Wilco Performs Deep Cuts & ‘A Ghost Is Born’ At Solid Sound Festival

Wilco returned to MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts this past weekend for the eighth installment of their Solid Sound Festival. The band performed a rarity-filled set on Friday and then delivered a full performance of their 2004 album, A Ghost Is Born, amid their Saturday night set.

Frontman Jeff Tweedy revealed Wilco would play a “Deep Cut” set at the first night of the festival back in May and the sextet went all-in on the concept. The 26-song performance featured a handful of live debuts as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot outtake “Venus Stopped That Train,” “Quiet Amplifier” off 2019’s Ode To Joy and the the title track from the 2020 LP Tell Your Friends each were trotted out for the first time on Friday.

The biggest bust out when it comes to time between performances was “Sonny Feeling” from Wilco (The Album), which was last played on September 27, 2010. A whopping seven songs had been shelved since 2014: “One Sunday Morning,” “Message From Mid-Bar,” “Feed of Man,” “Deeper Down,” “Blue Eyed Soul,” “More Like The Moon” and “Just A Kid.” There were also six songs — “Panthers,” “Dark Neon,” “ELT,” “Bob Dylan’s 49th Beard,” “Just Say Goodbye” and “Let’s Not Get Carried Away” — that hadn’t seen action dating back to 2015, while “Camera” had been missing from setlists for eight years. The rest of the set featured 2024 debuts.

Stream an audience recording of the full “Deep Cuts” set below:

Wilco commemorated the 20th anniversary of A Ghost Is Born by devoting most of Saturday’s set to a front-to-back performance of the LP. The beginning of the frame started with a 10-song mix of staples and the live premieres of “Annihilation” and “Say You Love Me” from Hot Sun Cool Shroud, an EP released on Friday to coincide with the start of the Solid Sound Festival.

Tweedy and his bandmates followed “Random Name Generator” by rolling through each of A Ghost Is Born’s 12 tracks including fan-favorites “Hell Is Chrome,” “Spiders (Kidsmoke),” “Handshake Drugs,” “I’m A Wheel” and “Theologians.” Wilco left the stage during a noise jam that flowed out of the record’s penultimate track, “Less Than You Think.” The group returned to kick off the encore with A Ghost Is Born finale “The Late Greats” and tacked on beloved gems “Jesus, Etc.,” “Impossible Germany,” “Falling Apart (Right Now)” and “A Shot In The Arm” for good measure.

Watch a collection of fan-shot video from Wilco’s 2024 Solid Sound Festival below:

Wilco brings their current Tour to Infinity to Toronto’s Massey Hall for shows on Tuesday and Wednesday. View all dates and ticketing info by scrolling below.

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