The Farewell Tour - Tennis puts on their final show in Atlanta 6-6-25

Earlier this year, Tennis announced their 7th album would be their last before embarking on their Farewell Tour. The final tour for the beloved indie pop duo out of Denver made their last stop in Atlanta ever on Friday night at The Eastern, a bittersweet farewell for long time fans and a city that always happily welcomed the couple with plenty of tour stops over the last 15 years.

The Farewell Tour - Tennis puts on their final show in Atlanta at The Eastern - 06-06-25

Ever since first meeting as students in 2008 at The University of Colorado Denver, husband and wife duo Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley have been sailing along with one of those seemingly fairytale type relationships we all aspire for from afar, experiencing the highs and lows of a relationship through their songs. They went on an eight-month sailing trip around the Eastern Atlantic Seaboard after their graduation, which spawned their first EP in 2010 and debut album, Cape Dory on Fat Possum in 2011. There was Letterman and Leno performances, then more albums as they continued to build a loving fanbase in their indie pop space with major festival appearances and lots of touring. Eventually they started releasing music on their own record label, Mutually Detrimental. Along the way, there were more sailing trips with the inspiration producing their sixth album Pollen, released in 2023 to critical acclaim.

But in April, Tennis announced that the soon to be released 7th album, Face Down In The Garden, would be their final album, saying in the press release:

“Patrick and I spent most of our 20s and all of our 30s focused on Tennis. It has been the most joyous, bewildering, challenging, and humbling experience. After finishing Face Down In The Garden, it became clear that we had said everything we wanted to say and achieved everything we wanted to achieve with our band. This will be our last studio album, at least in this configuration as Tennis. We are ready to pursue other creative projects and to make space in our lives for new things. In that light, the upcoming tour feels more poignant, like a concluding thought. These two kids from Denver who only ever dreamed of playing a few house shows are very fulfilled. Perhaps we’ll see you on the road. As always, thank you.”

After releasing their final album Face Down In The Garden on April 25th, there was one more surprise in store as the band kicked off their final tour in Vegas, they gave us one more, final release on May 12th, the 8 song EP: Neutral Poetry: First Recordings, Unreleased Demos 2009-2010. And that’s supposed to be it, now all that is left to just freaking enjoy this final tour, live and in person; one last vibe to Tennis, the band, the music, the duo, the husband and wife, and the mark that they left.

For the crowd at The Eastern, it was a 12 song set with Tennis providing the grooves and good vibes like they’ve done so many times before. There wasn’t a need for a big talk from the duo; it’s obvious from the moment they walked out onto the stage the love, admiration, connection the two have together, and just the true appreciation they have for their fans that allowed them to make this a reality. Though Alaina certainly took the time to thank their Atlanta fans for the many shows throughout the years and how they always felt so welcomed here. It’s a real love between the duo, and it’s a real love with their audiences.

There were 4 songs off their last and final album, “Always The Same”, “I Can Only Describe You”, “Weight Of Desire”, and they closed the show just as they did in announcing their farewell, with the show closer being Tennis’ final single, “12 Blown Tires”, which is just an impeccable way to go out.

In the press release for “12 Blown Tires”, Alaina Moore said “The highs and lows of touring are unnatural, disorienting. On the shoulder of I-40, I began writing the lyrics to ’12 Blown Tires.’ It is a constellation of memories from the road, and of our marriage, two endeavors that are completely, hopelessly entangled.“

“When we recorded ’12 Blown Tires’ a few months later, I had the sense of distilling the past 15 years into four minutes of music. It felt like the end of something, though I wasn’t sure what.”

Perhaps the song is their magnum opus? Maybe it was the magnitude of knowing this could be the last time I see Tennis as we know it, but with the set ending with “12 Blown Tires”, it sure felt like it.

Either way, the new songs fit in perfectly around other beloved hits like “Ladies Don’t Play Guitars”, “Runner”, “Need Your Love” and “Pollen Song”, a great way to say goodbye to a band that’s meant so much to so many people over 15 years, and a shining example of real love seems like a great legacy to leave behind. Whoever said Tennis is just a vibe, that held true over 7 albums and so many live shows. This was a memorable one.

Whatever is next for Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley, we don’t know at this point in time, and it seems they may not even know either. But after this final Tennis tour, and for sure the subsequent next long sailing trip, we can only hope that more music and more love is in the future for these two, whatever that iteration may be, I’ll be certainly paying attention.

Best wishes Tennis, these years have left a mark.

Check out photos below from Tennis and Billie Marten performing live at The Eastern in Atlanta, GA on Friday, June 6th, 2025, all photos by Mike Gerry:

BILLIE MARTEN