An Evening with Cowboy Junkies: Celebrating 40 Years & Beyond!
We often form a strong emotional bond between songs that we hear in movies and the movies in which they are featured. Case in point, when Oliver Stone released his classic film Natural Born Killers (1994), Stone also made sure to curate a diverse and very memorable soundtrack that included artists/bands like Nine Inch Nails, L7, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Patsy Cline, Peter Gabriel, Dr. Dre, Tha Dogg Pound, and Cowboy Junkies, to name a select few. I remember listening to this soundtrack when it was released on CD and loving every minute of it. Many songs from this soundtrack stuck with me over the years, just like the Cowboy Junkies’ cover of “Sweet Jane” by the Velvet Underground. If you’ve seen the movie Natural Born Killers, then you might remember the scene when Mickey and Mallory confess their undying love to each other under the starry skies.
“The whole world is coming to an end, Mal!” – Mickey.
“I see angels, Mickey. They're coming down for us from heaven. And I see you ridin' a big red horse, and you're driving them horses, whippin' 'em, and the're spitting and frothing all 'long the mouth, and the're coming right at us. And I see the future, a vision of death, 'cause you and I, we're angels…” – Mallory.
“I love you, Mal.” – Mickey.
“I know you do, baby, and I’ve loved you since the day we met.” – Mallory.
The iconic performance of “Sweet Jane” by Cowboy Junkies during this scene with Mickey and Mallory in Natural Born Killers is forever etched in my brain. Earlier this year, Cowboy Junkies announced via their social media accounts that they would embark on a massive United States & United Kingdom tour celebrating an historic 40 years as a band. The tour started March 16th in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and will end with a three-night stand in New York City, New York, on November 8th-10th. When scrolling through the tour dates, I noticed that Cowboy Junkies had an Atlanta date on June 16th at one of my favorite venues in town - Variety Playhouse. Well, you all know exactly what I had to do for Concerthopper. Let’s get into it, shall we?
Cowboy Junkies are an Americana/alternative country/country rock/folk rock/blues rock/slow core band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada that has been active since 1986. Cowboy Junkies consists of Alan Anton, Margo Timmins, Michael Timmons, and Peter Timmons. Cowboy Junkies has released twenty-one (21) LPs, seven (7) live albums, two (2) EPs, fourteen (14) music videos, and several singles and compilations over their career. Cowboy Junkies’ latest release, Open To Beauty: Best of the 21st Century, is a collection of songs from their 21st Century catalogue and is available for purchase as a two (2) CD set or a three (3) LP set via their webstore. Or click this link to stream Open To Beauty: Best of the 21st Century.
A nearly sold-out Atlanta crowd came out on Tuesday night to celebrate the storied career of one of Americana’s most beloved bands since the late 1980s. I know I was excited to finally see this band perform after all these years. Cowboy Junkies took the stage at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, and the crowd was very vocal in letting the band know how thrilled they were for this event.
This would be my first time seeing Cowboy Junkies perform live, and I was very eager to see this band celebrate its 40th anniversary with its fans in Atlanta. Getting the chance to hear songs like “Hell is Real”, “Hard to Build. Easy to Break,” and “Where Are You Tonight?” performed during the first set was a surprise. I was a big fan of the record The Caution Horses (1990), which is the third (3) studio album from Cowboy Junkies. “Where Are You Tonight?” was one of my favorite songs off that album.
Starting the second set, Cowboy Junkies went straight for the jugular with a breathtaking performance of “Sweet Jane”. While performing this song, you could tell the crowd was mesmerized as Margo serenaded the crowd, “But anyone who ever had a heart / Oh, they wouldn’t turn around and break it / Anyone who ever played a part / Oh, they wouldn’t turn around and hate it.” As the second set went on, I was thrilled to hear Cowboy Junkies perform “Continental Drift,” “Angels in the Wilderness,” “Lungs” which is a Townes Van Zandt cover, “Murder, Tonight, in the Trailer Park,” and “Misguided Angel” during this portion of the evening. Finally getting this incredible opportunity to see Cowboy Junkies perform live was all that I expected. I want to send a special thank you to Cowboy Junkies and everyone associated with them for their hospitality last Tuesday at Variety Playhouse.
Check out this massive career-spanning setlist from Cowboy Junkies below:
Set 1
· “Hell Is Real”
· “A Common Disaster”
· “Follower 2”
· “Hard to Build. Easy to Break”
· “Where Are You Tonight?”
· “Sun Comes Up, It’s Tuesday Morning”
· “Big Orange Horse”
Set 2
· “Sweet Jane” (The Velvet Underground cover)
· “Continental Drift”
· “200 More Miles”
· “Blue Guitar”
· “Angels in the Wilderness”
· “Lungs” (Townes Van Zandt cover)
· “Shadows 2”
· “I Don’t Get It”
· “Murder, Tonight, in the Trailer Park”
· “Band Intro”
· “Misguided Angel”
Encore
· “Dreaming My Dreams With You” (Allen Reynolds cover)
· “Don’t Let It Bring You Down” (Neil Young cover)
Check out all the links to Cowboy Junkies socials and streaming music via this link! You still have time to catch Cowboy Junkies on their Celebrating 40 Years and Beyond Tour until early November 2026. Follow this link to check out all the remaining tour dates: Tour – Cowboy Junkies.
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