Perfect weather and a sold-out crowd with ‘arms outstretched’ greeted the reunited aughts indie darlings, wrapping up the amphitheater’s summer series. The review, photos at Local Spins.
Season-Closing Charm: Jenny Lewis and Rilo Kiley on stage Sunday night. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
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To paraphrase singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis, “sometimes when you’re on, you’re really f***ing on.”
And Sunday evening amid ideal late-summer weather, Lewis and band, Rilo Kiley, were really f***ing on.
Closing out the biggest-ever concert season for Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, mid-aughts indie darlings Rilo Kiley lit up the venue’s stage — literally, with a cool, background wall of undulating lights — to the delight of a mostly millennial crowd that spent much of the night on its collective feet.
Returning to live performance after a decade-plus hiatus, the California band — Lewis, Blake Sennett, Jason Boesel and Pierre de Reeder — offered up 17 catalog-spanning songs, clocking in at just under 90 minutes.
Highlights from the favorites-heavy set list included show opener “The Execution of All Things,” “It’s a Hit,” “Does He Love You?”, “Silver Lining,” “Portions for Foxes” and “A Better Son/Daughter” (home to the aforementioned paraphrased quote).
Show closer “Pictures of Success” was the perfect beautiful-but-melancholy selection to soundtrack the end of summer, as well as the passage of time for an audience that’s coasting into middle age.
Seattle singer-songwriter Dean Johnson kicked off a comfy late-summer evening with a chill vibe and harmony-hued songs.
Rilo Kiley’s performance was the final note in Meijer Gardens’ most robust season to date; an impressive 34 shows — 21 of them sellouts — for the 1,900-capacity amphitheater’s 2025 season.
PHOTO GALLERY: Rilo Kiley, Dean Johnson at Meijer Gardens
Photos by Tony Norkus
SET LIST: Rilo Kiley at Meijer Gardens
Setlist.fm
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