Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy Honors John Prine On ‘The Tweedy Show’

Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy and members of his family performed a handful of John Prine songs on Tuesday’s episode of The Tweedy Show. Jeff led renditions of “Please Don’t Bury Me,” “Angel From Montgomery” and “Summer’s End” by John Prine shortly after news of Prine's death was announced. The Tweedy Show streams on Instagram most nights at 9 p.m. CT.

Last night’s installment began with George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” playing on the family’s jukebox. Jeff then performed “Please Don’t Bury Me” from Prine’s 1973 studio album Sweet Revenge. The Wilco vocalist/guitarist went on to discuss John Prine’s passing and the death of Hal Willner. Next, Jeff’s son — Sammy Tweedy — sang Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon” before the elder Tweedy performed the Wilco classic “Heavy Metal Drummer.”

Spencer Tweedy, Jeff’s other son, added percussion to “Heavy Metal Drummer” and then discussion turned to his cameo in the Wilco documentary I Am Trying To Break Your Heart. Next, Spencer hopped behind the drum kit to accompany his dad on John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery” and Jeff performed the Warmer bonus track “Drawing From Memory (Charlie).” A stirring moment followed when Jeff Tweedy covered “Summer’s End,” a song addressing the opioid epidemic John Prine released on his final studio album, 2018’s The Tree Of Forgiveness.

The penultimate full song of the episode was “Don’t Forget” from Jeff’s 2018 solo studio album, Warm. With a refrain of “We all think about dying, Don’t let it kill you,” the tune hit home in the wake of John Prine’s death. The same is true of “I Shall Be Released,” which Sammy belted out backed by his dad on guitar and both Jeff and Spencer on harmony vocals. More banter brought last night’s installment of The Tweedy Show to a close. The Tweedys will return with a new episode on Thursday night as they are taking Wednesday off for a Passover Seder.

Watch Tuesday’s episode of The Tweedy Show below thanks to Kate Vassos: