Wilco — 18 January 2026, Riviera Maya, Mexico (Hard Rock Hotel) [Sky Blue Sky Festival; Day 4 of 4]

[bböp]

Well, just when it seemed like we might not get any collaborations by Wilco with other artists at this year’s Sky Blue Sky Festival, several happened at the 11^th hour that got everyone talking — for better or, uh, not better. This was during the encore of Jeff and Co.’s third and final show of the event, which was just about in the books when some of the folks who were still around came out and helped to bring it home.

 

The cavalcade of collabs kicked off when Wilco returned to the stage soon to be joined by the ever-present MJ Lenderman, who emerged with electric guitar in hand, took position between Nels and Jeff and powered through a garage-y Outtasite (Outta Mind). “We had to bring someone out who knows one of our songs,” Jeff joked beforehand. Afterward, Jeff was all smiles as he shared a sentiment that many in the audience were likely feeling at that moment: “This has been such a fucking great time.” (There was also a bit when someone in the crowd must’ve shouted something that Jeff heard and spinned into one of his running jokes about “individual encouragement” and how “we don’t need it, but we want it.”)

 

After a twangy Falling Apart (Right Now), with Pat engaging in some of his usual fake B-bender shenanigans, the stage was set for the sit-in that had many marveling afterward. “We can’t pass up an opportunity to do a Neil Young song with J. Mascis,” Jeff said of the Dinosaur Jr. frontman whose band had immediately preceded Wilco tonight on the SBS main stage. To Mascis, Jeff said, “You guys sounded great earlier.” (J. is known for being pretty stoic, but I couldn’t help but think what if he got on mike and thanked Jeff for the individual encouragement. I would have paid extra money to hear that.) Anyway, Mascis had already done a Neil song — Lotta Love — with Lenderman and his band The Wind on Day 2 of the fest on Friday, and it was just kind of an Uncle Neil sort of weekend, with Revolution Blues also having been covered by Golden Smog on Day 3 on Saturday.

 

We had seen a lyric sheet being taped down at Jeff’s feet during the set break, and so you figured some sort of cover was coming. And that finally happened with Mascis when the familiar opening chords of Cortez The Killer started to come out of the main stage PA. It was a song Jeff and Nels had played together relatively recently, last October at New York’s Brooklyn Steel, when Nels joined the Tweedy solo band for its encore. What a fun guitar workout that was, and adding Mascis only heightened the slow-burning pyrotechnics. The three electric guitarists took their time working through the song’s unique progression, each giving one another enough space to explore at times yet also working together in a cool interplay. It was definitely one for the books.

 

The show could have ended there and I don’t think anyone would have been the least bit disappointed, but in these sorts of situations, I guess tradition calls for one final big ensemble number. And in Wilco world, that usually ends up being California Stars. So it was that Jeff invited “everyone who’s still around” to come on stage and finish the show off with a big singalong. There was Jayhawks frontman Gary Louris with a glittery gold “flying V” guitar, and Dr. Dog drummer Eric Slick on a shaker and Dinosaur Jr. bassist Lou Barlow, among many others, on backing vocals. We also got familiar faces in Tweedy band members Liam Kazar and Spencer Tweedy on tambourines and Sima Cunningham and Sammy Tweedy on backing vocals. Even Spencer’s fiancé Casey of Case Oats got up there, along with two other unidentified ladies two of Dr. Dog's female backup singers.

 

With that many folks on stage, though many of them are pretty familiar with the Woody Guthrie tune, it can be difficult to all get on the same page with who is singing which parts and all of that. So it was a bit of a trainwreck. I’m pretty sure the ensemble didn’t even get through the song’s two repeating verses both times through, for example. And the various instrumental solos were kind of muddled. Whatever, I guess. At least everyone seemed to be having fun. Interestingly, A Shot In The Arm was actually on the printed setlist as the planned final song of the show, but I guess at that point Jeff probably figured let’s just leave it as it is.

 

There was already a bit of that sort of sentiment in the air by the time Jeff and his bandmates reached the home stretch of their main set, following Impossible Germany. “What a gorgeous night,” he said. “We might know some of these (next songs) a little bit better. It’s not a guarantee. It’s the third day, you know? But we’re having a great time, the best time.” Generally speaking, this third Wilco set in four days was a bit more predictable than the previous two, especially with crowd pleasers like The Late Greats, Heavy Metal Drummer and I’m The Man Who Loves You closing out the main set. I will note that I think Jeff had a new and/or temporary guitar tech for SBS and he was a bit late bringing out the red Gibson SG that Jeff uses on I’m The Man after HMD, and so the seamless segue between those two songs didn’t happen as it usually does. Oh well. Also, Jeff very visibly looked up to his left during the first chorus at the stage-left balcony overlooking the stage from where Wilco’s family and friends usually watch the show, putting one hand up to his eyes to block the lights for a second. Aw.

 

But as with each of the band’s performances at SBS ‘26, there were a few nuggets for the cognoscenti. The deepest cut of this 2-hour, 9-minute set almost certainly was Wilco (The Album)-era outtake/bonus track Dark Neon, which I had a feeling might get played after I saw someone’s balcony adorned with a banner extolling that tune. “That was a deep cut,” Jeff proclaimed afterward. “I think we can understand why. We’ve made that abundantly clear.” Wilco played the song as part of the “deep cuts” set at the last Solid Sound Festival in 2024, but prior to that, it hadn’t been heard live since Solid Sound 4 in 2015 and this was only the 10^th time it had ever been performed by the band all-time (if existing records are to be trusted). We also got Mermaid Avenue (Vol. II)-rarity Secret Of The Sea, which Jeff remarked that the band seems to play most often at SBS because of the seaside setting (but actually only has been played at SBS twice). In any case, the jangly delight has only been played a handful over times over the past decade — too infrequently, for my tastes.

 

And speaking of songs that I think don’t get played enough, we also got treated to the splendid Summerteeth single Nothing’severgonnastandinmyway(again) for the first time (amazingly) since the first SBS in 2020. I just love that one — it’s a kind of a good litmus test of Wilco fandom if you’re in the know enough to do the accompanying handclaps — and it was heartening to see a smattering of folks clapping along.

 

Nothing’sever… immediately followed the acoustic arrangement of Art Of Almost that the band has been playing the past couple of years and, between the two songs, Jeff showed his superpower for reading a room (or outdoor courtyard, as it were) when he mentioned he had considered dedicating AOA to the Chicago Bears and joked about how it was too bad that we had no way of finding out what had happened in their playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams. Of course, he must have known that a small percentage of the audience would undoubtedly be monitoring the outcome of the game on their mobile devices during the first part of the set. And indeed, fittingly, Wilco had just started playing AOA when I got the alerts on my phone that the game had gone final (and that the Bears had come up just short).

 

Between that football result and mostly the looming end of the festival, that caused a tinge of melancholy to be in the air tonight for some SBS attendees. Maybe I’m just biased as a Chicagoan and a Bears fan, but even Jeff — who might be a closet sportsball fan, but probably didn’t pay the football game too much mind — hinted as much early on in the show. He did so in his unique way, though, putting a twist on a bit of banter he has deployed to great effectiveness the past few years. “Man, I don’t want it to be over,” Jeff quipped about five songs in, pausing a beat for effect. Then he added the kicker: “I just mean everything in general.” I see what you did there, Jeffy. #wellplayed

 

Here was the complete setlist, as played, for Wilco’s third and final set at SBS ’26 (as mentioned, the printed setlist had A Shot In The Arm listed as the final song of the show — but it wasn’t played — and also had the order of California Stars and Cortez The Killer switched):

 

1. Wishful Thinking

2. Quiet Amplifier

3. Company In My Back

4. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart>

5. One Wing

6. Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull

7. It’s Just That Simple

8. Art Of Almost (acoustic arrangement)

9. Nothing’severgonnastandinmyway(again)

10. What Light

11. Hesitating Beauty

12. Secret Of The Sea

13. You And I

14. Impossible Germany

15. Hate It Here

16. Walken

17. Dark Neon

18. The Late Greats

19. Heavy Metal Drummer

20. I’m The Man Who Loves You

    ---

    Encore:

21. Outtasite (Outta Mind) (with MJ Lenderman on electric guitar)

22. Falling Apart (Right Now)

23. Cortez The Killer [Neil Young] (with J. Mascis on electric guitar)

24. California Stars (with Gary Louris on electric guitar, Eric Slick on shaker, Liam Kazar and Spencer Tweedy on tambourine, Sammy Tweedy, Sima Cunningham, Lou Barlow and more on backing vocals)

[Albert Tatlock]

When US football started being shown in the UK I remember there was The Fridge (wonder what happened to him) and I was a fan of John Elway. But the novelty wore off and rugby is in my DNÁ.

Ta(co)

[Chez]

Thanks for the excellent recaps, Paul.  Reading them gave me a touch of regret.  I attended the first one (had a great time) and had tickets for the second one but got COVID and couldn't go.  I've boycotted SBS ever since over the way the sponsor handled refunds for #2 (i.e. "no refunds") and now I think I've aged out of festivals.  I hope all who attended had fun - the line-up was stellar.    

[theashtraysays]

2 hours ago, bböp said:

cavalcade of collabs

egad dude.  

[bböp]

27 minutes ago, theashtraysays said:

egad dude.  

wot, not a fan of alliteration? 

[bböp]

1 hour ago, Chez said:

Thanks for the excellent recaps, Paul.  Reading them gave me a touch of regret.  I attended the first one (had a great time) and had tickets for the second one but got COVID and couldn't go.  I've boycotted SBS ever since over the way the sponsor handled refunds for #2 (i.e. "no refunds") and now I think I've aged out of festivals.  I hope all who attended had fun - the line-up was stellar.    

 

Yeah, I’ve got a couple friends who also have boycotted SBS because of the way Cloud 9 handled the 2022 event so I get it (looking at you,  @Sandoz). It’s not everybody’s thing anyway, so again, you have to make that decision. But it is nice that the band makes an effort at pulling out some rarities and does stuff like no repeats, etc., for their shows there.
 

