Originally hailed as heroes of the ’90s alt-country scene, My Morning Jacket has, like their peers in Wilco, evolved into something very different and much more expansive. In their recent performance at The Anthem, they showed just how far they’ve come.
MMJ and Wilco don’t sound alike, and they draw on some very different influences, but the shape of their careers is similar. I noted above how both bands came out of the alt-country scene but grew beyond that; in MMJ’s case, they moved toward more psychedelic, even prog-influenced hard rock. For both, there was inflection point where they made this transition: Wilco with Being There, MMJ with Z. Both are led by a dominant singer-songwriter, Wilco in Jeff Tweedy and MMJ in Jim James. Like Tweedy, James has also released solo albums and side projects, like Monsters of Folk. (MMJ’s set on at The Anthem on Oct. 8 began with one of Jame’s solo tunes, “State of the Art (AEIOU).”) And both bands have managed to build a substantial and loyal following despite virtually no exposure on radio. While I’d hesitate to call either a jam band, both have a tendency to stretch out songs and show off their musicianship in their live sets; thus, it made sense that the instrumental psychedelic funk band BALTHVS (whose sound is similar to Khruangbin) opened the show.
Back in March, MMJ released their latest album, is. It marked the first time James hasn’t produced or co-produced one of their albums, turning the helm over to Brendan O’Brien. The set had several cuts from the album — “Die for It,” “Everyday Magic,” “Squid Ink,” and “I Can Hear You Love” — but they didn’t dominate. Circuital — with the title cut, “Slow Slow Tune,” and “Victory Dance” — and Z — with “Lay Low,” “Wordless Chorus,” and “Off The Record” — got almost as much love.
Watch the official music video for “Off the Record” by My Morning Jacket on YouTube:
Also, My Morning Jacket also went back to some of the earlier country-inflected material, playing “The Bear” from their 1999 debut, The Tennessee Fire, “Phone Went West” their 2001 follow-up, At Dawn, and two tracks from 2003’s It Still Moves: “Golden” and “One Big Holiday.” The set was rounded with songs from Evil Urges (the title track and “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2”), their self-titled album from 2021 (“I Never Could Get Enough” and “Least Expected”), and The Waterfall and The Waterfall II (“Hillside Song” and “Feel You,” respectively.) The appearance of “Hillside Song” in the encore was the first time the song has made into their live set in a decade.
The overall effect of the show was psychedelic, an effect that was amplified by the use of moody strobe lights. The Anthem was packed, but, as hard as MMJ rocks, the atmosphere was chill and laidback. It was a night of great music with equally great vibes by one of America’s great rock bands.
Here are some photos of My Morning Jacket performing live at The Anthem on Oct. 8, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Kyle Gustafson.
