My Morning Jacket @ Fox Theatre – Atlanta, GA 10-31-25

My Morning Jacket returned to Atlanta this weekend for a very special 2 night run at the Fox Theatre – Halloween, a brand new album is, released in March, and the 20th Anniversary of their album Z. Yes, mighty special weekend indeed.

Out of all the great venues around Atlanta that I could, or well, I probably should say have seen My Morning Jacket at, the Fox Theatre always just feels so special and unique. This two night run couldn’t have been better to hit those two marks.

Yes, I absolutely hit both nights, photographing the first night and Halloween celebration, while just going as a pure fan Saturday night to enjoy the band playing what’s probably my favorite album of theirs top to bottom, and the one that had hooked me on this band 20 years ago. Since that album, they’ve become one of my absolute favorite live bands, and this weekend just felt like a culmination of it all.

The first night, Friday, October 31st, you knew it would be something being on actual Halloween night. While the trick or treaters wrapped up, Atlanta descended upon the Fox, dressed and ready for the occasion. While there were plenty of good costumes throughout the crowd, it was the band’s costume that commanded attention.

My Morning Jacket @ Fox Theatre – Atlanta, GA 10-31-25

Jim James and the boys came out in full Ozzy Osbourne tribute mode, with Jim in a dark black wig dressed as the man, the myth, the PRINCE OF DARKNESS! Losing this legend earlier this year was another tough one to take, and I can’t think of a more fitting tribute than Halloween night with the band kicking off the night with a cover of the song “Black Sabbath”. So nice.

From there, the band kicked it into high gear with some of their more, idk, Halloween adjacent songs. “Evil Urges” to “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 1”, “Holdin On to Black Metal” and more.

It was about mid set before we got any songs off of the new album, with the set including “Lemme Know”, “Beginning From the Ending”, and “Die for It”, which all fit nicely with the MMJ live show.

Of course, the Ozzy tribute didn’t end after the first song with the band playing Black Sabbath’s “Fairies Wear Boots”, while the encore included “Crazy Train” as the second last song of the set. Rock ‘n’ roll at it’s finest.

You have to mention ending the set before the encore with “Spring (Among the Living)” and then “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2”. While I’ve never thought of MMJ as a Halloween type band, see = scary, they certainly fit the Holiday well with a lot of these songs. I mean, when Jim howls, haunting is certainly one of the first things that come to mind, and when he hits those notes live at the Fox Theatre, it’s like the spirits of Halloween are descending down upon you. It’s spiritual, almost religious, eerie and evocative.

Of course, you could say some of those same things about the night closer, “One Big Holiday”. What a perfect way to celebrate and end the Halloween night after the cover of “Crazy Train”, the song that brings it all together for the crowd with joy, community and love. After a 22 song set across their discography, it all felt too short, like it was ending early, but that’s how great of a night it was.

Luckily, there was one more night to go, another special celebration, this one just a little different. What was missing from Friday night’s career spanning set? Well, songs from Z of course! And this time we get all of them!

For Saturday’s set, the band decided to get every one primed first before getting into the Anniversary stuff. There was “Circuital”, “Mahgeetah”, and beloved live songs. The set started out with “Half a Lifetime” from the new album and included one more new one in “Everyday Magic”. The 9 song warmup ended with an out of this world cover of Tears for Fears’ “Head Over Heels”, which had the whole crowd entranced and singing along.

From there the band went into Z, starting with “Wordless Chorus” straight through to “Dondante”. Remember those words I used above for the Halloween show – haunting, spiritual, eerie, evocative, I may as well also be describing how I feel about the Z album as a whole. It’s what hooked me, and what I continue to love about the album. For me, it’s always felt like my generation’s Dark Side of the Moon, ya know?

Live, those feelings are just elevated, and always have when they have been apart of the setlists I’ve seen live. But getting the whole album straight through, at the Fox Theatre, this one just felt like a whole other level. It’s a time, a feeling, a moment that I just want to live in every second. Euphoria is a very real thing, and that’s a sensation that lasted well beyond when the Fox doors closed for the night. I could probably follow them around the country night after night, for weeks straight, with the band only playing this album and it would never get old.

The night didn’t end there though with Z though, as the encore brought 4 more songs to get the crowd dancing and end on highest of notes with a cover of “One More Saturday Night” before finally closing the night with “Dancefloors” off It Still Moves. All and all, what a special, special 2 night run this was by a band that’s better than ever. Can’t wait for the 40th anniversary run of Z!

Check out photos below from the My Morning Jacket show at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA on Friday, October 31st, all photo by Mike Gerry:

MY MORNING JACKET