Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats / Boston, MA
- juliana nicholls
- May 1
- 3 min read
It’s Saturday night, you’ve got a tallboy of your favorite drink— freshly cracked open, and you’re jamming out with your friends to the songs you sing together with the windows rolled down.
The crowd at the sold-out Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats show is matching the energy! Kicking off the last night of their first leg of The Night Sweats Tour at MGM Music Hall in Boston, MA on March 29th, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats set out to fill the night with excitement, and bombshell moments. Starting with a special surprise for the audience by walking out to personally introduce opener Hannah Cohen to the stage. The audience went wild with one fan even showering Nathaniel with red roses. Once Hannah Cohen took the stage, she excitedly let the crowd know the roses matched her shoes! This warm and bubbly personality shined throughout her entire performance. Entrancing the crowd with songs from her freshly released album Earthstar Mountain, which dropped the night before the show. The crowd was vibing along to her serene and introspective sound. When she performed her final song, Nathaniel Rateliff had yet another surprise for the crowd and joined her in her performance with other members from The Night Sweats!
Rateliff specializes in keeping the crowd on their toes! He was singing, playing the guitar, piano, tambourine, busting dance moves left and right, all along with engaging with the crowd making everyone in the audience feel like the sold-out show of over 5,000 people was a private backyard jam session. With couples in the crowd embracing and dancing together, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats provided a memorable date night for every couple in the room!
During the show, Rateliff gave Massachusetts its flowers as a special place for him and The Night Sweats. With Cambridge, MA, being the birthplace of their musical career and first album, Falling Faster Than You Can Run, it is a true full circle moment for the band to close out the first leg of their The Night Sweats tour at one of the largest music venues in the area. They not only played hits from their latest album release, South of Here, but also hits from their 12-year career and Nathaniel Rateliff's solo catalogue. Captivating the crowd with sweet sounds from the saxophone, piano, electric and acoustic guitar, and even the tambourine! There was not a moment where the crowd was not entertained.
The stage design had psychedelic and almost nostalgic visuals, with overlays of them performing live over some video of various landscapes from a window. Seemingly weaving the narrative of life on tour, seeing vast, beautiful landscapes and streets merging into one long and blurry road in their memory. These visuals paired perfectly with the song "And It's All Alright" from Nathaniel Rateliff's solo album (2020) of the same name. Its subdued sound was the beautiful backing track for many couples in the crowd to slow dance. Nathaniel not only gave the crowd a performance to remember, but he also gave them the gift of a core memory with their significant other. But the memorable moments didn't stop there! Nathaniel had more surprises up his sleeve with a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing In The Dark" to close out the show. This sent the crowd into a roar of excitement with scream singing, hips shaking, and drinks spilling on the ground without a single care in the world!
With the crowd roaring, left stunned by that iconic cover song choice, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats gave their bows and disappeared backstage. With only the encore left, you could feel the anticipation build as the venue went dark, and the crowd hoped to hear their smash hit. After what felt like hours, the crowd exploded into cheers when members of The Night Sweats began to reappear on stage. To no surprise, they kicked off their encore with their smash hit "S.O.B.” The crowd gave all they had left in them, jumping, singing, and dancing with the strangers next to them. Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats not only set out to give the crowd an exciting and unforgettable performance, but they accomplished what all artists hope to do at their shows— a 5,000+ person party that would give anyone serious FOMO.
Gallery and Review by Juliana Nicholls
