Nathaniel Rateliff + The Night Sweats & My Morning Jacket Swap Sit-Ins At Tour Opener

Last night, My Morning Jacket and Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats kicked off the Eye To Eye Tour 2024 with a concert at Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park in Wilmington, North Carolina. MMJ welcomed Nathaniel Rateliff for a The Band cover during their set before Jim James returned the favor by joining Rateliff & The Night Sweats on a Bruce Springsteen cover.

Both groups played sets of equal length with My Morning Jacket opening the night in Wilmington. Jim James & Co. began their 13-song performance with the title track from Circuital, one of three cuts played from the 2011 album. MMJ went heavy on material off 2003’s It Still Moves as “Magheetah,” “Golden,” “Steam Engine” and “Dancefloors” each made the setlist.

My Morning Jacket brought out Rateliff mid-set for “It Makes No Difference.” Jim James and Nathaniel Rateliff shared lead vocal duties on the Robbie Robertson-penned, Rick Danko-sung song from The Band’s 1975 record Northern Lights – Southern Cross. “It Makes No Difference” was broken out by Jacket in April at their One Big Holiday destination event for the first time since 2012.

Watch fan-shot footage of MMJ and Rateliff’s “It Makes No Difference” captured by Andrew Cragg of the My Morning Jacket Fan Club Facebook group:

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats focused on South Of Here, their 2024 studio album, last night at Live Oak Bank Pavilion. Seven of the LP’s 11 songs were played by the band in Wilmington. The career-spanning set also included five tunes each from their 2015 self-titled debut and 2018’s Tearing At The Seams.

Jim James emerged late in the night for Rateliff & The Night Sweats’ set-closing cover of the 1984 Bruce Springsteen hit “Dancing In The Dark.” Once again, James and Rateliff co-helmed the cover.

My Morning Jacket and Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats bring the Eye To Eye Tour to Charleston, South Carolina on Thursday, September 12. The bands are offering livestreams of their HeadCount benefit concerts at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheatre on September 18 and 19 via nugs.net.