AJR’s Summer in the Sky Tour recently rolled through Merriweather Post Pavilion, bringing vivacity, theatrics, and earworms aplenty to share with everyone who gathered on the lawn and under the pavilion. While the ambiance of Columbia, Maryland’s largest venue is impossible to deny, AJR showed up to bring the mood even higher. And they meant it — the audience erupted as the set opened up with “Way Less Sad.”
As expected, an AJR show is more than just a concert, it’s an immersive experience allowing anyone and everyone to sing, sway, jump, and emote in whatever way the music guides them. By the third song of the set, “Yes I’m A Mess,” even lead singer Jack Met couldn’t resist interacting with the band’s own screen projections.
Jack’s frenetic energy was a bit of a contrast to his brother Ryan’s at Merriweather Post Pavilion on August 10. In a way, the energy on stage was representative of the energy of all the fans in attendance. Much like Ryan, some were simply lost in the groove. Like Jack, some on the lawn had more variable movements. Whether band member or concertgoer, all involved were connected to the music and vibing in their own way.
By the time AJR played “The Good Part,” the obligatory beachballs began to make their way through the lawn at Merriweather. One can usually gauge the vibes of a concert and tightness of a band by the number of beachballs being passed around. The crowd was fully invested in the AJR experience and their handclaps echoed through the woods during the instrumental break that winds the song down.
With their next EP, What No One’s Thinking, due out on August 29, AJR delighted their fans with the new track “Betty.”
Watch the official music video for “Betty” by AJR on YouTube:
Throughout their performance of “100 Bad Days” both drummer Chris Berry and trumpeter Arnetta Johnson stayed locked into the groove. Somehow the entire band managed to make their way to a row of seats near the back of the pavilion where they got comfortable and played a couple of songs from out in the audience before returning to the stage.
The band closed out the show with a cameo from another band with a local connection. The Golden Ram Marching Band from Randallstown High School joined AJR for “Weak” by performing the song while marching on the stage and down the pavilion stairs. Ending the show with a 61-person marching ensemble, while unexpected, isn’t completely unimaginable. It is imaginable and AJR did it.
Here are some photos of AJR performing live at Merriweather Post Pavilion on August 10, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Rashad Polk.
