Show Review: Alabama Shakes with Mavis Staples at Tanglewood

Alabama Shakes with Mavis Staples at Tanglewood on September 5 (photos by Hilary Scott)

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What better way to spend a sunny summer Saturday in the Berkshires on Labor Day weekend than to see two extraordinary, Grammy-award winning female singers and music artists: Brittany Howard & Alabama Shakes and Mavis Staples, who performed at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts on Saturday, September 5, 2026; this was a perfect pairing of two stellar and powerful artists, whose songs and performance espoused themes of love, hope, change, connection, and overcoming adversity.

With the sun still setting over the Berkshire hills, Tanglewood’s audience recall chime bell knelled, telling patrons to find their seats, while “Keep on Pushing” by the Impressions played over the PA. The trio of Rick Holmstrom (guitar and backing vocals), Greg Boaz (bass), and Steve Mugalian (drums) came out to the blue-lit stage and began to play, followed by backing vocalists Saundra Williams and Kelly Hogan, who took their respective places and got the crowd clapping, as Holmstrom announced, “Here she is – make her feel good! Miss Mavis Staples!” Staples smiled and waved as she was escorted to center stage to rousing applause.

Although she is small in stature, her deep, powerful, raspy voice boomed out of the microphone the all-too-relevant “There’s too many people telling too many lies” first line of the Staples Singers’ “City in the Sky,” many cheering in recognition of the words. During Holmstrom’s soulful guitar solo (on his yellow telecaster that shown bright in both sound and color in the center of the mostly dark stage), Staples patted his shoulder in appreciation, and then kept everyone clapping along until the song’s end, where she received a standing ovation – the first of many throughout the night. You could feel the reverence and appreciation for the 87-year-old legendary R&B gospel singer and civil rights activist and icon.

After three spirited songs, Staples sat down to have a drink. An audience member yelled out, “I love you!” and without missing a beat, Staples replied, “I love you back!” She got up and addressed the congregation, “Welcome. I’ve got a lot of love. Good evening, Ya’ll. We are so happy to be here with our friend Brittany and her band. We bring you greetings from the windy city of Chicago! We have come here to help you have a good time, so let yourself loose, and let yourself go, because we want you to be feeling better than when you left home. We have a train coming, so get on board.”

Staples held her hands up in praise and passionate punctuation, swayed, clapped, and danced at times throughout her nine-song set that was tinged with poignant lyrics and gospel, soul, and blues accompaniment, that included the tender, jazzy “Beautiful Strangers” (a compassionate folk-soul commentary on gun violence, collective grief, and human connection), “You’re Not Alone” (the title track to her 2010 Grammy-winning album that was written by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy), and the up-tempo “Freedom Highway” (a civil rights anthem written as a response to the 1965 Selma voting rights march, which began with the anaphora “March!” and ended with Staples declaring boldly, “I’ve come too far – I won’t turn around”).

After singing the powerful “No Time For Crying” (an urgent gospel-infused call-to-action about persevering through turmoil, which she co-wrote with Jeff Tweedy in 2017), Staples, still as fiery, feisty, and outspoken as ever, seemed to be worked up and declared, “We got work to do! We don’t need no dictator! We don’t need no agents of ICE! We don’t need men telling us women what to do with our bodies!” – the audience responding with cheers of approval to each of her statements. “What we do need is love – everybody needs love,” she offered, before her final song “Everybody Needs Love,” which the band continued to play as Staples sauntered to stage right, waving and smiling, and was escorted off, receiving one more standing ovation when her name was again announced, while the band continued to play and the crowd clapped along until the final resounding chord. Those who attended were fortunate to witness this singular and incomparable artist – the world needs more Mavis Staples energy, fire, hope, and love. https://mavisstaples.com/

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After Mavis Staples set the appropriate vibe and energy for the night, the stage was cleared for headliner Alabama Shakes, an American rock, roots, soul, and R&B band formed in Athens, Alabama in 2009, who are touring in support of I Must Be Dreaming, their third album together and their first new release in eleven years. The band consists of dynamic lead singer and guitarist Brittany Howard, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Heath Fogg, and bassist Zac Cockrell. Joining the founding trio are drummer Lewis Wright, keyboardists Ben Tanner and Paul Horton, and backing vocalists: Shanay Johnson, Karita Law, and Lloyd Buchanan.

This nine-piece touring nonet produced a well-polished and well-executed set of genre-bending set of songs that had the Tanglewood audience in the Koussevitzky Music Shed and those out picnicking on the lawn attentive, invested, and imbued with the electric exuberance permeating and purveying from the stage.

As the second bell tolled and the lights came down, a swell of anticipation could be felt. The band chose “Pass It On” by Pieces of Peace for their walk on music, an app choice with its driving, horn-laden 1970s funk and soul feel. The stage was set up with large cumulus clouds in the background, and frontwoman Brittany Howard made a striking entrance in a long sparkling white gown – a metaphoric “silver lining” – as the band launched into the opening song “Another Life,” with Howard’s silky first line salutation announcing “Here we are…” in all their glory. Alabama Shakes continued with Mavis Staples’ theme of love, connection, and understanding. Four songs in, Howard addressed attendees, “Thank you very much everybody. I’d like to tell you about this next song. It’s about hope. Check in with your neighbors, help your neighbors,” before playing “I Feel Hope Coming.”

Throughout the night, the band effortlessly moved musically from original pop, rock, R&B, jazz, soul selections with Howard’s impressive, soulful, resonant vocals – at times raw and powerful, and other times emotive and tender – anchoring each song. Howard, who strikes an undeniable presence and allure, wielded her trademark inverness green 1980’s Gibson SG Custom guitar for most of the night, save for when she used a vintage 1960s Harmony H78 hollow body sunburst electric guitar or she sang with just a microphone on a few songs. The band’s fabulous performance vibe and stellar musicianship, along Howard’s powerful singing style kept concert-goers both spellbound and spirited.

Howard did not have to run or move around to convey intensity, but would occasionally dramatically point or tilt her head back for emphasis or when a music moment moved her, which stirred an immediate reaction every time. Highlights from their electrifying performance included: “Hold On,” the extended outro for “Time” (which created a musical opus all its own) and, a trilogy of fan favorites from their second Sound and Color album to end their set: “Sound and Color” (the title track), “Don’t Wanna Fight,” and “Gimme All Your Love,” after which they left the stage, but returned for a three-song encore after continuous applause, cheering, and adulation. Howard graciously addressed the appreciative crowd with her own heartfelt gratitude, “Thank ya’ll for a wonderful night. Heath, Zac, and I became friends back at school, but as we have been on the road touring together over the years, we have become family. God has been so good to us tonight.” As people filtered out of Tanglewood into the night, the Berkshire air was filled with good feels and elevated souls after this outstanding double bill. https://www.alabamashakes.com/

Enjoy some of our previous coverage here: REVIEW: Mavis Staples “Sad and Beautiful World” and here: BENTLEY’S BANDSTAND August 2026

ALABAMA SHAKES SETLIST:

Another Life

Future People

Hang Loose

Rise to the Sun

I Feel Hope Coming

Guess Who

I Found You

Hold On

Garden

BAND INTROS