A clear existentialist, James has long had the urge to comment on every wrong unfolding in this messed-up world, both in his solo music and on My Morning Jacket records, a habit he pursues to varying degrees of success. But where something like It Still Moves or Circuital soars to untouchable heights, the bandвЂ™s latest falls flat at a noticeable rate in terms of delivery.

My Morning Jacket has every mark of a great MMJ album: widespread jam numbers, thoughtful lyrics that speak to the times and a brush with the psychedelic. The album itself may feel вЂњlike coming homeвЂќ to longtime My Morning Jacket listeners. Later that year, My Morning Jacket started work on what would become their self-titled ninth album, a low-stakes rock record that spends as much time pondering unanswerable questions as it does basking in the well-earned freedom to do whatever the hell they want. That two-night run at Red Rocks, however, jolted them awake and not only confirmed that they would make music together once more, but also reminded them that their bandhood вЂњfelt like coming home,вЂќ as Blankenship described it. Prior to taking the Red Rocks stage, and following the release of 2015вЂ™s The Waterfall and a deluxe reissue of their 2003 classic It Still Moves, the Louisville, Kentucky-bred rock band embarked on a massive tour that ended with a nearly two-year hiatus.ДЇast-forward to 2019, when the band (lead vocalist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel, and Bo Koster on the keys) didnвЂ™t вЂњknow if weвЂ™d make another record again,вЂќ according to James.

So it makes sense that it was there, between those towering rust-colored silhouettes and underneath a Colorado sky dotted with stars, where My Morning JacketвЂ™s members decided they could still be a band. The storied venueвЂ™s breathtaking scenery and otherworldly atmosphere are conducive to вЂњEureka!вЂќ moments, epiphanies and realizations of all stripes.

If youвЂ™ve ever set foot in Red Rocks Amphitheatre, you know itвЂ™s a thin place-aka, a place where heaven and Earth meet.

Makemusic finale