Doing a music festival is hard. Attending a three-day fest can entail a few hours of traveling, months of planning, a good chunk of cash, finding someone to watch your pets, and the social battery for 72 hours of strangers complimenting your band tee. Even when the lineup is stacked and the setting is ideal, festivals are invariably hectic. Luckily, Wilco knows how to do it.
At home at the lovely MASS MoCA Museum, Wilco’s Solid Sound Fest eases those aches for an indie rock paradise. After a year off, following the festival’s “every other summer” tradition, Wilco returned with a curated list of celebrated and budding acts. Solid Sound is one of the rare festivals I feel comfortable not knowing the majority of the lineup since Tweedy hand-picks the talent.
Although the lineup featured heavy hitters like The Breeders and Gang of Four, leading up to the festival, most attendees focused on one 28-year-old record: Mermaid Avenue. The iconic Wilco collaboration with Billy Bragg, in which they recorded unreleased Woody Guthrie lyrics, was finally brought to life on opening night. It’s tradition for Wilco to veer from their usual set on Solid Sound Friday night, but this championed every other “special show.”
Whenever I needed a break from nonstop tunes, I remembered that Solid Sound is not solely about the music. All weekend long, MASS MoCA housed surreal exhibits, including a handful of James Turrell’s installations. Multiple exhibits focused on music, including “50 Years of Punk,” which featured quintessential images from Punk Magazine. There’s a photo of Debbie Harry driving a convertible with Joey Ramone holding a surfboard in the background that I can’t get out of my head.
Solid Sound is the “something for everyone” festival, and Wilco and their crew pull it off with no frills.
Trusting Tweedy
Finding your new favorite indie obsession is customary at Solid Sound. Once an artist is selected for the lineup, they’re given the Jeff Tweedy stamp of approval. This far into his career, Tweedy is the indie rock Consumer Reports. Like 2024, my first SS, this year’s lineup contained many acts that haven’t crossed my desk. Thankfully, I did not fret. SS24 introduced me to Horsegirl, Wednesday, and Water From Your Eyes. Three bands I rarely go a day without.
SS26 nurtured my trust in master curator Tweedy. Canadian quartet Living Hour performed early Saturday afternoon, the first set on my ‘must-see’ list for day two. As if the rock gods planned it, right as I joined the crowd, Tweedy joined the group for a cover of Silver Jews’ “We Could Be Looking For The Same Thing.” If there’s any way to capture an indie rock fan’s attention, it’s to cover David Berman.
My second discovery came during Prewn’s set. From down the road in Northampton, Prewn, aka Izzy Hagerup, settled seamlessly with the SS crowd. Her sophomore record, System, controlled the setlist, paced with heavy Big Thief-sounding bangers and dreamy, bedroom pop-leaning cuts. Instead of using TikTok to find your next favorite band, go to SS, or at least take a peek at their lineup.
Mermaid Mania
On Friday, attendees either spoke about their excitement for the Mermaid Avenue set or about the massive crowds that packed in early. I’m no Solid Sound veteran, but compared to 2024, Friday’s crowds were unlike anything I experienced. The Mermaid set was the perfect lure for people who had always questioned whether the hike up to North Adams, MA, was worth it.
Between finding a time to get Bragg and Wilco in the same room and trimming the setlist from 47 potential songs to 24 songs, Mermaid Ave endured hundreds of obstacles before the band took the stage. Although they’ve played many of these songs on their own for the past few decades, doing an entire set together was like starting a new band—Wilco’s version of Billy Preston joining The Beatles on the Let It Be recordings.
Regardless of the pressure, no one doubted Tweedy and Bragg’s ability to deliver. Mermaid Ave arrived at Solid Sound like they were in the middle of a debut tour, deep into a comfortable groove, while still working out incidental quirks.
“Airline to Heaven” and “Walt Whitman’s Niece” opened the set, setting the tone as one of the calmest Wilco sets in their career. Wilco were not trying to put their live spin on these songs–all they wanted was to honor Guthrie. One of the most memorable moments came during “Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key,” when Natalie Merchant swept the mic and won the weekend. For a set of non-rockers, Merchant’s guest spot had the crowd moving like Wilco’s “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” did the following night.
