Manning Fireworks In Music City: MJ Lenderman & The Wind Breeze Through The Ryman

MJ Lenderman spoke to the audience at The Ryman Auditorium on Tuesday night, noting that while he had performed on the venue’s storied stage, it was the first headlining concert for him and his band, The Wind, at the historic Nashville landmark.

The show was my first time entering The Ryman Auditorium, giving me the opportunity to cross off a long-awaited major bucket-list item. Finally getting to see the iconic colored windows from the other side and sit in the wooden pews was an experience that exceeded expectations. The room itself made me feel like I was in the presence of greatness, with the echoes of its unparalleled past strongly reverberating.

The concert was also my second time seeing MJ Lenderman & The Wind, with my previous experience coming almost one year ago to the date at another vaunted music venue, First Avenue in Minneapolis.

Over the past year since I last saw Lenderman in concert, he has been on a nearly non-stop tour supporting his breakout 2024 album, Manning Fireworks. Sounding every bit the road warrior and like someone on the cusp of a significant accomplishment, Lenderman touted the break on the horizon after he and the band play two more shows.

The Wind – whose lineup Tuesday included drummer Colin Miller, guitarist Jon Samuels, bassist/fiddler Landon George and pedal steel/bass/keyboards Trevor Nikrant – played with the confidence of a band loaded up with hours and hours of stage time together. Nikrant’s Styrofoam Winos bandmate Lou Turner popped on and off the stage to add additional vocals throughout the evening.

Paired with the “lived-up-to-the-hype” impeccable sound inside The Ryman, the aptly named outfit’s dynamic approach was on display throughout the show as they effortlessly shifted from loud to quiet and hard to soft.

The sturdiness of the road-tested group was apparent in the ease with which the show started. The mid-tempo Manning Fireworks title track and similarly loping fellow album cut “Rip Torn” set a relaxed tone from the start.

Later in the set, other Manning Fireworks songs increased the volume and energy coming from the stage, with “Rudolph,” “Joker Lips,” “Wristwatch,” “On My Knees” and “She’s Leaving You” earning big responses from the captivated crowd.

Lenderman introduced a staple of his sets, a cover of This Is Lorelei’s “Dancing In The Club,” as being written by his “friend Nate” [Amos]. The setlist also included a cover of “Sacrifice (For Love)” by Greg Sage and the encore started with Neil Young’s “Lotta Love.”

The rarely played and well-received original “Left Your Smile,” from Lenderman’s 2019 self-titled debut album, was an unexpected late-set addition. The main set ended with “Knockin’” bringing most of the audience up off the pews.

The previously mentioned Neil Young cover started the encore, followed by “SUV,” one of a handful of songs from 2022’s Boat Songs that were played last night.

The performance reached a defining crescendo with the Boat Songs anthem “Tastes Just Like It Costs.” The song is a quintessential show-closer, hypnotically cycling through its sing-along chorus with the spirit of having just won the championship game.

This would normally be the part of the review making the case to make it a point to see MJ Lenderman & The Wind live as soon as you can. That will have to be reserved for folks in Asheville tonight, (Lenderman’s hometown, with Ryman openers David Nance & Mowed Sound) and in Brooklyn tomorrow (with Hovvdy), who can see the potent band before a well earned break.

MJ Lenderman & The Wind have a couple of festival appearances booked in 2026. If and when they do start to fill out their touring schedule, the recommendation to go see the band live as soon as you can, most certainly still stands.