words by Patty Riek
photos by Jon Bauer
Please see more photos and our companion piece on the great 48 Hills.
Matt Berninger entranced a sold out crowd at Bimbo’s on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. Touring to support his soon to be released sophomore solo album, Berninger worked his way through most of the tracks on Get Sunk (releasing on May 30, 2025) and a fair number from his first solo endeavor, Serpentine Prison (released in October 2020, it became the healing soundtrack to the pandemic for many Berninger fans).
More introspective and brooding than his collaborative ventures, Berninger’s solo concert showcased the interior landscapes of people longing for understanding and comfort amid a disconcerting world. Bimbo’s was the perfect venue for this concert – an intimate space where the front row was within arm’s length, the acoustics highlighted the raw intensity of Berninger’s voice, and the disco ball was strategically deployed.
Opening with “No Love” which includes the bridge “We laugh it off / With careful hugs / And kisses off the cheek” created the entry way for Berninger’s audience hugs as he rewarded the devoted fans who lined up early to get prime spots. While his lyrics represent personal experiences, Berninger strives for connections with fans. Similar juxtapositions exist throughout his work – exemplified by his novel turns of phrase. In “Bonnet of Pins” Berninger crones that “She sidewinders through the room” turning the noun with its literal and contemporary meanings into a verb to capture a past love that still has a gravitational pull – universal experience there!
Berninger himself juxtaposes his serious searching for understanding our modern life with a playfulness – lyrical playfulness, playful interactions with the audience, Aiden the tech master, Stu the sound guru, the touring band, and musical playfulness.
There are no bad moments when Matt Berninger performs, but some of the superlative moments were “Times of Difficulty” with the titular line for Get Sunk encapsulating all of the struggles of contemporary life and Berninger’s (and our) desire to figure shit out. “Silver Springs” is a powerhouse of a song. Ronboy’s supporting vocals throughout the show complemented Berninger’s, but “Silver Springs” needed more than a complement, and Ronboy delivered.
Sometimes angst and longing are siloed as self-absorbed, but Berninger reminded us that we can hold conflicting emotions simultaneously. He explores and questions life and his gratitude is plabable – leaning into the audience, thanking fans for attending, crediting all of his writing partners throughout the show.
Berninger’s special talent is to use his sultry voice to explore universal truths that are, ironically, expressed through minutiae. In Bimbo’s on a Tuesday night, the fear of betrayal and longing for love is made palpable with the “rumor [that] somebody saw you somewhere in the middle of nowhere in a silver jeep.” Similarly, even folks who aren’t parents can relate to the joy and disgust of picking up a child “Smellin′ like Girl Scout Cookies and drool.”
Berninger’s three encore songs started out with a cover – cue musical playfulness – of Radiohead’s “Kid A” that Berninger called “Kid B.” Second was the only The National song of the night, “Gospel” – a Berninger favorite. Finally and appropriately, “Inland Ocean” closed the show echoing what many in Bimbo’s felt: “Everything ends before I want it to.”
If you weren’t lucky enough to see Matt Berninger’s tour solo, “poor you” as one of the personas in “Bonnet of Pins” remarks.
Matt Berninger:
Opener, Ronboy, showcased a totally different musical experience than her vocal work with Berninger. Focusing more on the power and variety of expression in her voice, Ronboy’s solo pieces connected her voice to the baseline, which she played. Berninger joined Ronboy during her set to reprise a song they wrote the night before. They joked they hadn’t gotten quite right, yet, suggesting further collaboration. In a similar way, her set conveyed her own personal and musical journey – which clearly has many more chapters.
Ronboy:
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