“Hello my friend, we meet again,” is the beginning to Creed’s 2001 hit “My Sacrifice,” and with Creed reunited and touring it is a greeting to their fans.

In 2012, Creed went on hiatus with the members working on various projects. At last, the hiatus came to an end as the band announced they were reuniting for the Summer of ‘99 cruise and the follow-up Summer of ‘99 tour. Creed’s reunion tour has been short of a triumphant resurgence, bringing back their post-grunge rock that defined music in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.

Finger 11 started the show, launching into their seven song set which included hits like “First Time” and their new song “Adrenaline.” Finger 11’s performance energized the crowd, and acted as a precursor to the night’s main attraction. They slowed things down with “One Thing,” before ending their set with “Paralyzer,” which included excerpts from Genesis’ “All That” and AC/DC’s “Back in Black.” Be sure to listen and download their new song “Adrenaline,” which is available now. 

After a brief break Mississippi’s 3 Doors Down took to the stage. Lead singer Brad Arnold took the crowd through a variety of emotions from the highs of talking about his family and to the lows of losing his beloved dog. He also tells how Creed was the first band that took 3 Doors Down on tour 25 years ago. As the band played through their hits “Duck and Run,” “Loser” and “Be Like That,” the crowd was right there with them, phones recording the performance as they sang along. 3 Doors Down concluded their set with “When I’m Gone”

For one last time that night the lights went down – it was time for Creed to take the stage. After waiting for over a decade, fans would see Creed! All four original members of Creed walked onto the stage and were prepared to take the crowd on a “journey,” as lead singer Scott Stapp put it, and what a journey it was. 

From the first song and until the last note was played, all four members of Creed, singer Scott Stapp, guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall, and drummer Scott Phillips, poured every ounce of energy into their performance. Throughout the show Stapp talked about the band’s past, and told stories of the songs and how they connected to where he was when they were written. The highlight for one lucky fan occurred after Creed played “What If?”. Before the song, Mark Tremonti told the crowd they were looking for the wildest, most energetic fan in the crowd. Once it came time to pick, Tremonti chose a young fan for the guitar to go to, but made him promise to practice every day and get guitar lessons. 

As the Creed started to draw closer to the end of their time, they saved their biggest hits for the end. After a moving rendition of “With Arms Wide Open,” Stapp asked the crowd if they were ready to go Higher! What followed was every fan standing and singing along to one of Creed’s biggest hits, “Higher,” a song which, much like the band itself, re-emerged last year when the Texas Rangers sang the song after winning the World Series. For the encore the band performed “One Last Breath” and “My Sacrifice.” 

Music has seen many shifts since Creed went on hiatus in 2012, but one thing has not changed, they are a band that has loyal fans who have passed their music down to the next generation. “Are You Ready?” for Creed to return to Texas, if so they will return to Corpus Christi, Fort Worth and Austin in November, be sure to get your tickets!

Here are some more pictures from the show in case you missed it!

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Cover photo Brian Maass Photography.