Goodbye 2024, Hello 2025

It’s day one of a new year, and while I am not known for preaching positivity, I will say that we all have a chance to make 2025 great.

I don’t know how y’all fared in 2024, but it wasn’t such a terrible year for me. I got to see and meet Danny Worsnop (Asking Alexandria/We Are Harlot) with my mom, and she amused him so much that he told a story about her on Facebook. My dad took me to the Marilyn Manson/Five Finger Death Punch tour for my birthday. I have been a fan of Manson for almost 25 years, and it was my first time seeing him. As an added bonus, The Funeral Portrait opened the night (and they were phenomenal). And while we’re on the subject of concerts, I finally made it to the promised land: one of my best friends took me to see Creed for Christmas! I missed them during their heyday – I was, like, 10 – and that always depressed me. I was so excited about their reunion, and they were worth waiting for. Mammoth WVH and 3 Doors Down were the openers, and both bands kicked ass!

On a personal note, my best friend moved back to Alabama! I had missed her and her family terribly. I gained self-confidence this year. My friends and coworkers helped immensely with that challenge. I like myself better at 37 than I did at 17.

The negatives for 2024 were huge, I will admit. We lost my paternal grandmother in October. She was my last grandparent, the one I spent the most time with and knew the best, so when I say that it’s been a struggle… More than my own grief, I’ve been very concerned about my dad. It’s only been two years since his youngest brother passed. Now it’s just him and my uncle Chris. If you could spare a thought for them, that would be lovely.

I’m also stuck in a job that doesn’t make me happy, but I plan on changing that as soon as possible. I guess that’s a minor complaint overall, though it does impact me almost daily. Still, I’m thinking positive! I will find something better in 2025!

Happy New Year to all my readers/followers! I hope this January 1st finds you well. Drop me a comment and tell me a good thing about your 2024, or tell me what you’re looking forward to in 2025.

Here are a few pictures from the past 12 months.

Danny Worsnop
Jericho Rose
Me and Dad at the Marilyn Manson show
Birthday!
Halloween with the bestest and her family 🎃
With Jesse at the Creed show 🤘🏻
Creed at State Farm Arena 🔥
Christmas 🎅🏻

Creed: Summer of ’99 Tour

Love ’em or hate ’em, you can’t deny we’ve all been talking about Creed since they announced their reunion on the Summer of ’99 cruise. The band then shared dates for a 40-city North American tour, called – you guessed it – the “Summer of ’99 Tour.”

This summer run will feature Finger Eleven every night, as well as direct support from 3 Doors Down at the majority of the shows. Daughtry, Switchfoot, Tonic, and Big Wreck will be making appearances on select dates.

Creed and various others who saw their heyday in the late 90s and early 00s will also be performing at the “Summer of ’99 and Beyond” festival, right in the middle of this tour. This festival will take place August 31st in San Bernardino and will welcome such performers as 3 Doors Down, Daughtry, Finger Eleven, Fuel, Vertical Horizon, and The Verve Pipe.

You can grab tickets for the tour, festival, and Mark Tremonti’s guitar clinics at creed.com!

  • 7/17 – Green Bay, WI – Resch Center&#
  • 7/19 – Monticello, IA – Great Jones County Fair&#
  • 7/20 – Walker, MN – Moondance Events&#
  • 7/23 – Simpsonville, SC – CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park&#
  • 7/24 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion+#
  • 7/26 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live+#
  • 7/27 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach+#
  • 7/30 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage*#
  • 7/31 – Detroit, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre+#
  • 8/2 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center+#
  • 8/3 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake+#
  • 8/6 – Bridgeport, CT – Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater^#
  • 8/7 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center+#
  • 8/9 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre+#
  • 8/10 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center+#
  • 8/13 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater^#
  • 8/14 – Pelham, AL – Oak Mountain Amphitheatre+#
  • 8/16 – Tinley Park, IL – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre+#
  • 8/17 – Welch, MN – Treasure Island Amphitheater+#
  • 8/20 – Gilford, NH – Bank of NH Pavilion West (Main) Entrance^#
  • 8/21 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center+#
  • 8/23 – Hershey, PA – HersheyPark Stadium+#
  • 8/24 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center+#
  • 8/31 – San Bernardino, CA – Summer of ’99 and Beyond Festival 2024
  • 9/1 – Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheatre+#
  • 9/4 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre+#
  • 9/6 – West Valley City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre+#
  • 9/7 – Greenwood Village, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre+#
  • 9/10 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP$#
  • 9/11 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion+#
  • 9/13 – San Antonio, TX – Frost Bank Center+#
  • 9/14 – Houston, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion+#
  • 9/16 – Brandon, MS – Brandon Amphitheater$#
  • 9/18 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek+#
  • 9/20 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre+#
  • 9/21 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre+#
  • 9/24 – Jacksonville, FL – Daily’s Place^#
  • 9/25 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre+#
  • 9/27 – Darien, NY – Darien Lakes Amphitheater+#
  • 9/28 – Atlantic City, NJ – Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena+#

