Kings of Leon and John Mayer Mark 10 Years of Pilgrimage

Big outdoor music festivals in Middle Tennessee haven’t had the best luck with weather recently — see June’s Bonnaroo rain-out and the cold and damp that marked Pilgrimage 2024 for prime examples. But past weather woes were a distant memory for fans who came out over the weekend for the 10th anniversary run of Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival at Franklin’s The Park at Harlinsdale Farm. 

A breeze wound its way through the crowd gathered Saturday afternoon at the fest’s main Midnight Sun stage, cooling off the sweat brought on by the lingering summer heat. Leather pants and sequined jacket glimmering in the sun, Nashville’s own Maggie Rose took the stage, shaking her tambourine and flipping her blond mane while smoke and bubbles wafted above the front rows. She brought rich and soulful vocals to the funky grooves of songs like “Underestimate Me,” a standout from her 2024 LP No One Gets Out of Here Alive. She also brought out rocking songsmith Grace Potter, her collaborator on “Poison in My Well.” The pair duetted on the blues-kissed song from Rose’s new EP Cocoon, a set of songs about growth that drops Oct. 10.

American Aquarium packed a punch at the Gold Record Road stage. Opening the set with “Katherine Belle,” an anthemic song from 2009’s Dances for the Loney, the North Carolina rockers delivered a high-energy performance from the start. Lead vocalist BJ Barham’s raspy voice and raw, honest lyricism intertwined with the band’s gritty twang to create a Southern heartland-rock sound that had a sea of cowboy hats bobbing. “I would like to personally thank you for supporting live, original, independent music right here in the great state of Tennessee,” Barham said during one pause. The set covered a broad swath of the group’s catalog, including fan favorites like “Losing Side of Twenty-Five,” a relatable tune about keeping your balance when you realize you’re on a very different path from the friends you grew up with. 

Fans shielded their faces as the sun set behind the main stage and Joshua Tillman, better known as Father John Misty, waltzed up to his mic, suave as ever in spite of the lingering summer heat. Saxophone blared through the speakers as the band broke into “I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All,” a funky number from the most recent FJM LP Mahashmashana, which they’d already celebrated with a Valentine’s Day show at the Ryman. Tillman’s trademark sass was on display as he traversed the stage, breezing through catalog classics like “Nancy From Now On” and newer songs like “Mental Health.” “If your aunt has taken pottery lessons over the last year or so and did a supercut for progress, you’ve probably heard this song before,” he quipped before strumming the instantly recognizable opening notes of “Real Love Baby.”

Despite the chill that came on after dark, a cross-generational crowd stayed put for Saturday headliners and longtime Nashville-residing rock stars Kings of Leon. They were rewarded with a powerhouse set brimming with emotion. “This song … reminds us we have some place to come home to,” said frontman Caleb Followill, introducing “Back Down South” from the band’s 2010 LP Come Around Sundown. He noted that they’d flown back from the West Coast, where they played California’s Ohana Festival on Friday, to be at Pilgrimage. Graphics lit the screens behind the band with the lyrics of “Pyro,” another Sundown song, helping the audience scream along. Lyrics were not necessary to keep the sing-along going through the grand finale, the Kings’ indelible 2008 hit “Sex on Fire.”

The bright, hot sun was back Sunday afternoon when Nashville’s Cristina Vane took the stage at the Americana Music Triangle. Vane entered alongside her two-piece band, decked out in a black lace-skirted dress that contrasted with the cream-colored resonator guitar slung around her neck. Weaving her way through songs old and new, Vane showcased her deep mastery of country and blues. Couples square-danced beside the stage to a twangy performance of “Hard Times,” and the thumping electric blues tune “Little Black Cloud” drowned out the noise leaking from the main stage. She also swapped from guitar to banjo for “Hear My Call,” the titular song from her latest album, and she ended with “Small Town Nashville Blues,” a nod to her adopted hometown. “You guys know Nashville’s not a small town,” Vane joked, “but it feels really small when you date the wrong guitar player.”

Grace Potter returned to Midnight Sun for a full performance following her Saturday guest appearance. Her band showed off old-school style with shaggy hair and flowy sleeves, while Potter herself opted for silver and sparkles. Potter’s catalog includes 10 full albums going back more than 20 years, including her May release Medicine, but she’s still best-known to some audiences for “Something That I Want,” which appeared in Disney’s 2010 animated feature Tangled. That song made an appearance in the wide-ranging set — as did “Little Hitchhiker,” a country song from her 2023 album Mother Road, which was enhanced by a guest appearance from country singer-songwriter extraordinaire Brittney Spencer. 

As the sky turned orange behind Gold Record Road, fans put on an enthusiastic welcome for heartfelt British indie rocker Sam Fender and his massive band, who were playing their first show in Tennessee. The energy at Fender's set was fierce and passionate, feeding off the audience to make a strong connection. He talked to us as if addressing an old friend. Many in the crowd participated in a beautiful moment of togetherness, singing in unison the repeated hook of “Arms Length”: “Do you have to know me / Inside out?” At the tail end of the set, the entire band was jumping along with the crowd as they played faves like “Hypersonic Missiles.” That song searches for compassion in our chaotic world, and snippets of it could be overheard as the audience sang it summer-camp-style on the way to the final set of the weekend.

Just two songs into John Mayer’s set, fans of the contemporary blues guitar wiz knew they were in for a treat: He had already switched guitars three times during opener “Last Train Home” and follow-up “Queen of California.” Sporting a casual denim button-down and baggy green cargo pants, Mayer bounced around to the beat as the smooth sound of the band rolled effortlessly over the crowd. With Dead & Company’s residency run of nearly 50 shows at Las Vegas’ massive venue The Sphere (and an appearance at a record-breaking Zach Bryan concert in Michigan) in the rearview, he seemed eager to give his solo catalog some attention.

“When I wrote this song, I really thought I had a song that I could go everywhere and people would wanna sing along with me,” Mayer said, introducing “Who Says,” a song from 2009’s Battle Studies. “And then I put it out and people said, ‘No thank you.’” He laughed as festivalgoers, faces glowing in the stage lights, cheerfully sang it back at him. The set included plenty of longtime fan faves that caught on much faster, like “I Don't Trust Myself” and “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room.”

Mayer and his ensemble know the material inside and out, and segued songs together seemingly at will; he closed his eyes during his lengthy, winding solos, seeming not to need them to get where he wanted to go. He stopped between songs to chat with fans holding up homemade signs, including a group whose signs collectively spelled out a request for “Covered in Rain.” He made good on his promise to work it into the set later if they’d put the signs down to let the people behind them see better. Before we knew it, he was walking back onstage to encore with the modern slow-dance classic “Gravity,” bringing another year of Pilgrimage to an end.