My Morning Jacket

Jim James formed My Morning Jacket in Louisville in 1998 as an outlet for acoustic songs his previous band, Month of Sundays, had no use for. The name came from a coat James found bearing the letters MMJ. The original lineup included his cousin Johnny Quaid on guitar, Tom Blankenship on bass and J. Glenn on drums, all previously of the local band Winter Death Club.

The debut, The Tennessee Fire, arrived in 1999 to a mild US reception but became a surprise hit in the Netherlands and Belgium, prompting a European tour and an appearance in a Dutch documentary. Danny Cash joined on keyboards in 2000, and for the follow-up, At Dawn (2001), James recorded his vocals in a grain silo, setting the heavy reverb sound that became an early trademark and widened the band's US following.

J. Glenn left the drum stool not long after, replaced briefly by Chris Guetig before Patrick Hallahan, James's childhood friend, took over permanently. The band toured heavily in support of acts including Guided by Voices, Doves and Foo Fighters, building a reputation for long, loose live sets that stretched songs well past their recorded length and drew a jam-circuit following alongside their indie rock audience. They signed to ATO Records in 2002.

It Still Moves (2003) was widely praised, but by 2004 Cash and Quaid had both left, replaced by keyboardist Bo Koster and guitarist Carl Broemel, leaving James and Blankenship as the only original members. Z, released in 2005, became the band's breakthrough, drawing a Radiohead comparison from Rolling Stone and marking a turn away from heavy reverb vocals toward dub, reggae and psychedelic textures.

The band kept widening its palette afterward: Evil Urges (2008) split opinion, Circuital (2011) drew a steadier response, and further albums followed with The Waterfall (2015), The Waterfall II (2020), a self-titled record in 2021 and Is in 2025, each keeping the guitar interplay at the center of the sound.