Grace Cummings Knocks On Heaven’s Door With My Morning Jacket In Ohio

My Morning Jacket and Grace Cummings brought their current tour to keyboardist Bo Koster's alma mater on Thursday night. The Australian singer-songwriter joined the Louisville-based band for a cover of Bob Dylan's “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” to start the encore at Ohio University’s Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium in Athens, Ohio.

Bo Koster and bandmates Jim James, Carl Broemel, Patrick Hallahan and Tom Blankenship started the afternoon by sitting for a lengthy interview with Stereogum’s Chris Deville at the Ohio University Music Industry Summit. The members of My Morning Jacket discussed their new album is, Koster’s time at Ohio University, performing at a school versus an arena or theater, their early days and more.

Grace Cummings played a set with her band to open the concert. My Morning Jacket then took the stage and pulled material from eight of their ten studio albums to form the setlist for their 23-song performance. The Brendan O’Brien-produced is was represented by the “Beginning From The Ending” that kicked off their main set along with “Die For It,” “Everyday Magic,” “Squid Ink” and “Time Waited.”

“Beginning From The Ending” was followed by Evil Urges’ “Touch Me I’m Going To Scream Pt. 1.” Next came live staple “Off The Record” and the aforementioned “Squid Ink” ahead of “Touch Me I’m Going To Scream Pt. 2.” Other fan-favorites to make the setlist in Athens included “One Big Holiday,” “Steam Engine,” “It Beats 4 U,” “Gideon” and “Dancefloors.” The biggest surprise of the night was “By My Car,” a song from MMJ’s 1999 debut album The Tennessee Fire, which had been played just four times previously over the past 19 years.

Frontman Jim James pointed out Koster’s connection to Ohio University at the beginning of the encore. He also discussed the meaning of the phrase “alma mater” before bringing out Grace Cummings. James and Cummings dueted on My Morning Jacket’s sixth-ever cover of “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.” The quintet hadn’t performed the Dylan song from the soundtrack of the 1973 film Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid since their four-show, no-repeats run at The Fillmore in San Francisco last May.

Jim James took a stellar, distortion-filled solo towards the middle of “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.” Cummings leaned into the conclusion of the cover as she belted out the chorus.

My Morning Jacket went it alone to cap the show with James’ solo gem “State Of The Art (A.E.I.O.U.),” The Waterfall cut “Spring (Among The Living)” and the beloved Z track “Wordless Chorus.”

Grace Cummings’ time on the road supporting My Morning Jacket continues tonight, April 18 in Milwaukee and on Sunday, April 20 in Minneapolis. The band then heads home to Louisville for a five-show residency after Cummings opens for them in Kansas City on April 21.

Watch more fan-shot video from My Morning Jacket’s visit to Athens, Ohio below: