Simpsonville, SC – Collective Soul delivered their “Now’s The Time Tour” to the CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park on May 28. The Atlanta-based rock band, along with Gin Blossoms and Drivin’ n’ Cryin’, spent the warm, soon-to-be summer evening in front of an excited Southern crowd pumping out mega hits, fan favorites, and new material.
Starting out the evening was an all-too-brief but sparkling gold set by folk rockers, Drivin’ n’ Cryin’. With over 33 years under their belt, the band is no stranger to the stage and has demonstrated the ability to maneuver the shifting musical landscape. Founding members Kevn Kinney (vocals, guitar) and Tim Nielsen (bass, vocals), along with Laur Joamets (guitar) and Dave V Johnson (drums, vocals) showed up in Simpsonville with a full tank of gas and proved their intention of continuing down the highway with their new LP Live The Love Beautiful.
Alternative rockers, Gin Blossoms, took to the stage next and delighted the audience with their catchy melodies and introspective lyrics from tunes spanning an over three-decade catalog. Jesse Valenzuela (guitar, vocals), Robin Wilson (vocals, guitar), Scott Johnson (guitar), Bill Leen (bass), and Scott Hessel (drums) round out this road band of entertaining tunesmiths with their easy-identifiable sound described as jangle pop. The band released their new album, Mixed Reality, in 2018 and played songs from it such as, “Break” and “Wonder”, while also blasting out smash hits “Follow You Down,” “Allison Road,” “Found Out About You,” and “Hey Jealousy.”
Even though the sun began to set in upstate South Carolina, all things continued to shine as multi-platinum Collective Soul reminded us that Now’s The Time. Vocalist/keyboardist E Roland, rhythm guitarist Dean Roland, bassist Will Turpin, lead guitarist Jesse Triplett, and drummer Johnny Rabb showcased their band chemistry and invited the audience to celebrate 25 years of rocking. Known for memorable hits such as “December,” Heavy,” and “Shine,” Collective Soul continues to amass instantly recognizable songs. In support of their new album, Blood, due out June 21, the band shared tracks like “Observation Of Thoughts,” “Now’s The Time,” “Over Me,” and “Right As Rain,” proving their insightful songwriting and skilled collaboration.
“I think Blood expresses where we’ve been on this life journey,” observes E Roland. “And we’ve done so with songs featuring piano and strings to those with a lot of guitar riffs. Blood is an accumulation of all the different styles we’ve used over the years, but it’s still COLLECTIVE SOUL. I think it’s the best we’ve ever done. I know you should think that, but I really do think it’s the best. It’s a good, consistent record. We’re just so proud of it.”
Catch Collective Soul at an upcoming show on their North American tour headed to a city near you (dates HERE) and get a refreshing reminder to “love where we’ve been and love where we are.”
Collective Soul Photo Gallery
Gin Blossoms Photo Gallery
Drivin’ N Cryin’ Photo Gallery
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Show Date: 5/28/2019
