Concert Photos: Alabama Shakes Lights Up Late Summer Night at Jacobs Pavilion

After going on hiatus in 2018, the Southern Rock band Alabama Shakes went their own ways. Lead singer Brittany Howard focused on a solo career while bassist Zac Cockrell and guitarist Heath Fogg quietly did their own thing.

Starting as a bar band focusing on covers, they quickly established a name for themselves due to Howard’s soulful vocals. Breaking out with their 2012 hit single “Hold On,” the band was subsequently nominated for three Grammys for their freshman effort Boys and Girls.

Their sophomore effort, Sound and Color, was released in 2015 and won them a handful of Grammys.

Drummer Steve Johnson found himself in a morass of legal troubles in 2020; the outfit eventually took a break and focused on their solo efforts.

Earlier in 2025, they decided to get back together, sans Johnson, and hit the road again. Last night’s Jacobs Pavilion was a sold-out affair; fans were on their feet though it was a seated show. Howard, spotlit at center stage, was the star of the show. Cockrell and Fogg, standing in the shadows as bookends to Howard, were barely noticeable in the dim light.

Playing a twenty-two song set with a three-tune encore, Howard and company delivered to fans what they’ve vied for since 2020. Her vocals on tunes such as “Hold On,” “Over My Head,” and “Shoegaze” lit up the brisk Cleveland night.

Opening was Sam Evian, a songwriter whose band played a forty-five minute set.