1 hour ago, Albert Tatlock said:

When US football started being shown in the UK I remember there was The Fridge (wonder what happened to him) and I was a fan of John Elway. But the novelty wore off and rugby is in my DNÁ.

Ta(co)

 

Is there a rugby version of The Super Bowl Shuffle, though? #notheretofeathersruffle

[Beastsbelly]

4 hours ago, bböp said:

/snip/

... along with two other unidentified ladies...

 

/snip/

...I will note that I think Jeff had a new and/or temporary guitar tech for SBS and he was a bit late bringing out the red Gibson SG that Jeff uses on I’m The Man after HMD, and so the seamless segue between those two songs didn’t happen as it usually does...

 

The two ladies were two-thirds of the back up singers from Dr. Dog, Becca and Dulci.

 

I feel for Jeff's tech.  He had a rough go of it all weekend...forgot to leave out the SG for the back half of Handshake Drugs, causing Jeff to look in his direction with some desperation as they were approaching his electric portion of the tune. Brought out an acoustic for (I think) Either Way, which Jeff wanted to replace, followed by the replacement being in the wrong tuning. Here's to better days ahead.

 

Thanks for all of the recaps.  Night 1 was my favorite overall (Magazine and Candyfloss in the same set? Yes, please!), Night 2 had the best encore, and Night 3 will always be known (to me, at least) as the night when Cortez the Killer melted faces.

[bböp]

1 hour ago, Beastsbelly said:

 

The two ladies were two-thirds of the back up singers from Dr. Dog, Becca and Dulci.

 

I feel for Jeff's tech.  He had a rough go of it all weekend...forgot to leave out the SG for the back half of Handshake Drugs, causing Jeff to look in his direction with some desperation as they were approaching his electric portion of the tune. Brought out an acoustic for (I think) Either Way, which Jeff wanted to replace, followed by the replacement being in the wrong tuning. Here's to better days ahead.

 

Thanks for all of the recaps.  Night 1 was my favorite overall (Magazine and Candyfloss in the same set? Yes, please!), Night 2 had the best encore, and Night 3 will always be known (to me, at least) as the night when Cortez the Killer melted faces.

Oh, thanks for the ID help with the Dr. Dog singers. I missed their set unfortunately (or rather, retreated from the loudness of it) so I missed them. Good to know who they were. I’ll correct my post above.

 

And yeah, glad you noticed that problem with Handshake too. I wasn’t sure he was gonna make it out with that electric in time.

 

Night 1 was overall my favorite, too. Just the bonkers start and debuting Shakin’ Sugar…it was very unpredictable. Thanks for reading.

[Albert Tatlock]

On 1/21/2026 at 12:11 AM, bböp said:

 

Is there a rugby version of The Super Bowl Shuffle, though? #notheretofeathersruffle

Interesting - there's been plenty of football ones over the years - by teams (used to be a tradition for FA Cup finalists especially in the 70s) or in association with actual artists when something like a World Cup comes around e.g. Rod Stewart for Scotland. Rugby doesn't have as much commercial muscle.

 

 

This would be the most iconic (purely because many of the players had won the World Cup in 1966, and might have been one of the first actually. Featuring the worlds most famous comb-over. When entering Romania in 1986 in the depth of the night on a train - stopped on the border,  lines of soldiers on the tracks outside with bayonets fixed. Everyone waiting for teh border police to make their way through the compartments checkign passports and making the forced currency exchange. UK passports presented - "Aah! Bobby Charlton, no?". Which doesn't mean that I had a comb-over, just that Bobby Charlton = Britain as far as the rest of the world was concerned.

 

The most critically acceptable have been World In Motion by New Order

or Three Lions (which has become a perennial song for England now ) 

 

 

Rugby on the other had has never gone for it. Singing is more crowd based and scoring celebrations must more restrained. Rather than another Welsh National Anthem rendition, I'll go back to football. There was a Manic Street Preachers football song 10 years ago, but the best is probably this, which has been adopted in the last few years. It's an old song: translated - We're Still Here - about the survival of the Welsh language, and by association, the continued presence of a small nation amongst the big football nations. The original artist sings it here before a match.

 

Bucket hats de rigueur. Also the reason why Spiders in Wales would be something.

[HeavyMetalDrummist]

23 hours ago, bböp said:

Well, just when it seemed like we might not get any collaborations by Wilco with other artists at this year’s Sky Blue Sky Festival, several happened at the 11^th hour that got everyone talking — for better or, uh, not better. This was during the encore of Jeff and Co.’s third and final show of the event, which was just about in the books when some of the folks who were still around came out and helped to bring it home.

 

Love your recaps, bböp. 

 

This was my first SBS and I can't wait to go back. Damn near everything about the event was perfect, although having other beer options would have been nice. The Bears provided the only real disappointment of the weekend, but man, what a year!

 

 

[calvino]

Looks like Jeff had time for karaoke. Ha! Good on 'em

 

 

 

 

Relix - karaoke with “El Jefe."