Mount Pleasant, MI (July 18,2025) – On a hot Friday evening in Michigan, a slew of rock fans inhabit the hillside of Mount Pleasant, MI for a night of classic rock hits by Def Leppard and Collect Soul.
From arenas around the world to the back yard of the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, Def Leppard brings the party to 13,000 fans in the latest of the Soaring Eagle Outdoor Summer Concert Series. As part of the band’s Summer Tour 2025, Mount Pleasant, MI is the 15th stop on the 27-show schedule lasting thru October. The evening’s festivities are also being labeled as a SOLD-OUT event, with every seat and inch of hillside occupied for this monster of a show.
The show kicks off with the Atlanta based rockers Collective Soul taking the stage first and getting the crowd amped up. They begin their set with the first song “Mother’s Love” off their new double LP Here To Eternity before diving into the classic hits their fans adore them for, “Heavy” and the debut breakout single “Shine.”
The band is led by vocal frontman Ed Roland, and joined by his brother, Dean Roland (rhythm guitar), Jesse Triplett (lead guitar), Will Turpin (bass guitar) and Johnny Rabb (drums). They are spending the summer out on the road with fellow rockers +Live+, Our Lady Peace and Greylin James Roe on the Summer Unity Tour when they were invited to give up a night off to visit Mount Pleasant and open for Def Leppard.
Ed welcomes the crowd and introduces the band, saying “we’re very spiritual cats up here…we are not here to convert you to any religion…thoughts…other than, peace…love…and some rock ‘n’ roll.” As the crowd cheers, the band jumps into the next round of music including “Precious Declaration” from 1997 and another new one, “Keep It On Track” off the current album. Roland claims that he and his brother, along with Triplett, have fathers that were ministers in church. He proclaims that one great thing about church is the sing-along time. He teaches the crowd a humming hymn and gets them to join the band in a sing along.
Collective Soul wraps up their set with a few more #1 singles, “The World I Know,” “December” and “Where The River Flows” before leaving the stage to go back to their regularly scheduled tour. While on stage for their short time, they succeed with pumping up the crowd as most of the concertgoers arrived earlier than normal to catch the opening act and continues to stand and sing most of the songs performed in the set. Ed spends much of his time on stage dancing, interacting with the crowd and sharing show vibes with them, while the rest of the band focuses on the music. With the caliber status of Def Leppard, it’s going to take and require a band to rise to the occasion and lift the roof off the venue as an opening act. Collective Soul far exceeds them measures and show why they are still creating music and gaining fans with a 30+ year career.
Collective Soul setlist:
- Mother’s Love 2. Heavy 3. Shine 4. Precious Declarations 5. Keep It On Track 6. She Said 7. The World I Know 8. December 9. Gel 10. Where The River Flows
With ten minutes to go before Def Leppard jumps on stage, a countdown begins on the large video screens throughout the concert grounds. The random songs on the PA system silences as “Gods Of War,” an instrumental countdown from the 2023 remix album, Drastic Symphonies with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. When the countdown hits zero, the stage goes dark, the crowd gets anxious and loud as they are in sheer excitement for what is about to happen.
Out of nowhere, the prelude intro to “Pyromania” rings through the speakers while the band enters and take their place on stage. Once situated, they come out hammering away hard with “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)” and “Rocket.” As the crowd is still trying to catch their breath from the power-driven start, Def Leppard’s frontman Joe Elliott welcomes the crowd and thanks them for coming as he asks them, “Do You Wanna Get Rocked?” leading to their anthem “Let’s Get Rocked.”
After a trio of hits, “Armageddon It”, “Animal” and “Love Bites” from the 1987 Hysteria album, the band fires off a new single from 2024, “Just Like ’73.”
As Joe slings an acoustic guitar over his shoulder, he states that the band is going to slow it down for a few. He mentions of the band members all having great musical talents and vocals to go along. Elliott introduces each member of the band as they step forward. The rest of the band includes the newest member Vivian Campbell (guitar), Phil Collen (lead guitar), Rick Savage (bass guitar) and Rick Allen (drums). Elliott also announces to the crowd that this evening marks the 47th anniversary of the first gig that he and Savage ever played together. They start the acoustic set with another new song “This Guitar” that appears on the 2022 Diamond Star Halos album. With the band playing acoustic, Allen stands at center stage with Elliott shaking a set of maracas and singing along. The band carries on with “Two Steps Behind” before leaving Elliott alone on stage to finish the song solo.
The band reunites on stage for “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak” while adding “Switch 625”, an instrumental tribute to the late writer and fellow guitarist, Steve Clark. The arrangement closes with a drum solo by Allen. With the video cameras still shining on him, the crowd comes back to life when Allen gives the electronic gibberish countdown “Gunter…Glieben…Glauton…Globen” to the 1983 hit, “Rock Of Ages.” The set concludes with another Pyromania classic, “Photograph.” With loud applause and cheering from the crowd, Def Leppard exits off the stage into darkness.
With deafening chants for the band to return to the stage for one more song, Def Leppard obliges the crowd for an encore. The evening wraps up with two more monster songs, “Hysteria” and “Pour Some Sugar On Me” from the highly acclaimed and awarded album, Hysteria. At the conclusion, the band walks off stage while a video plays of the band’s cover version of Ben E King’s “Stand By Me.”
Def Leppard brings an arsenal of classics with them to easily fill a set list as the hits keep coming since their inception in 1977, although it is centered around the 1983 Pyromania album and the 1987 Hysteria album. The show is designed perfectly with song choice and placement to allow a catch of breath before pounding out another round of great hits in your face.
The Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mount Pleasant, MI is the place to be on Friday night, as 13,000 highly energetic rocking fans come to life. For many in attendance, it gives them a chance to relive their childhood memories of the late 80’s and early 90’s when Def Leppard and Collective Soul were in their prime and the most successful. Tonight’s show makes everyone feel young again, back to when life was fun and innocent. One highlight to see at this evening’s show is the younger crowd that attended and knew songs complete, word for word. Just another example of great music surviving the test of time.
Def Leppard setlist:
- Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop) 2. Rocket 3. Let’s Get Rocked 4. Foolin’ 5. Armageddon It 6. Animal 7. Love Bites 8. Just Like ’73 9. Let It Go 10. Die Hard The Hunter 11. This Guitar 12. Two Steps Behind 13. Bringin’ On The Heartbreak 14. Switch 625 15. Rock Of Ages 16. Photograph Encore: 17. Hysteria 18. Pour Some Sugar On Me
Words by: Leslie Reasoner
Photos by: John Reasoner
Def Leppard
Collective Soul
Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort