as tight as ever, layering in their gritty alternative rock tone behind Roland’s distinctive vocals in support of sing-along chart-toppers such as “Heavy,” “Shine,” “The World I Know,” “December,” and “Where the River Flows.”
However, while the back half of their performance did include some changes from last summer with inclusions of popular tunes in “Tremble for My Beloved” (featured in the 2008 film Twilight) and “Gel,” it was the slightly more mild tempoed yet spirited mainstream single “Run” from their fourth studio album, Dosage (1999), that put the cap on an amazing night of music.
The Summer Unity Tour just crossed the midway point of its 30-date tour, and is currently scheduled to wrap up on Friday, August 29th, in Grantville, Pennsylvania, at the Hollywood Casino at Penn Race Course.
Collective Soul
Ed Roland – Lead vocals, additional guitar, keyboards
Dean Roland – Rhythm guitar
Will Turpin – Bass, backing vocals, auxiliary percussion
Johnny Rabb – Drums, percussion, backing vocals
Jesse Triplett – Lead guitar, backing vocals
Setlist:
1.) Mother’s Love
2.) Heavy
3.) Right as Rain
4.) Shine
5.) Precious Declaration
6.) Keep It on Track
7.) She Said
8.) The World I Know
9.) December
10.) Tremble for My Beloved
11.) Gel
12.) Where the River Flows
13.) Run
Follow Greylin James Rue Online
Follow Our Lady Peace Online
Follow +LIVE+ Online
Follow Collective Soul 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.