Scott Stapp makes a stop at Tupelo Music Hall in Derry, NH for an intimate acoustic performance.
Scott Stapp, former lead vocalist of Creed, brought his powerhouse vocals to Tupelo Music Hall for an acoustic performance to a room full of thrilled fans. It was a beautiful summer New Hampshire evening when fans started walking into Tupelo Music Hall to have a drink and a bite to eat before the show was to start. Excited fans were eagerly awaiting the performance. As they stood at pub style tables in the lobby, people chatted about their excitement for the show.
Upon entering the music hall, the stage was set for an acoustic performance with stools and microphones set up. Behind the setup was a screen with Stapp’s logo that was lit up. Promptly, at 8pm, the lights went down indicating that the performance was about to start. Fans quickly found their seats. As Stapp walked onto the stage, he was met with thunderous applause from the fans in attendance. The first song for the evening was “Are You Ready” (Creed). Stapp is a Grammy award nominee and winning artist for his work on “With Arms Wide Open.” Stapp introduced the guitarists that were on stage with him, Yiannis Papadopoulos and Luke Andrews. Both are on tour currently with Stapp. Stapp spoke of the current tour which is mainly on the weekends, which affords him the ability to stay home with his children during the week which brings him happiness.
Over the course of the evening, Stapp played a 13-song set with dialogue between most of the songs in which he told stories about his life and times with Creed, songwriting, and battles that he faced with addiction. These anecdotes provided some thoughtful reflection on the life that Stapp was leading and weaved a story over the course of the night. Of the songs performed, 12 were songs that were originally performed when Stapp was with Creed. Songs included “Don’t Stop Dancing” and “One,” and “Higher,” which were all met with cheers from the crowd.
Stapp has also released three solo albums, with the latest album being The Space Between The Shadows,released in 2019. On this evening, Stapp performed the song “Purpose for Pain,” from this latest album. During one of his interludes, Stapp spoke of all of us being survivors and that “what this life is for, is love.” He also spoke of how life has no rule book as to how to live our lives. These statements really seemed to resonate with the crowd as they hooted and cheered their agreement. Stapp then went into the song, “What’s This Life For,” as the crowd continued to cheer.
As he introduced the next song, he told a personal story involving his son and his nephew appearing to make fun of his voice while riding in the car. His son then said that he was not making fun of him but just trying to copy Stapp’s distinctive sound in the song. This eventually turned into memes and TikTok videos poking fun at Stapp. Stapp takes this in stride as he laughs about it. The next song, of course is “With Arms Wide Open.” A song about being a father for the first time. The show included a two-song encore which concluded with the hit, “My Sacrifice.” All and all, the night was filled with hit after hit with the crowd was frequently standing and singing along. Everyone left with happy with the memories that they will treasure from this intimate evening with Scott Stapp.