Wilco and Bragg ended the set in the only way you can end an ode to Woody Guthrie, with a “This Land Is Your Land” singalong with Guthrie’s relatives and Wilco’s friends and family. I should also note that Tweedy thanked late-Wilco member Jay Bennett for his contributions to the album, “A lot of these (songs) wouldn’t be here without Jay. He was a big champion of this project at the time, and made it happen.”
Chiagoooo
Solid Sound may be a 13-hour drive from Chicago, but it is inherently a Chi-Town festival. The obvious connection is that the Windy City is Wilco’s hometown. Additionally, a sizable chunk of the lineup derives from the Midwest. This year, one of the most exciting bands to come out of Chicago in the last decade, Sharp Pins, made their SS debut.
Fronted by Kai Slater of Lifeguard and Dwaal Troupe, thee Sharp Pins, as they liked to be called, brought their jangly power pop drive to North Adams. Slater, with features resembling a mid-’70s Johnny Thunders, dealt multiple shoutouts to his home in the midst of their lo-fi heaters. Although they released their third LP in three years last November, they played new music, including “Saturday Sun,” which Slater said will be out July 8 on K Records.
Chicago’s Elizabeth Moen also stole the weekend for her appearance during Wilco’s Saturday night performance. A few songs into the set, Tweedy invited Moen out for a duet of “Forget The Flowers,” a song Wilco plays often, but seldom with two leads. Afterward, Tweedy mentioned that the song was originally written as a duet. Moen’s recent tour partner, Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band, also performed Saturday. Davis’ set was my favorite of the weekend, spanning his two albums with a flavorful groove nurtured during their live sets.
Jamco
Amidst the excitement for the Mermaid Ave set, Wilco’s headlining Saturday night slot was a bit of a mystery. On paper, it’s a ‘standard’ set for the band, but in years past, they’ve played albums front to back and included some surprises to excite the diehard crowd. Rather than stunning the crowd with rarely performed fan favorites, Wilco focused on fiddling with a fresh tone, that of a jam band.
The first half of the show played out relatively as recent setlists promised, including a phenomenal “You and I” duet with Natalie Merchant. They also performed two unreleased tracks, one a bit rocking like A Ghost Is Born, the other in the vein of Tweedy’s solo material.
After ripping through the deep cut, “Sonny Feeling,” Wilco’s final few songs deviated from their past succinct renditions.
Over the years, Wilco consistently rearranged classic tracks to allow for more solos and breakdowns, but never like this, or at this pace. Before the encore, they played “Art of Almost,” “Kingpin,” and “Hate It Here,” all of which stretched out to their limit. If SS goers expected a classic Wilco set, this was not it. It’s unclear whether this hard-rocking night was an SS special or if this is where the band’s live performance is headed.
Regardless of whether you’re keen on jamming, those looking for the classic indie sound got their fair share with Gang Of Four and The Breeders. Their respective sing-alongs, “Damaged Goods” and “Cannonball,” were the punk rock moments of the weekend. Kim Deal sounds as good as ever, and she even teased that new music is on the way with an unreleased track.
We Are Family
Every Solid Sound ends the same way, with a sweet, soft, and familial performance by Jeff Tweedy and his band. Tweedy’s latest, highly celebrated, triple record, Twilight Override, guided the set. The 30 tracks on TO are silly, straightforward, and impactful; however, the closing set at SS is never really about the music, it’s Wilco’s final celebration of community.
Paraphrasing, Tweedy mentioned that the goal of Solid Sound has and will always be to bring people together and honor the power of music (he says it in a much more passionate and empowering way, of course)—nevertheless, Tweedy’s right. We need music, and we need more than streaming and social media-driven recommendations.
For everyone at Solid Sound, there’s a shared feeling that live music is one of the driving factors of a healthy humanity, and the warmth Wilco harbors is exactly why people return every other summer.
