The heartbreaking Carrie & Lowell, Sufjan Stevens’ public reckoning with his troubled mother’s death, and possibly the songwriter’s best work, is one of this spring’s must-hear LPs. At Thursday night’s tour kickoff at Philadelphia’s Academy Of Music, Stevens brought many of the album’s songs to the stage for the first time. Watch fan-shot footage of the live debuts of “Drawn To The Blood” and “Death With Dignity” on Thursday, and of “John My Beloved” on Friday at the same venue, below.

Setlist 4/9:
“Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)”
“Death With Dignity”
“Should Have Known Better”
“Drawn To The Blood”
“All Of Me Wants All Of You”
“Eugene”
“John My Beloved”
“Carrie & Lowell”
“The Only Thing”
“Fourth Of July”
“No Shade In The Shadow Of The Cross”
“Heirloom”
“For The Widows In Paradise, For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti”
“The Dress Looks Nice On You”
“To Be Alone With You”
“Casimir Pulaski Day”
“Blue Bucket Of Gold”

Encore:
“All The Trees Of The Field Will Clap Their Hands”
“John Wayne Gacy, Jr.”
“Chicago”

Setlist 4/10:
“Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)”
“Death With Dignity”
“Should Have Known Better”
“Drawn To The Blood”
“All Of Me Wants All Of You”
“Eugene”
“John My Beloved”
“The Only Thing”
“Fourth Of July”
“No Shade In The Shadow Of The Cross”
“Carrie & Lowell”
“The Owl And The Tanager”
“For The Widows In Paradise, For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti”
“Heirloom”
“The Dress Looks Nice On You”
“Blue Bucket Of Gold”

Encore:
“Concerning The UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois”
“To Be Alone With You”
“John Wayne Gacy, Jr.”
“Chicago”

[Photo by @Jeremy_Zim.]