Creed frontman Scott Stapp turned a nostalgic rock set into an unexpected moment of public worship during the band’s headlining appearance at the Velocity Festival at the Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville, Iowa, on Sunday night, September 6, 2026.
The three-day Velocity Festival returned to the iconic cornfield ballpark over Labor Day weekend, bringing a mix of mainstream rock and country acts to the rural venue made famous by the 1989 film. Shinedown headlined Friday, Carrie Underwood led Saturday’s bill, and Creed closed the event on Sunday as part of the band’s reunion touring activity, drawing thousands of attendees from across the Midwest and beyond. Local station KCRG reported that the concerts were expected to attract large crowds and generate roughly $8 million in economic impact for the region.
About 50 minutes into Creed’s Sunday set, just before the band played its song “What’s This Life For,” Stapp stepped away from the usual festival script to speak directly to the crowd about purpose, faith and his own story. In videos and eyewitness accounts shared online, he described how resisting surrender to God had deepened his struggles earlier in life, telling fans that he believes God sometimes allows hardship to bring people to a point of dependence and prayer. He encouraged listeners not to “go on living this life without having faith,” and framed faith as a risk that chooses to believe in what cannot be seen or touched rather than in nothing at all.
Stapp, 53, has been open in past interviews and statements about battles with alcoholism and mental health, and he revisited that part of his story on the Velocity stage. He talked about growing up in church environments where certain struggles were hidden and said those experiences have now become part of his testimony, describing his alcoholism as a “victory” because he believes God brought him through it. He stressed that he remains an imperfect man who still makes mistakes, but said he prays, repents and is striving to live an authentic life rather than chasing “rules and regulations,” urging fans not to think they are “not good enough” for God.
Later in the set, after thanking the crowd and noting that Creed’s public tour dates for the year were essentially finished aside from a few private events, Stapp told the audience he wanted to sing “something real quick” before the band launched into another hit. With no instruments behind him, he sang a verse of “Gratitude,” a worship song written and popularized by contemporary Christian artist Brandon Lake, inviting the crowd to respond in worship and using the refrain “hallelujah” as a simple expression of thanks. Fan-shot footage shows many in the audience singing along, raising hands and cheering as the moment unfolded, before Creed moved straight into its song “Weathered” to continue the rock set.
The choice of “Gratitude” carried an extra layer of connection for Lake, who has long included Creed songs in his own concerts and has spoken publicly about being a fan of the band. During Lake’s 2024 tour, members of Creed surprised him onstage at one of his final shows, joining him to perform their hit “Higher” as Lake sang along, an appearance that circulated widely on social media among both rock and worship music audiences. Stapp’s use of Lake’s worship song at Velocity effectively served as a “return leg” of that interaction, this time with the rock singer borrowing from the worship leader’s catalog in front of a largely secular festival crowd.
Questions about whether Creed should be considered a “Christian band” have followed the group since its late-1990s radio breakthrough, owing to the spiritual themes in songs like “My Own Prison” and “Higher” and Stapp’s vocal references to God in his lyrics. Band members have consistently described Creed as a mainstream rock act rather than a Christian band, and the Velocity setlist remained focused on the group’s familiar hits, even as Stapp carved out space to speak openly about his faith and lead a brief, unaccompanied worship moment in the middle of a 2000s nostalgia festival. With festival organizers already marketing Velocity as an annual, cross-genre event for 2026 and beyond, the Iowa performance adds a new chapter to Stapp’s public testimony and to the ongoing conversation about how explicitly Christian expressions surface in secular concert venues.
Image Credits:
• Creed's concert in the E Center (now known as the Maverik Center) in West Valley City, Utah on October 2, 2009 via Wikimedia Commons by Live Light with usage type - Public Domain
Featured Image Credit:
• Creed's concert in the E Center (now known as the Maverik Center) in West Valley City, Utah on October 2, 2009 via Wikimedia Commons by Live Light with usage type - Public Domain