Dateline Saturday June 27, 2026 - Williamstown, MA
Note: this was written less than 12 hours after the performance. I will continue to update as I come across more reports and reactions. I've experienced Mermaid Ave music via Wilco, Jeff solo, Jeff and Jay duo and all points in between since 1998. I still remember being blown away the first time I heard Wilco ever play Airline to Heaven - last night's set opener - in a semi-muddy field at a private college campus show in April 2000 (turns out it was the third time they'd ever played it) ). But last night's 28 year delayed live debut of Mermaid Avenue with the project's two main artists on stage together for the first time was some next level shit that rolled over several thousand Solid Sound attendees like a tidal wave of love and inspiration.
Way over yonder in the minor key
There ain't nobody that can sing like me
-- Woody Guthrie
A few days ago was the 28th anniversary of the release of Mermaid Avenue, the landmark colloboration of Wilco and Billy Bragg where they took unpublished works of Woody Guthrie and set them to music for the first time. 2 more volumes were created, and while both artists have continued to perform MA songs on their own (there have been almost 1000 Wilco performances of California Stars), there never was a tour or even a one off with Wilco and Billy together for reasons that are likely above my pay grade. Yesterday out on a packed Joe's Field at Solid Sound Festival (aka the best festival in the land) in The Berkshires (aka God's country), the live debut of Mermaid Avenue finally took place featuring the two primary artists involved in the project. That alone would've made the occasion newsworthy - the gaggle of photogs filing out of the pit after the third song was clown car huge - but it was so much more than that.
The performances were wonderfully organic and the vibe was exceedingly positive. Natalie Merchant was the big suprise guest (although some fans had pegged her participation early on), singing and dancing on a jaw dropping version of Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key that was simply stunning. Jay Bennett - who was so critical to the original Mermaid Ave project, something Jeff honored to start the encore in an incredibly touching, emotional tribute to his former band mate before launching into a devastating Another Man's Done Gone - was missing of course, adding an undeniable bit of poignancy to this 3 decade delayed debut. Wilco 2026 is a very different band than Wilco 1998-2000 (where many Mermaid Ave songs first were featured in Wilco, Jeff solo and Jeff/Jay duo setlists) but the New Wilco/Bragg synergy came off with only a few hiccups. Everyone rolled with it and nearly all of the arrangements seemed fresh, at times even exciting.
Woody's words, some dating back to the 1930s and crystal clear in a perfect mix, were the real star of the show, ranging from hard and profound to soft and tender....and chillingly prescient at times, too. The all star finale kicked off with the expected California Stars and was one for the ages featuring the addition of children of the performers, other SS participants plus many Guthries, including Woody's granddaughter, our old friend Sarah Lee Guthrie, back on her home turf as she took a verse on a wonderfully rousing This Land is Your Land (which also included Woody's daughter Nora and Jeff doing verses that we didn't sing when we were growing up). Sarah Lee's daughter was also on stage singing along so there were 3 generations of Guthrie's present and accounted for. After the multitudes had cleared out, Nora Guthrie - who was the spark plug for bringing this project to life and finally got to see the live fruition of her efforts - gave a funny, insightful and moving speech, ending with an exhortation: "let's get to work" - providing a perfect capper to one of the most special sets in the history of this extraordinary festival, where such moments are legion.
This one will be talked about for a long time.
