Photo Credit: Stephen Bloch
Last Thursday, One Big Holiday Weekend, the destination concert event hosted by My Morning Jacket, began in Riviera Maya, Mexico. During the multi-day event, the host band and their roster of added talent treated attendees to special music moments, including bust-outs of material that had previously collected dust, debuts, and guest appearances.
The first of three festival sets from MMJ was performed on April 4 and included a packed 17-song main frame that soared from the start with the band’s namesake festival number, “One Big Holiday.” Reaching deep into their archive, the band revived “How Could I Know” for the first time since Oct. 21, 2010. Sticking with the motif, they continued dusting off material, including a cover of The Band’s “It Makes No Difference,” last played on Dec. 28, 2012.
Friday, April 5, featured MMJ’s second festival slot. Jim James led the group through a debut cover of Radiohead’s “The National Anthem,” which fused with “End of Run Thru.” Continuing to add first-time plays to their repertoire, the band played through Bob Marley & The Wailers’ “Turn Your Lights Down Low” and later on Pet Shop Boys’ “West End Girls.” Intermixed with the aforementioned tunes was the debut of the James-penned original “Here in Spirit.”
Serving as the most heartfelt moment of the night was an ode to Kurt Cobain on the 30th anniversary of his tragic passing–a debut take on Nirvana’s “All Apologies.” For MMJ’s final festival stand, they worked through material from across their discography, pulling heavily from their 2021 self-titled set, Circuital (2011), It Still Moves (2003), Tennessee Fire (1999) and Z (2005). The night’s lone bust out came in the form of “The Ran,” last played on Aug. 9, 2012.
In addition to the host’s performances, festival guests, and performers, The War on Drugs added something special to their frame, welcoming The Walkmen’s Walter Martin on keys and Futurebirds’ Kiffy Myers on pedal steel. Notably, band member Robbie Bennett was not in attendance during the event.
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