The members of Creed hadn’t toured together in nearly 12 years before launching the Summer of ’99 Tour, as they’re billing their return from a second hiatus, in July.

And seeing Scott Stapp seize the platform that fronting Creed affords him to connect with 20,000 fans in a sold-out Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix, you kind of had to wonder how the man could go more than 11 years without experiencing what he was clearly feeling in the more impassioned moments of that set.

The spiritual message the singer delivered in Phoenix on Wednesday, Sept. 4, was every bit as heavy as the music, which singer Brad Arnold of 3 Doors Down had promised was about to burn our faces off (although it should be noted that the nonstop pyro may have done a more effective job of burning faces off).

Creed setlist 2024: All the Summer of '99 Tour songs they did in Phoenix

Scott Stapp shared the story behind 'My Own Prison'

After setting the tone for Creed's performance with crowd-pleasing versions of “Bullets” and “Torn,” Stapp took a moment from bringing the drama with his reunited bandmates to address the crowd, the first of many speeches he would give before the night was through.

“You guys are ready to go on a trip with me?,” he asked by way of introducing “Are You Ready?”

“We’re about to take you through this journey of the human experience as it manifests in the physical form in reality and as a spiritual being. Are you ready? Because once your eyes are open, my friend, there’s no turning back.”

Then he shouted “I said ‘Are you ready?!’” in a preacher voice to rival Jim Morrison’s fevered testifying on “The Soft Parade.”

It may have felt like he did as much preaching as singing. But those sermons only added to the impact of the songs, providing context while allowing fans a window into what the lyricist was feeling when he wrote those songs.

He talked about the dreams we had as children “before the world came in and robbed us of those myths and that connection to the supernatural that was so pure and so mystical” to explain the idea behind “Never Die.”

He talked about finding ourselves in “prisons of our own making” and those of circumstance and how “sometimes the only way you can reconnect with your creator is if you’re on your back with nowhere else to look” to set up “My Own Prison.”

Stapp called for unity and addressed school shootings

Stapp got political before the night was through, calling for unity in these divisive times while introducing “One.”

“I feel like we live in a country that’s the most divided it has ever been, ever,” he said. “And I want you to realize something. They want you that way. They want us that way, my friends. Think about it. When you’re separated, you’re easily controlled."

He also weighed in on the latest school shooting in Georgia and the “epidemic” of suicide and murder to set up “What’s This Life For,” a 1998 single “inspired by someone who took their own life very young" that topped the mainstream rock charts, Creed's first No. 1 song.

Stapp remains one of the more dramatic post-grunge voices

As a singer, Stapp remains one of the more dramatic voices of the post-grunge era, a time of very heavy drama when most singers topping the charts on rock radio had a tendency to feel like they were doing all they could to sound more serious than Eddie Vedder.

Stapp’s delivery on “Faceless Man,” with its shouts of “Never go away! Never! Never!” felt especially impassioned.

But every song he sang was done with nothing less than pure conviction in a set whose most compelling highlights included calling cards as well-received as “My Own Prison,” “Higher” and “With Arms Wide Open,” the emotional ballad that took Creed to the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 at a time when rock songs rarely scaled that peak.

“We’ve been so blessed with this next song,” Stapp said to introduce “With Arms Wide Open.”

“It’s brought fathers to their sons and fathers to their daughters, mothers to their sons and mothers to their daughters, grandparents to their grandchildren. It’s all about making the next generation better, not passing down generational curses.”

It was all very inspiring, in part because he put it out there with such sincerity.

There’s more to Creed, of course, than Stapp, although he is a charismatic presence that the spotlight clearly favors.

As impassioned as his vocals were throughout the set, the playing of his bandmates — from guitarists Mark Tremonti and Eric Friedman to bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips — more than rose to the occasion, underscoring the emotional intensity of his delivery every step of the way, from the headbanging riffing of “Bullets” to a version of “Higher” that soared as high as promised.

Tremonti, in particular, exuded an easy charisma that rivaled Stapp's own showmanship.

Finger Eleven opened for Creed with 'One Thing'

Hours earlier, Finger Eleven slipped snippets of Jim Croce’s “Operator," the Genesis hit “That’s All” and AC/DC’s “Back in Black” into their biggest U.S. hits, “One Thing” and “Paralyzer,” both of which inspired rousing singalongs, the perfect end to a crowd-pleasing opening set.

It didn’t hurt that vocalist Scott Anderson is so damn likable on stage.

3 Doors Down opened for Creed with 'Kryptonite'

Brad Arnold was nearing the end of a ballad-heavy set of heavy ballads at the helm of 3 Doors Down when he shared a heartfelt speech about his relationship with Jesus Christ and how it helped him through his feelings of self-doubt.

“We live in a world that we’re surrounded by voices and images that show us and tell us and stick it down our throats that we’ll never be enough,” he said.

“We’re told that all the time. And my friends, I want to tell you from the bottom of my heart, that is a lie from the pit of hell. Because you are absolutely enough, you will always be enough. And you’ll always be enough for one reason and one reason alone. And that’s because Jesus Christ loves you.”

That's when he asked the crowd to shout along as he proclaimed, “I am! The one! That Jesus loves!”

And with that, the stage was set for a heartfelt “Away From the Sun," which proved to be a highlight of a set that featured such highlights as “It’s Not My Time,” “Here Without You” and “Kryptonite.”

Creed setlist 2024: All the songs they played in Phoenix

Here’s every song Creed played on the Summer of '99 Tour at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix on Wednesday, Sept. 4.

• “Bullets”

• “Torn”

• “Are You Ready?”

• “Never Die”

• “My Own Prison”

• “Weathered”

• “What If”

• “Say I”

• “Faceless Man”

• “One”

• “What's This Life For”

• “With Arms Wide Open”

• “Higher”

Encore

• “One Last Breath”

• “My Sacrifice”

3 Doors Down setlist 2024

Here’s every song 3 Doors Down played at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix on Wednesday, Sept. 4.

• “Train”

• “It’s Not My Time”

• “Loser”

• “Duck and Run”

• “Here Without You”

• “Time of My Life”

• “Away From the Sun”

• “The Road I’m On”

• “Never Look Down”

• “Let Me Go”

• “Landing in London”

• “Kryptonite”

• “When I’m Gone”

Finger Eleven setlist 2024

Here’s every song Finger Eleven played at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix on Wednesday, Sept. 4.

• “Above”

• “First Time”

• “Quicksand”

• “Together Right”

• “Adrenaline”

• “One Thing”

• “That’s All”/“Paralyzer”

Ed has covered pop music for The Republic since 2007, reviewing festivals and concerts, interviewing legends, covering the local scene and more. He did the same in Pittsburgh for more than a decade. Follow him on X and Instagram @edmasley and on Facebook as Ed Masley. Email him at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Creed tour 2024: Scott Stapp takes fans on a spiritual trip