It was a busy few days for alt-country golden child Wilco. The legendary band rounded up some demos from their 2023 LP and polished them off for their six-song Hot Sun Cool Shroud EP, released last Friday (Junee 28). The project’s releases coincided with the start of Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival, an annual artist-first festival put together by the Chicago band. The festival brings some of the most exciting voices in the alt-music scene to Massachusetts. This year saw the likes of Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, Dry Cleaning, and Fenne Lily take center stage at one of the four stage set-ups at Solid Sound. Since it is a Wilco-run festival, the band left everything on the stage during their two-night headlining gigs. The band headlined the first two nights of Solid Sound, giving Wilco ample time to dive through their extensive discography and pull out a few surprise stops along the way.
Wilco’s first headlining night was Friday (June 28), and it was a nostalgia-filled outing. The band kicked their set off with “One Sunday Morning” and “Message from Mid-Bar,” two deep-cuts from their 2011 The Whole Love LP that haven’t found a way into a Wilco setlist since 2014. It was a set filled with revisitation. The band’s 2009 self-titled effort appeared in the form of “Sonny Feeling,” which had not been played live since 2010, and “Deeper Down,” which has not been heard in a live setting since 2014. Wilco also pulled out tracks from their rare More Like the Moon EP, originally released as bonus material for the band’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. The band also took time to play some songs live for the first time. “Quiet Amplifier” from Ode To Joy, “Tell Your Friends,” and “Venus Stopped The Train” were played live for the first time at night one of Solid Sound.
Night two was just as memorable. The band debuted “Annihilation” and “Say You Love Me” from their Hit Sun Cool Shroud live for the first time and ran through some hits like “Via Chicago” and “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart.” More importantly, the band ran through the entirety of their 2004 LP, A Ghost Is Born, which celebrated its twentieth anniversary this year. Wilco performed all 12 songs from the classic album, along with highlighting some more rarities as they did on night one. After the full performance of A Ghost Is Born, the band returned for an encore that included “Jesus, Etc.,” “Impossible Germany,” and “A Shot In The Arm.”
You can check out the full setlist from both of Wilco’s performances at Solid Sound, along with footage of the shows below.
