On Jan. 27, MJ Lenderman and his band The Wind closed out the second of two sweet-sounding nights at Variety Playhouse in Little Five Points. After postponing the Atlanta shows back in October due the devastating Hurricane Helene that hit Lenderman’s hometown of Asheville, N.C., especially hard, the band was excited to finally make it back to one of their favorite cities. There was a very diverse crowd of people in attendance at Variety Playhouse — a lot of college students, dads and those in search of a good alt-country revival.
Opening up the evening was jam band Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band. Only having one album on streaming platforms, they played a short but packed set. They, of course, had drums, guitars, bass and keys but also bongos, a pedal steel and a melodica, which has the keyboard layout of a piano but the functionality of a wind instrument. Monday night was the band’s last run with Lenderman for this tour, and they finished with a bang.
MJ Lenderman presented his set with a grand opening of “Manning Fireworks,” the title track from his award-winning album “Manning Fireworks” that was released in 2024. His fourth full-length album, released in September, ranked on numerous “Best Albums of 2024” lists across several major publications. To name a few, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it number three, and The New Yorker named it the “Best Album of 2024.” “Manning Fireworks” is modern; it’s classic; it’s country; it’s grungy. Lenderman’s solo work is dark but witty, always managing to show vulnerability in the goofiest of ways.
He then played a string of songs from the new album, including “Joker Lips,” everyone’s favorite Christmas song “Rudolph,” and hit single “Wristwatch” which tells a story about three M’s: masculinity, meaningless wealth, and mid-life crisis. It has a great, slow-rolled guitar solo in the outro. Fan favorites “TLC Cage Match,” “You are Every Girl to Me” and “Six Flags” were sprinkled in along with his fourth project in full.
There was life before “Manning Fireworks,” and that includes Lenderman’s album “Boat Songs” in 2022, “Ghost of Your Guitar Solo” in 2021 and his self-titled work from 2019. Lenderman knew his fans were hungry to hear everything, so he managed to pack in 21 songs from all across his discography and more by including a few covers as well. The Wind played “Dancing in the Club” by This is Lorelei and “37 Push Ups” by Smog, and they brought members of the Roadhouse Band to help them out. And to no MJ Lenderman fan’s surprise, he also threw in a Neil Young cover of “Lotta Love” as the first song of the encore, and the crowd ate it up. Closing out the electric night, Lenderman finished his set with “Hangover Game” and “Knockin,” both widely beloved songs across his fanbase.
As it seemed, only one fan left the show on Monday disappointed, and that would be the man who very politely yelled, “TV Dinners!” which earned a smirk and laughter from Lenderman. The band proceeded to play “She’s Leaving You.”
While Lenderman does not have any known plans to return to Atlanta this year, many hopeful fans are still holding out for an appearance at the annual Shaky Knees Music Festival, taking place in Piedmont Park this fall. Fans of MJ Lenderman may also find they enjoy similar artists or groups like Wednesday, Greg Freeman or Waxahatchee.