Godsmack at White River: After the Show

Robert and Michele Forto recap Godsmack, Stone Temple Pilots, and Dorothy at White River Amphitheater in Auburn, Washington, on September 24, 2026. Before the show, they asked whether this night would sit next to Red Rocks 2000 or just be another stamp. After almost two hours of Godsmack, they have an answer. Dorothy opened for 45 minutes and started the night instead of holding space. Stone Temple Pilots played the hits. Jeff Gutt did the job. He does not have Scott Weiland’s swagger. The songs still work. The danger does not. Godsmack opened with Surrender and stayed locked in. Sully Erna and Robbie Merrill are still the spine. Sam Koltun and Mike Mangini did not look like hired guns. Sam’s stage presence and the Joe Walsh cover of Rocky Mountain Way were a mid-set highlight. The drum battle still owned the room. Voodoo still owned the room. Under Your Scars still stopped a packed amphitheater, this time acoustic, Sully and Sam, not the piano version. They talk about the pawn-shop Strat Sully used to write the first album, the kids Sully pulled onstage, including a three-year-old with a Barbie, the phones-down speech, and Sully saying new music is coming in 2027. This was not a festival slice. It was Dorothy, STP, then a headliner set. White River now sits on the same list as Louder Than Life, Aftershock, Rockville, Anchorage, and that first Red Rocks birthday night in 2000. 1,463 air miles. Another 20 on the ground. Two hours to the hotel after. Still worth it. Next stop: Foo Fighters at Allegiant Stadium. Subscribe to Rock n Coasters. Subscriber extras are on FirstPaw+ in Apple Podcasts.