LIVE: JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ – Nashville, TN, USA – November 13, 2025

Venue: Ryman Auditorium

Date: November 13, 2025

Review and Photographs by: Jacob Smith (https://www.jhs-photo.com)

After having to cancel last year’s tour due to family illness, seeing José walk across the stage to the very enthused audience, I knew that this highly anticipated show was going to be special. Very low-key stage setup. Simply a chair with his guitars. It was simple and elegant. The lighting fit the vibe and mood of the evening and helped elevate the music to new levels I hadn’t thought possible from years of listening to his music. Stopping occasionally to tell stories and quick little witticisms, the crowd fully appreciated the candor and attitude. I had always wanted to catch him perform, so when I saw that he was playing at the Mother Church, I immediately knew it was going to be special. Every single performance I have ever caught at The Ryman has been nothing short of spectacular, and this one definitely fit that brilliance mold perfectly.

He performed 20 songs this evening, and every single one of them was absolutely stellar. He chose selections from all of his various albums, focusing primarily on selections from his album Veneer but encompassing everything anyone would ever dream of hearing. He played 17 songs in his initial set and finished with “Tjomme.” With a short interlude and massive applause from the house, he came back to the stage to play a 5-song encore, including a cover of The Beatles’ “Blackbird” upon which, at the end, even the audience started whistling and chirping, which caused him to pause and laugh, and say that it sounded like he was in the rainforest. After that, he ended the evening with his cover of The Knife’s “Heartbeats” and closed it out with his cover of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop.” Once the evening was complete. He slowly stood, and the house lights came on, and he showed sincere gratitude for the performance and crowd and gave a very gracious bow and slowly left the stage. Hearing his live renditions of “Killing For Love” and “Cycling Trivialities” was a high point in the evening for me. Those have been my favorite songs of his since they were first released. This show was one of those amazing events that everyone who loves acoustic and Indie music absolutely has to try and get tickets to see. I was already a fan for the past 20 years, but hearing him perform nothing short of magic on that stage, I am a fan for life now.

Setlist: With the Ink of a Ghost – Stay in the Shade – Lovestain – Valle Local – Down the Line – Line of Fire – The Void – Horizons – Stories We Build, Stories We Tell – Killing for Love – Cycling Trivialities – El invento – Visions – Leaf Off / The Cave – Tjomme – Pajarito – Blackbird – Crosses – Heartbeats – Teardrop

[Show as slideshow]

JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

FACEBOOK

X – TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

TOUR DATES

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries