My Morning Jacket envelops the audience in colours, sound, and mood enhancements.
Louisville, Kentucky’s quintet, My Morning Jacket, has many musical colours—1970s free-form FM deep cuts, twang, pop, straight-ahead rock, and psychedelic Floydian/Deadhead extended jams, there’s something for everyone. They are five bands in one, which explains why there was such a diverse crowd of music fans at their St. Louis show at The Factory STL last night.
With ten full-length releases under their belts, including 2025’s Is, countless road miles, TV appearances, festival slots, three Grammy nominations, and critical accolades, this is a band that keeps rolling and changing its colors with the whim and inspirations of frontman, vocalist, and primary songwriter Jim James, the bearded, wild man. They also have deep roots and family connections to relatives in St. Louis.
The band, James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, lead guitarist, vocalist Carl Broemel, and keyboardist Bo Koster, took the darkened stage almost at the same time the St. Louis Blues were scoring their first goals against the Winnipeg Jets in round one, game six downtown. It was an exciting Friday night, and folks were ready to put the long work week in their rearview mirror and celebrate life with great live music made by actual humans.
With a darkened stage, a touch of fog, and a crowd eruption, the band hit the first notes of opener, “State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U),” and the lights went up, and the crowd was on their feet. They played an extensive set of nineteen total numbers, which featured jams, guitar solos, trippy lights, light fog, and beautiful passages. They played so many great tracks, it’s hard to pick a favorite, but it would include “I’m Amazed,” “Victory Dance,” or “Squid Ink.” The three-song encore included “Time Waited,” “Love, Love, Love,” and the final song, “Dancefloors.”
Right after the third number, Jim James addressed the audience. He expressed his love and fond memories of St. Louis, and The Gateway Arch: “I will never forget seeing the Arch as a kid. It still reminds me of artistic vision and all possible things. We can end hatred, hunger, war, and build arches forever.” He added, “I love to rub the Arch for good luck. Half of my family is from here.” The audience appreciated James’ love for the Gateway City and our most enduring symbol of civic pride.
The show included cuts from all of their ten releases and many live cuts, such as “Picture of You,” which took on added dimensions, meaning, and mood in the living setting. The blend of great performances, state-of-the-art lighting, great live sound, and audience participation made this another live music highlight of 2025.
