Band of Horses at Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO (2026-05-01)

Twenty years of ‘Everything’!

Winding down this current tour leg and before returning to the road to co-headline with Dinosaur Jr., then heading across the pond for even more shows, Band of Horses returned to midtown Kansas City for a return stop at the Uptown Theater (we previously saw them there back in 2024) on their 2026 tour, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band’s heralded debut album, Everything All the Time.

The evening was a two-set ‘evening with’ format, with the group playing the record (available via Sub Pop Records) in its entirety first, and then another set of other favorites, with even a new song worked in. Due to this, the show was an equal part of nostalgic celebration mixed with some loose, road-tested experimentation, which kept things from ever feeling like a by-the-numbers retrospective.

With no opener, the band just casually walked onstage and got to work, a choice that worked in their favor with so many loyal fans in the crowd not needing any warm-up act, and the already palpable energy in the room, having nowhere to go but up.

The band has always had a secret language of their own – from the photo pass containing the phase “music for stripper cops,” to alternate names of some of the songs, to the unspoken language between band members done with just a look, or a silent nod- all of which ingrains their obvious chemistry together.  

Frontman Ben Bridwell, like the audience, began the night seated, playing pedal steel on the debut album’s opening tracks- “The First Song (aka The Snow Fall)” and “Our Swords”, giving the show’s opening moments a hushed, living room-esque intimacy.

Behind them, a large video screen cycled through imagery—horses running, dense woods, palm trees swaying, cowboys drifting in and out of frame. It could have felt random, but paired with the band’s reverb-heavy sound, it created a somewhat of an immersive Americana collage.

The structure of the set followed Everything All the Time but was not rigidly enough to feel predictable or automatic. When they hit “The Funeral” as the fourth song, Bridwell paused to acknowledge how strange it still felt to play the song so early in the set. But the song truly landed- the room swelled, voices rose, and by the end, the band was met with a standing ovation for a song that still carries its weight, nearly two decades later.

Crowd favorite “Weed Party” was fun live, as expected, and one of the more striking moments was the album’s finale, “St. Augustine,” performed solo by Bridwell with just voice and guitar, which took on a fragile, confessional quality to end the first set.

With the first album completed, the band returned following an intermission for an informal set of mostly older favorites. The lighting all evening had leaned heavily on deep blues, washing the stage in a cool, nocturnal glow that reinforced a sense of atmosphere over spectacle. Bridwell made a point to shout out the lighting designer, who happened to be a Kansas City native.

The musical momentum carried forward, with the turning point coming during “The Great Salt Lake” and especially on “Casual Party,” which compelled anyone not still seated, to happily stand and groove in place for the rest of the evening. From that point on, the show shifted from attentive listening to a full-bodied participation en masse.

At one point, Bridwell deadpanned introduced “In a Drawer” as being “about furniture,” which got a laugh and may or may not have been entirely serious, and it was that kind of offbeat humor that kept the second half light and purposely unpolished.

They also hinted at what will be next: a new record is slated for next year, with songs being written on the road. “Little Suspect” was the new track played that fit comfortably alongside their older material while hinted at a slightly more stripped-back direction that also continues the band’s evolution, after two decades.

The bidding adieu theme of “Detlef Schrempf” followed by the collective small-town musings in “Ode to LRC” helped build to the final song of the night, 2007’s “The General Specific” from the band’s second record.

Bridwell picked up a tambourine, adding a less restrained and celebratory rhythm to the closing moments as he sang about returning to a simpler and more authentic life.

As we all reflect on Band of Horses celebrating two decades as a group as well their impactful debut album, it’s clear the band isn’t interested in just recreating who they were and what they sounded like twenty years ago. They’re more interested in revisiting it, from where they are today and continue to musically move forward, for what we hope will be another twenty years.

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ALL REPORTING AND PHOTOS BY BRANDON CLASEN

National / International act coming through the Midwest / Kansas City area? Please email details to johnc@weheartmusic.com with a good lead time to be considered for Show Preview and Show Coverage consideration.