Most reasonable concert goers can and recently have persevered through long stretches without visits from their favorite artists.

But some musicians are simply so terrific and talented and their music so nurturing that even the most patient of fans become antsy in their extended absence.

And after all, it has been more than four years since Michael Nau last embarked on a tour of familiar towns scattered about the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast — his last scoot through the region was in the fall of 2019, just a few months before the onset of the pandemic.

Though in that time he’s been busy in the studio and even on the road with other outfits, fans in DC were rightfully thrilled for the chance to spend a rare evening with Michael and his band at The Atlantis the night of March 6.

It was the group’s first together on a nine-show run that sees the adored singer-songwriter out playing small club shows in promotion of his latest album, Accompany, which released in December through Karma Chief Records.

Listen to Michael Nau’s newest solo album, Accompany, via Spotify: 

Nau hails from Cumberland and began playing guitar at a young age. He was the leader of the Baltimore-based Page France and later Cotton Jones, and both outfits featured him alongside Whitney McGraw, now his wife, and a rotating cast of musicians. Their recordings as these two bands are now considered to be some of the most important endeavors in indie folk, with enthusiastic praise echoing 15 years later for a welcomed anniversary re-release of the Cotton Jones premiere.

By the mid 2010s, Michael had begun recording under his own name, and it didn’t take long for him to establish himself as a transfixing visionary. He kneads imagination and emotion into curative and timeless compositions that drift, groove and continue blurring the lines between what some call psychedelic folk, dream pop, and other genres.

With his and other band members’ families on hand at The Atlantis, Michael mesmerized and gratified by pulling tunes mostly from Accompany, an album that essentially came at the request of esteemed Richmond studio owner Adrian Olsen, who produced it.

Nau was joined last week in DC by an impressively talented and accomplished pack of pals, including numerous who currently steer their own successful solo careers. He was accompanied by Mat Davidson, who records and performs as Twain, and Seth Kauffman, also known as Floating Action and the other half of Nau’s most recent project, Dream Sitch; the pair has released two albums since 2020.

Along with Davidson on pedal steel and electric and Kauffman on drums, Nau’s current touring squad includes additional longtime collaborators Ken Woodward on bass and Will Brown on keys. Evan apRoberts, who opened the show as Breezers, joined the headlining set with his electric to round out the group.

Though Michael’s not played many of his own shows lately, he’s been spotted out on other tours, including a recent jaunt with Scott McMicken and THE-EVER-EXPANDING. Clearly coming into his own as a hypnotic and healing vocalist, Nau last week delivered remarkable takes on new numbers like “Comes To Pour,” “Relearn to Boogie,” and the album’s title track.

A special occasion indeed, Michael and Whitney’s son Oliver appeared on stage to play the saxophone more than once, providing the critical tone to moody pieces like “Shapeshifting” from the latest record and “Light That Ever” from 2017’s Some Twist. And as some had surely hoped, the band served up a sample of Dream Sitch in the form of “Sideways,” a longing single from the 2023 album Long Rattle.

Listen to Michael Nau and Seth Kauffman as Dream Sitch on the 2023 album Long Rattle via Spotify:

Michael said in a recent interview that he now cherishes the live performance and the improvisation from show to show, and this sentiment was reciprocated by those who packed into DC’s shiniest new venue last week.

Understanding that Nau and his crew might not make it back through for some time, some folks in attendance planned to join them again the following night: a stop at Metro Gallery in the Charm City.

Setlist

Comes To Pour
Painting A Wall
I Root
Shiftshaping
Maralou
Hoops
Love Survive
Sideways
Wonder
On Ice
Relearn To Boogie
And So On
Light That Ever
Accompaniment

Encore
Good Thing

Below are hand-rolled, home-developed, home-scanned 35mm film shots of Michael Nau and his band along with the opening act, Breezers, performing at The Atlantis in Washington DC the night of March 6, 2023. All photos copyright and courtesy of Casey Ryan Vock.

Michael Nau and his band

Breezers