Jeff Tweedy — 25-27 July 2025, Newport, RI (Fort Adams State Park) [Newport Folk Festival]

[bböp]

It’s funny, by the time Jeff reached his actual set near the end of the three-day Newport Folk Festival, he had already popped up at so many other sets and collaborated with so many other artists that his own show seemed almost like an afterthought. OK, I’m exaggerating a bit — and when both Mavis Staples and the ladies of Lucius turn up during your set, that alone ensures it will be a special one — but I guess that’s sort of par for the course for Newport.

 

For the record, Jeff’s “official” appearance at Newport came in an hour-long set (that actually clocked in at 53 minutes) featuring the core Tweedy band of Spencer Tweedy on drums, Sammy Tweedy on backing vocals and Liam Kazar on bass in addition to the aforementioned Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius on backing vocals and a cameo by Staples. That cameo came, of course, on You Are Not Alone with Wolfe and Laessig remaining on stage as backing vocalists, and it was probably the emotional climax of the show with hugs being exchanged all around before the 86-year-old legend gradually made her way off stage.

 

What was perhaps most surprising, at least to me, was how many songs the Lucius ladies remained on stage for, even ones off the forthcoming Twilight Override such as KC Rain (No Wonder), Feel Free and Enough. They also reprised their original harmony parts on the Sukierae track Low Key, which was fun. By my count, they were on stage for nearly half the set — six of 13 songs.

 

“We’ve been friends for so long, so it’s nice to see them again,” Jeff said of Wolfe and Laessig, who were still dressed in the lovely matching red outfits they wore for their own set about an hour earlier on a different stage. “And they look nicer than us.” A bit later, with Lucius hopping on and off stage seemingly every other song, Jeff briefly lost track of exactly which songs they were singing on, quipping, “I think they’re coming back (now). Who made this setlist?”

 

I guess it was just that sort of set with people constantly coming and going. That included Jeff’s wife Susie and Spencer’s fiancé Casey, who I spotted sneaking into the photo pit between the stage and the barricade about four songs into the set. It must be at least a little weird to look down from the stage and suddenly see your wife — or anyone close to you — peering up, and Jeff reacted as you might expect shortly thereafter, sharing that “now Susie’s looking at me,” in an almost-nervous tone.

 

The movement even extended to the crowd at the Quad Stage, which is situated under a large tent inside the walls of Fort Adams. Normally this is a seated venue, with rows of chairs filling most of the room underneath the tent and then people standing around and behind the chairs. That’s how the scene was at the start of the Tweedy set, but a few songs in, the volunteers who had been policing the seating area basically started allowing people to come stand at the barricade and then of course there was the inevitable stage rush. It was a bit annoying for those who were either stuck in the middle of a row or otherwise weren’t positioned well to surge to the front. Personally, I wish they would just make the Quad Stage a general admission standing zone because they’re often putting acts on that stage for which people would want to stand anyway, but they do things the way they do them at Newport, so what are you going to do?

 

Anyway, for his part, Jeff had nothing but kind words to say about the Newport fest at the end of his set. I’m paraphrasing here, but in part he thanked the organizers of the event for forging a space where people can come and sing together, which he said was “good for humanity.” It was, if I’m not mistaken, Jeff’s third appearance under his own name at Newport, following a solo set in 2019 and a Tweedy band performance in 2014 (of course Wilco has also performed at Newport several times over the years, including 2017, 2012 and 2004).

 

Jeff certainly took the opportunity to collaborate with other artists more than once over the course of the three-day event, even dashing over to the main Fort Stage after his own set to join the festival-closing “Songs For The People” superjam, in which he joined Mavis to sing Pops Staples’ Friendship. Earlier in the day, he turned up during Lucius’ set for a performance of Jesus, etc. The day before, Jeff surprised some with a guest spot during the Remi Wolf and Friends set during which the pair duetted on Either Way. On the first day, Jeff joined Jack Antonoff and his band Bleachers during their headlining set to reprise their version of Lana Del Rey’s Margaret (which was co-written by Antonoff) that they had previously played together at a Bleachers show at Chicago’s Salt Shed in May 2024.

 

As Jeff remarked, half-jokingly, during his own show, “If you were wanting to hear Wilco songs, you should’ve come to other people’s sets.” Apparently so, though it would have been kind of nice to hear Jeff sing on another cover or two at some point. There was certainly a chance for that during the Remi Wolf set, for example, but when it comes to Jeff collabs, I guess beggars can’t really be choosers and you take what you can get.

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played, for Jeff's/the Tweedy band's set on Day 3 of the Newport Folk Festival (there were no changes/omissions from the printed setlist):

 

Family Ghost

Evergreen

A Robin Or A Wren

KC Rain (No Wonder)*

Gwendolyn

I Know What It's Like*

Caught Up In The Past

Flowering

You Are Not Alone*%

Feel Free*

Enough*

Low Key*

Lou Reed Was My Babysitter

 

* — denotes with Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius on backing vocals

*% — denotes with Mavis Staples on lead vocals and Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius on backing vocals

 

[-summerteeth-]

50 years of going to concerts and I can't recall being as struck by a new song (one I hadn't heard before) as much as Feel Free.  Obsessed, really.  Later that night, I scoured each release thinking that I'd missed a song or maybe Jeff had revamped and expanded one that I already knew.  Nope.  Feel Free is about a year old from what I can find.  I've since heard a couple of live versions online from other venues, but nothing compares to the Newport performance.  

 

Seemingly simple, deceptively complex, humorous, poignant, inspiring but not preachy.

I was transfixed and would like to be transfixed once more.  I need this song as a single or else maybe some way to hear it again.

 

Jeff, if you're listening -- a sterile, studio version of this song might miss the mark, but should you be tempted to release it, drop the Newport version as a single.  Maybe even include the two Mavis 'duets' to round it out and give the proceeds to charity -- or something.

 

Thank you, Michael (aka 'summerteeth')

 

edit/clarification: I in no way meant to imply "Feel Free" would be only average in studio form.  I'm so old that I remember hearing Dylan's "Isis" live and being a little disappointed when Desire was released.  Not as immediate - the fire was missing(?)  Maybe that won't be the case with Twilight Override.

 

Edited August 2 by -summerteeth-
update - message might have been misconstrued

[Albert Tatlock]

Ta. 

 

 

 

 

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