Between 1998 and 2012, Wilco and British troubadour Billy Bragg released three Mermaid Avenue albums inspired by a trunk of unpublished Woody Guthrie lyrics uncovered by his family. However, beyond a handful of brief shared appearances, the musicians never worked their way through those most of the songs in a live setting.
That will change next summer, when Wilco and Bragg will finally team up onstage at the band’s long-running Solid Sound festival. The event will return June 26-28 to MASS MoCA in North Adams, Ma., with the Mermaid Avenue live celebration set for opening night. Tickets are on sale now.
“The world needs all the Woody Guthrie it can get,” says Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. “We’re thrilled that we get to bring these songs to life with Billy.” Adds Bragg, “there’s an abiding love out there for the Mermaid Avenue albums, so I’m really looking forward to reconnecting with Wilco to bring Woody’s words to life once again.”
When folk pioneer Guthrie died from Huntington’s disease in 1967, he left behind more than a thousand sets of lyrics that were housed in a trunk. His daughter Nora left them undisturbed until 1995, when she asked longtime fan Bragg if he’d be interested in setting some of the words to music. Bragg suggested Wilco join him in the endeavor, which first bore fruit with the acclaimed Mermaid Avenue in 1998.
A second volume was released in 2000, and in 2012, The Complete Sessions boxed set arrived with a third disc of previously unheard outtakes from the original sessions. Wilco has long featured Mermaid Avenue material such as “California Stars,” “Hesitating Beauty,” “Hoodoo Voodoo” and “Airline to Heaven” in its own live sets.
“What could’ve been an embalming is instead a boozy séance, conjuring Guthrie’s ghost with some lost song lyrics and a clan who employ the mythic folkie as mirror,” SPIN wrote of the 1998 album. “The apparition rocks, sighs, casts a vote for Jesus, propositions Ingrid Bergman and generally makes everyone look good.”
Choosing the opening night of Solid Sound for the debut full live Wilco/Bragg pairing is apropos considering Tweedy and company have routinely drawn from their bag of tricks for the occasion. Indeed, Wilco has played sets with all rarities, all covers, front-to-back album plays and even a karaoke evening where it served as the backing band for specially chosen fan vocalists.
In related news, Tweedy will be a couch guest on tonight’s (Oct. 23) episode of The Daily Show. He’s in the midst of tour on his own and with his eponymous solo band, which will run through Nov. 21 in Madison, Wi., and then resume Feb. 11 in Madrid.
For now, Wilco’s only other non-Solid Sound performances for 2026 will be at its Sky Blue Sky festival in Riviera Maya, Mexico, from Jan. 15-18. That event will also feature Dinosaur Jr., Dr. Dog, MJ Lenderman, Yo La Tengo and Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy playing the music of R.E.M.