The City of Kannapolis in North Carolina are continuing their annual tradition of hosting free events for the community in Village Park. This includes Movies In The Park and of course our personal favorite, Concerts In The Park. Everyone is welcome to attend these events and the community provides free shuttle services and allows visitors to bring blankets or chairs to join in, bring their own refreshments, or purchase your own at the concession stands or food trucks set up nearby. There’s a huge lawn by the amphitheater and it’s also in very close proximity to a 2-story carousel and the Village Park Train.
We were excited to be invited on June 3, 2023 to Village Park to see Collective Soul performing. We arrived well before the opener was set to play and the lawn was already filled with tons attendees and more still piling in. There was lots of space for everyone to spread out and enjoy the show. There was even space left over for the kids to play and enjoy themselves while waiting. It had been sunny and in the mid-80’s and everyone was really having a blast at the park. At 7pm, Charlotte NC locals, Gump Fiction, hit the stage and performed a full set of 90’s favorites to get the crowd pumped up. This got loads of fans up and dancing and singing along to their favorites.
The crowd was very anxiously awaiting Collective Soul to perform. The band would hit the stage at 8:30 just as the sun was setting. As with a lot of outdoor concerts, that’s also when the rain hit. You’d actually think that may send some people packing, but as it turns out, it did not! Of course people had their ponchos and umbrellas, but quite a few could be seen just absolutely enjoying the show and fully embracing the moment. Collective Soul performed a full hour of just non-stop hit after hit and the band really never stopped moving and performing their hearts out for the crowd.
After performing “The World I Know” which had everyone on their feet and singing along, the organizers did have to inform the band they would need to cut the show a little bit early. A huge storm cloud with lightning was to come in soon and they wanted to make sure everyone got out of it’s way safely. While obviously no one wants that and the band was faced with only being able to perform 1 more song. Vocalist Ed Roland decided to pull an awesome rock-star move like only he can do. He invited tons of fans on stage for that last song and they decided to perform R.E.M. classic “The One I Love.” Not only could he be found singing personally to the kids on stage, he ended up handing over the mic to several fans to sing along as well. Absolutely awesome ending to an incredible show.
I’m Music Magazine Photographer Daphne McKinney
For a full list of tour dates, visit: https://collectivesoul.com/#tour
Grab a copy of Vibrating: https://found.ee/CollectiveSoulVibrating
Connect with Collective Soul:
