Creed Brings the Summer of ’99 Tour to Lexington, Kentucky’s Rupp Arena [Photos]

The sold-out crowd gathered in Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, for a night that took people back to 1999. The excitement was palpable, and it only built as the night went on. Concertgoers were in for a night filled with music as three bands were going to take the stage: Mammoth, Daughtry, and the headliner, Creed.

Mammoth took the stage to an energized crowd. Mammoth is a band that is fronted by Wolfgang Van Halen, the late Eddie Van Halen’s son. Mammoth filled their set with high-energy guitars, driving drums, and catchy lyrics. They started their set with “Another Celebration at the End of the World.” They then debuted a new song titled “The Spell.” Their set moved from one driving song to another. While most seemed to be newcomers to this artist, by the time they closed their set with the aptly named song, “Take a Bow.”

The crowd was still filling the arena as the time ticked away until the next band. The lights dimmed ten minutes before 8 pm, and Daughtry took the stage. Frontman Chris Daughtry has a commanding presence that has been cultivated by two decades of experience. They started with a bang with “The Reckoning” off their most recent album by the same name. They kept the energy up, going from “Changes Are Coming” to the Journey cover of “Separate Ways.”

They mixed newer tracks like their newest release, “The Day I Die,” back to where it started in 2006 with “Over You.” They dedicated “Away from the Sun” by Three Doors Down to Brad Arnold of Three Doors Down. Three Doors Down was originally supposed to be on the “Summer of ’99 Tour” but had to pull out after Arnold announced his battle with cancer. They took the tempo down when they performed the popular song “Home,” where the arena was lit up with cellphone lights. The energy went back up with the high-octane anthems “The Dam” and “Heavy is the Crown.” They threw it back to 2006 with the atmospheric “It’s Not Over.” They ended with the hard-hitting “Artificial.”

The main event had arrived. The arena was pulsating with energy as the crowd was waiting for the main event, Creed. The lights dimmed at 9:15 pm, and Creed took the stage with their pyro-enhanced song, “Bullets.” The hits kept coming with “Torn” and “Are You Ready.” They also dedicated a song to Brad Arnold, “Never Die,” talking about his fight to live. Scott Stapp guided the audience through life experiences and led them to feel the emotions of the songs, like “My Own Prison,” and again with “Say I.”

The melodic and emphatic music continued, and Stapp flowed from song to song in an almost meditative way, prefacing “Faceless Man” in the most metaphoric sense. They spoke to those who were dealing with suicide or suffering with “What is this Life For?” and urged people to keep fighting and to never give up. They ended with fan favourites “With Arms Wide Open” and another pyro-filled anthem, “Higher.” The fans wanted more, and the nostalgic night ended with the encores “One Last Breath” and “My Sacrifice.” The enthusiasm of the crowd and the stage presence of these bands show that rock is alive and well and that, just maybe, a trip down memory lane every so often is needed.

Creed (w/ Daughtry & Mammoth) @ Rupp Arena (Lexington, KY) on July 9th, 2025

75 photos