On June 9 Forest Hills Stadium put on their second show of the summer season with a headlining performance from Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, who are touring in support of new album Tearing at the Seams (out via Stax Records).
Following Hiss Golden Messenger came an opening set from The Head and the Heart, a band we have been following on here since their very start. Now signed to Warner Bros, it’s clear how much bigger the band have gotten over the years. They’re still busy touring even though their latest album was 2016’s Signs of Light. They sounded as good as ever at Forest Hills Stadium, a perfect fit for an outdoor performance on a beautiful summers day.
Then it was time for Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, another act that seems to just get impossibly bigger every day. It was a feat to see them headline Forest Hills Stadium but its so clear that they have the tunes to support it. I had previously exclusively seen Rateliff and his band play at Newport Folk Festival. That was a perfect way to take in their sounds, making it was quite a jump to just go see them play at a big tennis stadium. But Rateliff and The Night Sweats were more than up to the task and gave us a sweltering performance full of passionate soul that head the entire stadium belting along every word, from the new material to bonafide winners such as “I Need Never Get Old” and of course, “S.O.B.”
It was a killer one-two punch from both The Head and the Heart and Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats making for one hell of a summer night that won’t soon be forgotten.
The Head and the Heart:
The Head and the Heart Setlist:
1. All We Ever Knew
2. City of Angels
3. Ghosts
4. Rhythm & Blues
5. Another Story
6. Let’s Be Still
7. Lost in My Mind
8. Winter Song
9. Heaven Go Easy on Me
10. Sounds Like Hallelujah
11. Down in the Valley
12. Backwards Breathing
13. Living Mirage
14. Shake
15. Rivers and Roads
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats:
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats Setlist:
1. Shoe Boot
2. Be There
3. Look It Here
4. A Little Honey
5. Coolin’ Out
6. Out on the Weekend
7. You Worry Me
8. Wasting Time
9. You Should’ve Seen the Other Guy
10. Babe I Know
11. I Need Never Get Old
12. Hey Mama
13. S.O.B.
14. Still Trying
Encore:
15. Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen cover) (With The Head and the Heart)
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