Live and Collective Soul both made massive hits in the 1990s, but it’s in the 21st century that the two veteran alternative bands have become a successful package deal on the road, first co-headlining a tour in 2008 and then reuniting this year for the Summer Unity Tour. The two bands played 30 dates from coast to coast throughout July and August, with openers Our Lady Peace and Greylin James Rue.
The tour wrapped up a few weeks ago with a date in Grantville, Pennsylvania, just an hour from York, where Ed Kowalczyk became Live’s lead singer over 40 years ago. Before Live heads back out to play shows in Michigan and Ohio this month, SPIN reached Kowalczyk via email to find out about some of his favorite memories from spending the summer of 2025 on the road. “There were so many highlights and nights to remember on our tour with Collective Soul,” Kowalczyk says. “I felt so energized and inspired the whole time; morning, noon and night for eight weeks straight. The rapport and the vibes backstage were so chill between the crew and bands.”
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1. Biking and flying a drone in Nashville
Kowalczyk was impressed by the site of Live and Collective Soul’s Nashville show on August 10th, the FirstBank Amphitheater, which reminded him of Colorado’s most famous music venue. “The venue in Tennessee was dug out of a quarry; it has a super surreal Red Rocks vibe at night,” he says. “I flew my drone around there and got some incredible footage. It was a great summer and we got very lucky with the weather which meant we could all be outside at the venues riding electric bikes and taking it all in.”
2. The fans who brought the whole family
“I have to say, the best part of the whole experience for me was seeing the new generation of young fans every night,” says Kowalczyk, who left Live in 2009 and rejoined the band in 2014, finding that many of the band’s original fans now have kids that they bring to the shows. “I met so many people who introduced me to their kids and said, ‘This is so-and-so’s first concert, and it had to be Live.’ It was such an emotional jubilee every night, its hard to put into words.”
3. The grub in Missouri
One of the things about touring life that many musicians relish is the chance to sample cuisine around the country, and Kowalczyk fondly remembers the food and the wine in St. Louis the week that the band played the Thunder Ridge Nature Arena in nearby Ridgedale, Missouri. “My favorite dining experience was at the Capital Grille in St. Louis on a day off. It was directly across the street from the hotel, so I popped over by myself and settled in,” he says. “My first course was a huge plate of Utz style potato chips with a bowl of gourmet chip dip and a blob of caviar on top; I inhaled it and washed it, and 3 dozen oysters, down with an entire bottle of Whispering Angel Rose…I walked out at 4pm. Best meal and most rock-starrish day drinking day I had on the tour; unforgettable.”
4. Embracing the Texas roots of Live’s current lineup
Kowalczyk is the only remaining member of Live’s original Pennsylvania-based lineup, and all of his bandmates are now Texans: keyboardist Nick Jay, guitarist Zak Loy, bassist Chris Heerlein, and drummer Johnny Radelat. That made the tour’s string of August dates in Irving, Houston, and Austin into a special occasion for Live. “All of the Texas shows were bananas and it felt like the band really reconnected deeply there,” Kowalczyk says.
Live will continue performing across North America well into 2026, including a tour of Canada with Big Wreck that begins in February. Links to tickets for all shows can be found at https://livetheband.com
JAN 16 – LAS VEGAS, NV – THE VENETIAN
JAN 17 – LAS VEGAS, NV – THE VENETIAN
FEB 23 – ABBOTSFORD – ABBOTSFORD CENTRE
FEB 24 – KELOWNA – PROSPERA PLACE
FEB 26 – CALGARY – GREY EAGLE
FEB 27 – EDMONTON – ROGERS PLACE
MAR 1 – SASKATOON – SASKTEL CENTRE
MAR 2 – WINNIPEG – CANADA LIFE CENTRE
MAR 5 – HAMILTON – TD COLISEUM
MAR 6 – OTTAWA – CANADIAN TIRE CENTRE
MAR 7 – LONDON – CANADA LIFE PLACE
MAR 9 – OSHAWA – TRIBUTE COMMUNITIES CENTRE
MAR 10 – LAVAL – PLACE BELL
MAR 11 – QUEBEC CITY – VIDEOTRON CENTRE
MAR 13 – MONCTON – AVENIR CENTRE
MAR 14 – HALIFAX – SCOTIABANK CENTRE
To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