& w/Switchfoot

* w/Big Wreck

$ w/Daughtry

^ w/Tonic

+ w/3 Doors Down

# w/Finger Eleven

25 Years in the Making…

Hello, all, and welcome to my new subscribers! One thing you will quickly come to realize is that I always say I’m going to do regular life updates here, then I never do. I guess I just don’t think I’m that interesting, so I never do personal posts unless something exciting is going on.

Which means…

Something exciting is going on!!!!

2024 is shaping up to be a year of awesome tours, whatever your preference may be. For me, this is looking to be the year of nostalgia.

First, I posted on Facebook, semi-joking about driving up to Nashville for Creed and my friend from Georgia was like “Or I can take you to the show in Atlanta.” So, I’ll be seeing 3 Doors Down, Mammoth WVH, and Creed in December.

Then, last week, I reminded my dad about a promise he made in 2016. He said if Marilyn Manson came close and I bought the tickets, he’d get me to the show. Well, that year Manson actually played in Birmingham, but I chose not to go (long story). Now, however, Manson will be in Nashville four days after my birthday – and, much to my delight, Dad’s promise still stands!

Y’all have to understand why seeing Marilyn Manson is such a big deal for me. I have been a fan for 25 years and I have never managed to attend one of his concerts. I was too young when my brother introduced me to his music, and soon after, Manson was banned from Birmingham. (It wasn’t a statewide ban, but seriously, where else in Alabama would he play?) As stated, he was able to book shows in Birmingham in 2016 and 2017, but circumstances were against me and I had to skip them.

Finally. Finally, I will be seeing Marilyn Manson. And I. Can’t. Fucking. Wait.

My dad regrets that promise. Lol. He’s not a Manson fan. He doesn’t hate him or anything, he just thinks he’s boring. My mom would probably enjoy the show, but unfortunately, she started having seizures in December 2022. She hasn’t been officially diagnosed with anything yet, and she has been to a concert without incident since then, so it would probably be okay. However, when she asked her neurologist, she was advised against live shows. And honestly, I would never want to put her through that. Neither of us was thinking when we went to see Shinedown. Or, more accurately, I was under the impression she hadn’t had a seizure since January and the concert was in April. She was put on a fairly high dosage of an anticonvulsant at the end of last year and seems to have things under control, but again, I will do everything in my power not to put her in a situation that triggers a seizure. I’ve held her hand through a few, and it’s scary.

Anyway. That’s my big news. As for the rest of my life… I work and come home. Haha! Y’all know how it is.

I hope this post finds all of you well, and I hope positive things are happening for you in 2024!!!!!

P.S. – Manson looks good again! Well. He looks good for him.

Song of the Day — Creed: “What If”

I’m sure this has been my song of the day before. Not only is “What If” my favorite Creed song, it’s also on the Scream 3 soundtrack – and y’all know I love those movies! This is also my favorite Creed video for a few reasons, one of which is a peek at Mark Tremonti’s abs. Lol.

Tremonti Tuesday (3/1/22)

This likely won’t be a weekly thing, because I doubt I’ll remember to post every Tuesday, but today I feel like sharing a few pictures of my favorite singer/songwriter/guitarist/artist/all-around genuine human being.

That time he let me put a filter on him (2019)
Mark with my parents (2017)
I took this one in February 2020
The cutest picture in existence

Let’s Talk Covers (Pt. 25)

1. Creed: “Riders on the Storm” (The Doors cover)

2. Metallica: “Whiskey in the Jar” (The Dubliners cover)

3. Kittie: “Run Like Hell” (Pink Floyd cover)

https://youtu.be/JBtarnrlXIE

Weekly Focus: Projected, Day Seven

 

Projected — “Closure,” from the album Human (2012).

By the way, Projected has a new album being released later this year entitled Ignite My Insanity. If you’re interested, hit up the band’s Twitter or Instagram for the link to preorder the record. 🙂