Words and Photos: Adam Colwell
https://www.pixelsoftheimagination.com/
Downtown Nashville, Bridgestone Arena was transformed into something sacred on Wednesday June 25, 2025, as it became a place where nostalgia met new perspective, and Incubus brought Morning View back to life. With support from Paris Jackson and Manchester Orchestra, the evening unfolded like a carefully orchestrated play, as it was soft in moments, roaring in others, but always a rocking good time.
As the crowd filtered into the arena, Paris Jackson opened the night with a set that felt intimate in an arena with 1000s of attendees. Alone with her acoustic guitar under a hazy wash of warm lighting, she delivered songs that leaned into folk and alt-rock. She sounded more at home on the stage than many might have expected, but she still had a certain nervousness to her voice from playing to the large crowd. There was a gentleness in her voice, even when the lyrics cut deep. Her emotional writing stood out, with heartache wrapped in melody. She didn’t need flash or spectacle to get her point across with the audience, just vulnerability and presence. For those early arrivals to the show, it was something special.
After a quick changeover, Manchester Orchestra took the stage and completely shifted the energy. From the moment they launched into “Pride,” the arena filled with a thick, emotional weight that was only added to through the thick fog and mood setting red lights. Andy Hull’s voice, shaky in the best kind of way, sounded like it had lived through every word he sang. They did not say much, but they didn’t need to. “The Gold” and “Bed Head” hit hard, while “Cope” brought the kind of controlled chaos that only Manchester Orchestra can do well. There’s a tension in their music that builds and builds until it breaks, and in a venue as big as Bridgestone, it echoed in your chest. They were the perfect bridge between the somber opening of Paris and the iconic Incubus that were still to come.
When the lights went down again and the opening notes of “Nice to Know You” rang out of the amplifiers, the packed arena went wild. There is something special about hearing an album you grew up with played in its entirety, especially by a band that still sounds as amazing now as they did decades ago. Brandon Boyd was energetic, charismatic, and took total control of the venue with his one-of-a-kind voice. Tracks like “Warning” and “Under My Umbrella” had a heavier feel to them live, while the quiet beauty of “Aqueous Transmission” closed the set on a chill note that left the entire arena in near silence. Incubus’s performance had a ton of emotion behind it, as these weren’t just songs from 2001, they were songs that had grown with the band and with the fans, and every person in the room seemed to get that. It didn’t feel like an anniversary of an album, it felt current and like we were back in our rooms blaring them through our headphones again.
After finishing Morning View, Incubus returned to the stage with a short encore that lit the place up again, “Pardon Me” brought a burst of energy and “Drive” became a massive singalong that felt like a full-circle moment for anyone who ever had that song on repeat back in the day.
Incubus didn’t just revisit Morning View at Bridgestone, they honored it. And in doing so, they gave Nashville a night that felt timeless. With Paris Jackson’s quiet intro and Manchester Orchestra’s moody yet rocking performance setting the stage, the whole night unfolded like a meditation on growth, memory, and the kind of music that still matters long after the radio stops playing it.
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