My Morning Jacket – Armory – Minneapolis MN – April 20th 2025

My Morning Jacket live at the Armory in Minneapolis Minnesota on April 20th 2025 with special guests Grace Cummings.

Review and photos by Kyle Hansen

​Grace Cummings walked onto the stage at The Armory with little fanfare but immediate presence. Opening for My Morning Jacket, she didn’t try to compete with the scale of the venue or the anticipation for the headliners—instead, she let her voice command the room. And command it did.

Armed with just an acoustic guitar and a small backing band, Cummings delivered a set that felt more like an invocation than a performance. Her voice, raw and operatic, soared through the high ceilings of The Armory, cutting through the crowd’s chatter and drawing in even those unfamiliar with her work. Her sound—a blend of folk, blues, and something almost theatrical—can feel jarring at first, but once you’re in her world, it’s difficult to leave.

Highlights included a wrenching version of “Heaven” and a quietly furious “Freak,” both from her 2022 album Storm Queen. There was a new song in the setlist, untitled and unreleased, with lyrics that hinted at grief and resilience, delivered with her usual emotional heft. She didn’t say much between songs, but when she did, it was with dry humor and surprising warmth.

Though a few in the crowd were clearly just waiting for the headliner, by the end of her 35-minute set, most were transfixed—some stunned, some visibly moved. It wasn’t the kind of performance that demands applause; it demanded silence, attention, and maybe a bit of surrender.

Grace Cummings may not be a household name, but on nights like this, it’s clear she doesn’t need to be. She doesn’t ask for your admiration—she earns it, quietly and completely.

By the time My Morning Jacket took the stage at The Armory, the air was thick with anticipation. Following a hauntingly intimate set from opener Grace Cummings, the Kentucky rock veterans launched into a two-hour set that felt less like a concert and more like a full-body baptism in sound.

Opening with “Wordless Chorus,” the band immediately tapped into their signature blend of reverb-soaked psychedelia and jam-band expansiveness. Frontman Jim James, ever the mystical figure, floated between falsetto highs and fuzzed-out guitar solos with effortless control. The light show was dazzling but never distracting—used to paint mood rather than overpower it.

The band leaned heavily into material from their new album is, released just weeks prior. Songs like “Honest Man” and “Time Waited” slotted seamlessly alongside older favorites, proving that their new material doesn’t just hold up—it elevates. But it was the classics that brought the crowd into full communion: “Gideon” turned into a near-religious chant, and “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2” swelled into a wall of sound that seemed to shake the steel bones of the venue.

Perhaps the most moving moment of the night came during “Purple Rain” with Grace Cummings, stretched into a ten-minute epic that moved from grief to catharsis and back again. The crowd—eyes closed, arms raised—felt less like an audience and more like a congregation.

If there was one takeaway from the night, it’s that My Morning Jacket remains one of the most dynamic and sincere live bands in American rock. They don’t just play their songs—they inhabit them, and invite you to do the same.