On Thursday, October 16, My Morning Jacket kicked off a three-night run at the Brooklyn Paramount—part of their 2025 is tour—with a full-album performance celebrating the twentieth anniversary of their landmark 2005 album, Z.
This was the third of five Z anniversary shows, following Morrison, Colorado (August 15) and Los Angeles (August 19), with Chicago (October 26) and Atlanta (November 1) coming up.
My Morning Jacket
Opening the show was BALTHVS, the Colombian trio of Balthazar Aguirre (guitar, vocals), Johanna Mercuriana (bass, vocals) and Santiago Lizcano (drums, vocals). Their set blended psychedelic funk with Spanish, African and Middle Eastern influences, mixing originals with inventive covers of Santana’s “Soul Sacrifice” and Pink Floyd’s “Breathe (In the Air).” The band has gained traction in the U.S. since appearing at SXSW 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Johanna Mercuriana (BALTHVS)
Returning to New York nearly two years after their 2023 run at the Beacon Theatre, My Morning Jacket—Jim James (lead vocals, guitar), Carl Broemel (guitar), Tom Blankenship (bass), Patrick Hallahan (drums) and Bo Koster (keys)—launched into Z from start to finish, opening with the unmistakable notes of “Wordless.” Highlights included the extended version of the “Wordless” chorus, a fiery guitar solo on “Laylow,” and “Dondante” enhanced by saxophone.
Jim James (My Morning Jacket)
The band debuted “The Devil’s Peanut Butter,” an outtake from the original Z sessions that appears on the reissued deluxe edition as a bonus track, marking its first-ever live performance. (The Colorado and Los Angeles anniversary shows skipped it.) “Chills” was another rarity before two tracks from is (2025), “Half a Lifetime” and “Squid Ink.” The main set ended with a pair of deep cuts, “Wasted” into “En La Ceremony.” The latter, a B-side that appeared on the 2016 deluxe reissue of the 2003 album It Still Moves, made its live debut only days earlier in Philadelphia.
My Morning Jacket
The encore opened with a slow burn with “Tropics (Erase Traces”) and built to a climactic finish with “Mahgeetah,” one of the band’s signature closers. Its soaring riff and extended outro had the crowd, many dressed in sequins and rainbow hues, singing along until the final note.
Reflecting on the milestone, James thanked the audience “for coming to see us after all these years,” drawing loud cheers. In a recent Rolling Stone interview, he talked about the personal struggles that shaped Z, including losing two close friends to suicide and battling his own depression. The album’s title, he explained, came from a sense of finality; he feared it might be their last.
Instead, Z became a defining breakthrough, transforming My Morning Jacket from a southern rock band into one of the most adventurous and forward-thinking bands of their generation. It was also the first album they recorded with Broemel and Koster.
Two decades later, Z remains one of their most beloved and critically acclaimed albums, several of its songs contributing firmly to their live identity. And on this night in Brooklyn, the energy in the room—dancing, singing, pure communal joy—proved how deeply that music still resonates and transcends.
My Morning Jacket
My Morning Jacket’s 2025 tour wraps up on November 1 in Atlanta. A deluxe 20th anniversary reissue of Z is out now. BALTHVS will continue supporting the tour before launching their own European headlining tour later this year.
Setlist: Wordless, It Beats For You, Gideon, What a Wonderful Man, Off the Record, Into the Woods, Anytime, Laylow, Knot Comes Loose, Dondante, Chills, Where to Begin, Half a Lifetime, The Devil’s Peanut Butter, Squid Ink, Wasted > En La Ceremony
Encore: Tropics (Erase Traces), Smokin From Shootin, Die For It, Mahgeetah
Jim James (My Morning Jacket)
Jim James (My Morning Jacket)
Jim James (My Morning Jacket)
Carl Broemel (My Morning Jacket)
Carl Broemel (My Morning Jacket)
Tom Blankenship (My Morning Jacket)
Johanna Mercuriana (BALTHVS)
Balthazar Aguirre (BALTHVS)
Santiago Lizcano (BALTHVS)