On Wednesday night, Lord Huron brought their story-driven, indie folk rock to a packed Madison Square Garden, playing their largest headlining show in New York City to date. The concert marked a major milestone on their 2025 Cosmic Selector tour, in support of their new album, The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1.

Opening the evening was Waxahatchee (Katie Crutchfield), who delivered an intimate yet powerful set that drew heavily from her acclaimed 2024 album Tigers Blood and its predecessor Saint Cloud (2020).

She also performed her latest single, “Much Ado About Nothing,” and offered a beautiful cover of Kathleen Edwards’ “Six O’Clock News.”

Originally conceived by Ben Schneider in 2010, Lord Huron has since grown into a beloved staple of modern indie folk, known for its signature blend of mythical Americana and spectral storytelling. The band’s hit song “The Night We Met”—originally from their 2015 album Strange Trails—surged in popularity after being featured in 13 Reasons Why on Netflix, and it was one of the biggest hits of 2024 with nearly a billion streams on Spotify.

At Madison Square Garden, Lord Huron fully embraced the surreal, interdimensional aesthetic of The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1. The elaborate stage was a dreamscape of cosmic Western surrealism, featuring a glowing jukebox that seemed to control fate, a vintage payphone (used theatrically during songs), and panoramic visuals that flickered between desert and forest landscapes and imaginary dreamworlds. These elements expanded on themes from their 2024 tour but now felt even more fully realized.

The performance was structured like a mythical journey, interweaving songs with narrative vignettes featuring fictional characters from the Whispering Pines universe—a hallmark of the band’s immersive storytelling. The show opened with three songs from the new album, setting a meditative tone before launching into a cross-album retrospective that included their biggest hits.

New York-based indie folk singer Allison Ponthier appeared in a flowing red dress to join the band for a moving duet of “I Lied,” her 2021 collaboration with the group from Long Lost. As they sang, dreamlike footage of ballet dancers played on the screen behind them, blurring the lines between memory, longing, and fate.

The main set ended with emotional punch: “Meet Me in the Woods” and “The Night We Met” brought the crowd to their feet. When the band returned for the encore, they opened with a reprise of “The Night We Met,” followed by the defiant, life-affirming “Not Dead Yet.” “May you live until you die,” Schneider said, in introducing the song—a mantra that seemed to echo the album’s core message of embracing the unpredictability of life.

The Cosmic Selector tour kicked off in July and will continue across Europe before returning stateside this fall. If Wednesday’s performance was any indication, Lord Huron has not only expanded their fan base but elevated their already ambitious live experience into something truly otherworldly.

Waxahatchee Setlist: 3 Sisters, Can’t Do Much, Problem With It (Plains), Right Back to It, Crowbar, The Wolves, Lilacs, Six O’Clock News (Kathleen Edwards), Much Ado About Nothing, Fire

Lord Huron Setlist: Who Laughs Last, Looking Back, Bag of Bones, Ends of the Earth, The Ghost on the Shore, Wait by the River, Secret of Life, Used to Know, Ancient Names (Part I), Long Lost, Twenty Long Years, Watch Me Go, I Lied, La Belle Fleur Sauvage, Frozen Pines, Meet Me in the Woods, The Night We Met

Encore: The Night We Met (Reprise), The World Ender, Nothing I Need, Not Dead Yet, Digging Up the Past