On a crisp Atlanta evening, the Fox Theatre’s gilded walls became a cathedral for sound as My Morning Jacket celebrated the 20th anniversary of their Z album. The venue, a landmark and Southern gem with its star-lit ceiling and Moorish architecture, seemed the perfect setting for such a milestone. Timeless, ornate, and deeply steeped in musical memories fans filled the room with eager anticipation, a shared reverence for a record that had shaped not just the band’s trajectory but the lives of so many who had found pieces of themselves intertwined into each and every song.
When the lights dimmed and the dark silhouettes of the band moved across the stage, the first notes of “Half a Lifetime” rang out and the whole room released a collective roar of excitement. The band eased into the night with the confidence of a group celebrating twenty years of an album, and from that moment on, they had the crowd in the palm of their hand. “Circuital” seemed to lift the audience out of their seats as they moved and danced as one collective. The band had a few surprises up their sleeve, reaching back another twenty years to 1985 with an unbelievable cover of Tears for Fears’ “Head Over Heels” a fitting way to launch into their celebration of Z.
When they dove into Z, you could feel the memories of the last two decades wash over the theater as the band played like they were rediscovering the magic of making a timeless album right there with us. Playing the record in its entirety, they started with “Wordless Chorus,” a clear high point of the night. Jim James’ voice floated over the crowd, making it feel as though we were all recording this for the first time. The music had a warmth to it — the kind that makes the hairs on your arms stand up. “It Beats for You,” “Gideon,” “What a Wonderful Man” track by track, we were taken on a journey through the birth of the album we were all there to celebrate. By the time “Dondante” closed the album, the Fox was glowing with that rare energy you only find in the middle of a truly great show, one that would live on forever in the hearts and minds of everyone in attendance. It was a night where everyone in the room felt as if they were part of the legacy of My Morning Jacket.
GALLERY: My Morning Jacket at Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia (November 1, 2025)
