Summer Unity Tour Ignites a Hot Texas Night

August 18, 2025

*Collective Soul performing in Dallas, Texas. Photo by Craig Youngblood*

Collective Soul • LIVE • Our Lady Peace • Greylin James Rue

Toyota Music Factory – Irving, TX

It was one of those quintessential Texas summer nights—humid, heavy, and buzzing with anticipation. The sun was still hanging low when I arrived at the Toyota Music Factory, and you could already see the lines at the doors. Fans in band tees, some wearing vintage tour shirts from decades past, and others clutching cold drinks to beat the heat. They were laughing, swapping stories, and eagerly waiting for the doors to open for what promised to be an unforgettable evening: the Summer Unity Tour, featuring alternative rock powerhouses Collective Soul and LIVE, with special guests Our Lady Peace and the captivating Greylin James Rue.

When the lights dimmed and the stage came alive, opener Greylin James Rue stepped out and instantly owned the space. With a voice that could both soar and whisper, she pulled the crowd in close, even in the sprawling open-air venue. Songs like It Gets Bad, Happy, and Birth of Venus shimmered in the warm air, her mix of vulnerability and strength whose heartfelt storytelling and soulful vocals set the perfect tone, leaving the audience mesmerized. It was the ideal way to start the night.

Next up, the pride of Canada, Our Lady Peace, hit the stage. From the very first chords of Sound the Alarm, you could feel the electricity shift. Frontman Raine Maida’s voice—haunting, dynamic, and miraculously unchanged by time—cut through the humid night air. Between songs, Maida spoke from the heart about mental health and shared the history of their song Whatever, originally written for WWE wrestler Chris Benoit. The band recently reimagined it as the “Redux” version, and Maida delivered it through a megaphone pressed to his mic, creating an eerie, textured effect. Their set played like a greatest hits mixtape: Superman’s Dead, Innocent, Clumsy, Somewhere Out There, and the rousing closer Starseed. By the end, the crowd was singing in unison, swaying and jumping as if it were 1999 all over again.

Then came LIVE—and Texas showed them some love as they stormed in with Pain Lies on the Riverside, Ed Kowalczyk’s intense, emotive delivery sounding as raw and urgent as it did decades ago. Nearly all of the band members hail from the Lone Star State, and that fact wasn’t lost on the crowd. The set roared through Selling the Drama, All Over You, and Iris, and all delivered with an energy that made it impossible to stand still. With slowing down only to breathe and then going into the haunting The Dolphin’s Cry, couples swayed and friends threw arms over shoulders, transported back to another time. By the time they hit the encore with Turn My Head, I Alone, and the show-stopping Lightning Crashes, the air was thick with both heat and nostalgia.

Finally, Collective Soul took the stage, greeted by deafening cheers. Ed Roland made his grand entrance in a suit, cowboy hat, and walking cane—a mix of southern gentleman and rock ‘n’ roll mischief. Moments later, during the opening song, the cane was tossed to a crew member. After that, Roland was darting across the stage, dancing and grinning like a man who still lives for the music, immediately setting off a wave of nostalgia. Their set was a time machine back to my high school days in the ‘90s, when Shine, December, and The World I Know spilled from car stereos in every parking lot. They balanced new tracks like Mother’s Love and Right as Rain with classics like Precious Declaration, Gel, and the ever-anthemic Where the River Flows. As Run closed out the night, the crowd—still singing, still swaying—seemed reluctant to let the music go.

The Summer Unity Tour wasn’t just a concert; it was a time capsule for those of us who came of age in the ’90s. Hearing these songs live again was like flipping through the soundtrack of our youth. It was a shared memory between strangers and friends, a joyful reminder of how music from decades past still finds new life under the Texas stars. For younger fans, it was a chance to witness the enduring power of music that refuses to fade. Fans danced, sang, and relived their youth, proving that some songs never fade—they just keep finding their way back to us. On that hot Texas night, Collective Soul, LIVE, Our Lady Peace, and Greylin James Rue didn’t just perform—they reminded us why these songs still matter, and why they always will.