My Morning Jacket Debuts Sweet Rolling Stones Cover In Virginia

My Morning Jacket‘s fall tour rolled into Virginia last night for a concert at Maymont in Richmond. Jim James & Co. paid tribute to the Old Dominion State by premiering a cover of The Rolling Stones‘ “Sweet Virginia” early in the show.

The surprises came right from the start as My Morning Jacket opened with the rarity “Aluminum Park” off 2008’s Evil Urges for the first time. Another surprise followed a few songs later when the band treated fans to the tour debut of the beloved “Librarian.” The song, also from Evil Urges, was previously checked out during the first night of a May no-repeats run at The Fillmore in San Francisco after six years on the shelf.

“Alright Richmond!” Jim James shouted after the ensuing “Picture Of You” and then strummed and sang a mostly solo version of “Sweet Virginia.” The Rolling Stones originally released the song on their iconic 1972 album Exile On Main St.

Jim James used “Sweet Virginia” to intro a similarly stripped-down take on “I’m Amazed” as the focus on Evil Urges continued. The band eventually kicked in and My Morning Jacket finished the evening’s fifth of seven cuts from the 2008 LP in electrifying fashion.

Watch audience-captured footage of “Sweet Virginia > I’m Amazed” below:

My Morning Jacket still had more tour debuts in store. “Remnants,” from yes … Evil Urges was trotted out a few songs later. The band then looked to 2015’s The Waterfall for the first “Only Memories Remain” since The Fillmore run.

The quintet finished the set by romping through a run of James’ “Here In Spirit” and favorites “Victory Dance,” “Lay Low,” “Compound Fracture,” “Wordless Chorus” and “Touch Me I’m Going To Scream Pt. 2.” My Morning Jacket punctuated the night with a three-song encore of “Golden,” “Circuital” and “Dancefloors.”

My Morning Jacket wraps up their fall tour tonight in Cleveland. Official live recordings are available exclusively at nugs.net.