For the second time in two years, the Philadelphia-originated band Mt. Joy took the stage at TD Garden — this time for their “Mt. Joy 2026: Celebrating 10 Years Of Mt. Joy” tour. The Sept. 19 concert did not disappoint — with stunning visuals, impressive musicality, and audience participation, the two-hour show seamlessly blended moments of intimacy and grandeur.

The band’s name is fitting for the joy its five members exhibited during their performance. Lead guitarist Sam Cooper grinned while plucking complex riffs and drummer Sotiris Eliopoulos, in a seeming flow state, had his eyes closed during his minutes-long solo in the self-titled song “Mt. Joy.”

The group played 21 songs overall, consisting of mostly originals with a few covers, which included a satisfying number of their popular hits. The audience was notably appreciative — they stood on their feet and sang along during pieces like “Silver Lining” and “Jenny Jenkins.”

Every song was backed by beautiful, carefully curated visuals, the impressive work by the show’s production and lighting team facilitated by the spacious TD Garden arena. Some standouts were the comic book-style love story that played behind the band during “Let Loose” and the use of orange light to create a striking silhouette of the band before “Orange Blood.”

Rather than distracting from the music, the vibrant, nature-inspired artistry was delightful to look at and large enough to be appreciated by those sitting even in the nosebleeds. In songs like “Highway Queen,” the global maps flashing across the screen emphasized Mt. Joy’s message of unity. It was noticeable, too, when the band opted against using any colorful visuals, creating a somber and reflective atmosphere during “Lucy,” a song about the death of their friend.

The musicianship was evident throughout the concert. Lead singer Matt Quinn amusingly started the show strumming a ukulele, which he eventually switched out for an electric guitar, and then switched once more to an acoustic one. Regardless of the instrument of choice, he successfully displayed his musical prowess across the board. Pianist Jackie Miclau sported a piano with a second keyboard sitting on top of it, oftentimes playing both sets of keys simultaneously.

Mt. Joy used the concert as an opportunity to jam out for the audience, during which they lengthened existing — as well as newly added — musical interludes during their songs. While impressive, these instrumental breaks sometimes needlessly dragged on. Besides that, however, all of the tracks stayed relatively true to the recording, and the transitions in their opening song, “Lemon Tree,” sounded smoother and cleaner than in the studio album.

Despite the band’s dedicated fanbase, the concert lulled after the first few opening tracks. When the crowd wasn’t familiar with the lyrics of the group’s more niche pieces, like “Coyote,” or a drawn-out cover of Frank Ocean’s “Pink + White,” Mt. Joy also appeared to lose excitement from the lack of audience engagement.

Soon, though, the energy picked back up. The crowd had an enthusiastic response to Mt. Joy’s cover of “Have You Ever Seen The Rain” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, a song choice that harkened back to the band’s folk roots. ​​Although Mt. Joy’s music is a difficult-to-define mixture of folk, indie, alternative and rock, the band remained consistent with the politically active tradition of folk musicians. Mt. Joy took the opportunity to use the TD Garden stage to champion various causes throughout the set.

In response to Macklemore’s recent expulsion from the Ed Sheeran tour, Mt. Joy called for a free Palestine before playing their protest song “Bang.” Then, speaking of their experience losing a friend to brain cancer, Mt. Joy dedicated their song “Lucy” to those battling the disease and asked concertgoers for donations to the nonprofit Family Reach. Finally, the band rallied behind human artists in the age of AI, projecting large block letters with phrases like “WE WON’T LET THE ROBOTS EAT US” during their performance of “Julia.”

In tactfully and tastefully spotlighting these causes with song dedications, Mt. Joy made their concert feel all the more meaningful.

Like most live performances, Mt. Joy’s standout show concluded with an encore. After bidding the audience farewell, the band disappeared, only to reappear on the other side of the floor. Consequently, the concertgoers in the pit sprinted to the other side of the floor, and seated viewers had a closer view of the band — a thoughtful touch to wrap up the show.

Mt. Joy’s showing at TD Garden was a joy to experience, and audiences were rewarded with a cohesive set that evidently stemmed from the band’s camaraderie and love for creating music. From the music to the lights to the atmosphere, the concert warmed the hearts of the audience with its message of togetherness.

—Staff writer Avani I. Shah-Lipman can be reached at [email protected].