Collective Soul • Live • July 13, 2025 • Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe
Back in January, Collective Soul frontman Ed Roland revealed to the audience at The Union Events Center in downtown Salt Lake City that Collective Soul would be heading on tour for the summer with their contemporaries, the band Live. The crowd reacted much the same as I did, excited and already anticipating what that tour would be like. They were joined by Our Lady Peace on what has been titled, “The Summer Unity Tour.” It was another hot night at Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre, but fans of the late 90s early 2000s showed up to see these bands do their thing.
I walked into the amphitheater as Our Lady Peace was performing. Speaking to a few fans, they shared their excitement that they were getting to see Our Lady Peace on this tour. Some had never seen the band, and others were seeing them for the first time in years. They were treated to a short but strong set by the band. Some of their best songs like, “Superman’s Dead”, “Somewhere Out There”, and “Starseed.”
LIVE
I mean this as no disrespect to the other bands, but I was most excited to see Live at the show. I’ve seen Collective Soul a bunch of times. I knew they were going to be great. But I had never seen Live before. I remember hearing them when they broke and liking so many of their songs. It’s strange how you miss seeing some bands live. For whatever reason, their tours and my schedule never matched up. So after all these years, I finally had my chance.
Just to get this out of the way, this version of Live consists of Ed Kowalczyk as the only original member in the lineup. He’s joined by a bunch of talented touring musicians. While I always prefer to see a band still intact with at least most of the original or classic lineups, I also get that that’s just how things go sometimes. Recently, UCR covered Styx, Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon, and Don Felder formerly of the Eagles. Each band has gone through extensive lineup changes. It just happens over the years with some bands. That show was still so entertaining, and so was Live. I thoroughly enjoyed the showmanship of the touring musicians along with how well they played together.
Half of Live’s fourteen-song set came from their album, “Throwing Copper”, including songs two and three, “Selling the Drama”, and “All Over You.” The second these familiar hits were heard, the audience displayed their approval loudly. Things were off to a great start with this set. It was hot and I felt bad for the band having the sun in their faces. But they didn’t seem affected. An extra dose of sweat didn’t seem to set anyone back. Anytime a song was performed from “Throwing Copper,” there was a buzz in the air. It was clear that this album still resonates with these fans.
Ed Kowalczk has such a distinct voice. Hearing him perform these songs live was everything I hoped for from this set. He sounded so good. The man next to me leaned over and said, “He sounds exactly the same.” And he did. His voice has been well preserved. Kowalczk sang the songs with as much power and emotion as you’d expect to hear. I was extremely impressed with how good he sounded.
The entire set was high energy and well performed. I can totally see Live coming back to Utah and headlining their own tour. There were plenty of fans at Utah First Amp who were there specifically for them.
Live’s set closed strong. “I Alone” had the Utah crowd fired up. When the guitar started the song, I could see people all around me looking at the people they came with, so excited to be hearing this song live. The chorus of fans singing this song brought a smile to the band’s faces. How could it not? I’m sure you can imagine just how wonderful a moment it was when “Lightning Crashes” closed the set.
Before the song began, Ed Kowalsczk addressed the audience. “If you keep calling Salt Lake, we’ll keep coming. Take care of each other, get home safe. Until we meet again, Salt Lake, I’d like to send this song out to each and every one of you as a meditation, a prayer, a fortune cookie, whatever you want to call it. For all your good health, your prosperity, all that good stuff until we meet again. God Bless you. Thank you!”
As I mentioned, I had never seen Live in concert until this show. I regret not having heard “Lightning Crashes” live until now. Not because this version was bad. Not at all. It was incredible. The song and performance were moving. I regretted not hearing this song live more often. Because I believe that is how this song is meant to be heard. I loved everything about this performance. Such a good song. I look forward to Live coming back soon. Because we’re calling.
Collective Soul
Collective Soul took the stage to the opening song off of their recent release, the double album, “Here To Eternity”, “Mother’s Milk.” The song is not only a great album opener, but it’s a perfect opening song to a show. It features frontman Ed Roland’s songwriting, and features the talent of the rest of the band. People really got into this song, and it set the tone for the rest of the set.
“Mother’s Milk” perfectly transitioned into “Heavy,” a crowd favorite. Collective Soul is a really good live band. They have such good chemistry with one another, and the way they react to their audience shows how much they appreciate their fans. Throwing guitar picks, and mugging with faces in the crowd.
I noticed a number of fans telling one another that “Right as Rain” is their favorite Collective Soul song. It definitely had people up and dancing. So many if not all of Collective Soul’s songs are so well written for the live experience. So many of the hooks and lyrics put the audience in a place to sing along, or recognize the familiar sound of songs they love.
“Shine” is a perfect example of this. The instant the song starts, everyone gets excited. Then there is the familiar riff that follows with everyone yelling, “Yeah!” Then of course, the chorus has the entire amphitheater singing. Ed Roland told the Utah audience, “It’s always a blessing to come back here, man. It’s a beautiful place. Beautiful people.”
Collective Soul performed two songs off their self-titled album, “The World I Know” and “December.” “The World I Know” is such a huge hit for the band, and it still captivates their audience as if it were just released. People had their phone lights out, and plenty of fans were recording the performance to watch again later.
You’d think by the end of Collective Soul’s set, people would be tired out after hearing so much music. But this was not the case. Their fans were dedicated and stuck around to hear songs like “Gel”, “Where the River Flows,” and the closing song of the evening, “Run.”
I was glad I got to hear “Run.” The last time Collective Soul was in Utah, the song was on the setlist as the closer, but they ran out of time due to the curfew and had to cut the set one song short. I could tell that the band didn’t want to let that happen again. “Run” is a great closer. The band performs as they gradually walk off stage, leaving the crowd to keep singing, “Have I got a long way to run?” It was a perfect way to end the night. Collective Soul and Live were an excellent touring team. So many great songs to be heard in one night. It was the late 90s once again, and the Utah First Amp crowd was happy to hear it all!
