From Curbside Pickup to Curbside Prophet – Jason Mraz Brings the “Good” back to Summer

August 2, 2021 sheehan

“We’ve been patiently waiting for this day: when the curtain goes up in Austin, it will be a celebration of life, with a new appreciation for live music, and in-person connections we’ve all been missing.”

-Jason Mraz

Austin, TX – Jason took the stage like a cool California breeze cutting through the Texas humidity. With less than two thousand people in the intimate outdoor setting, his first words into the mic were:

“Look for the good in everything

Look for the people who will set your soul free”

And so began a night full of dancing, singing along and genuinely feeling like life was regaining some of its normalcy.

As it was the first night of the tour, the band went through a long list of songs (see setlist below), many of which had not been played in front of a live audience before and perhaps some of which will come off of the list as the tour goes on. However, no matter what songs are on the list, the indisputable musical theme of the tour is Reggae. This, of course, is not surprising as it is the dominant genre of the new album “Look for the Good” but even the older songs were all played in reggae style.

As a bit of a Jason purist, having followed him since the early 2000s, I have only two disappointments in the show worth noting:

That Jason played only one song from each of his first two albums: “The Remedy” (from Waiting for my Rocket to Come) and “Plane” (from Mr. A-Z)
That Jason only played guitar for about six songs and, even when he did, was not showcasing his incredible abilities on the instrument

That being said, I am always in favor of allowing artists to re-invent themselves and to do whatever is necessary for them to stay excited about creating and sharing their art. Afterall, one of my all time favorite Jason shows was seeing him with Raining Jane in 2014 where all the songs were once again rearranged into different versions of their original selves.

Last but certainly not least, I would not be doing justice to the experience if I did not mention what was truly the highlight of the night for me, and that was discovering his new guitarist Dr. Molly Miller. Her skill as a guitarist is undeniable, her ability to transition between Jazz, Bluegrass and Reggae is flawless, and her energy and stage presence is absolutely mesmerizing. I have no doubt she will become a larger part of the show on this tour and wish I could go to a later show just to see how that evolves.

So thank you Jason for yet another incredible night of live music, good vibes and for reminding us all not to worry our lives away and just look for the good!

Setlist – July 30, 2021 – Stubbs Bar-B-Q – Austin, TX