Wilco

Wilco shifted from their origins as a gritty alt-country outfit to a polished yet wide-ranging indie rock group, securing widespread critical praise and a devoted audience through the varied catalog shaped by founder Jeff Tweedy. Emerging after the breakup of the influential alt-country band Uncle Tupelo, Tweedy formed Wilco’s initial roster using musicians from that group’s last configuration. Their March 1995 debut A.M. continued the path Tweedy had charted with Uncle Tupelo, yet the 1996 double album Being There signaled a sharp departure, incorporating expressive pop and freewheeling experimentation while relegating country and roots-rock elements to supporting roles. Being There introduced guitarist and keyboardist Jay Bennett, who became Tweedy’s principal partner on the eccentric pop collection Summerteeth in 1999 and the breakthrough Yankee Hotel Foxtrot in 2001. Bennett exited before the latter’s release, after which Tweedy spent several years reshaping the band’s direction. Sky Blue Sky in 2007 and The Whole Love in 2011 reflected a refreshed lineup exploring indie and art-rock territory with greater assurance. Following the more adventurous Star Wars in 2015 and Ode to Joy in 2019, Wilco revisited their early folk and country roots with fresh perspective on the 2022 double album Cruel Country. Welsh artist Cate Le Bon, joining as the band’s first outside producer in sixteen years, guided the sessions for Cousin in 2023 that reconnected them with experimental pop; six outtakes appeared as the EP Hot Sun Cool Shroud in June 2024.

Uncle Tupelo concluded their run with a final concert on May 1, 1994. Weeks later Tweedy, bassist John Stirratt, drummer Ken Coomer, and multi-instrumentalist Max Johnston began recording under the name Wilco. Lacking a permanent lead guitarist at the outset, they enlisted longtime associate Brian Henneman of the Bottle Rockets for those sessions. Issued in March 1995, the resulting A.M. presented brisk country-rock numbers aligned with Tweedy’s prior work. By then Jay Bennett had joined as the official fifth member on guitar; during subsequent touring he expanded into keyboards while the group’s energetic performances distanced them from Uncle Tupelo’s shadow.

The 1996 double album Being There documented a thorough reinvention, threading psychedelia, power pop, and soul—including orchestral and R&B horn passages—through material still rooted in Tweedy’s established style. After critics hailed the record as one of the year’s strongest, Johnston departed to work with his sister, singer Michelle Shocked, and was succeeded by guitarist Bob Egan of Freakwater. Stirratt, Bennett, and Coomer meanwhile pursued a pop side project called Courtesy Move. In 1998 Wilco joined singer-songwriter Billy Bragg for Mermaid Avenue, setting previously unreleased Woody Guthrie lyrics to new music.

Summerteeth arrived in 1999, its richly textured sound earning acclaim though only modest sales and straining relations with Warner Bros. Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2 followed in 2000 with additional Guthrie collaborations. Drummer Ken Coomer then left and was replaced by Chicago percussionist Glenn Kotche. Work on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot precipitated Bennett’s departure and further label friction; unwilling to alter the record for greater commercial appeal, the band purchased the masters from Warner/Reprise for roughly $50,000, though the label ultimately relinquished them without charge. Leaked tracks circulated online in late 2001, prompting the reduced lineup of Tweedy, Kotche, Stirratt, and multi-instrumentalist Leroy Bach to tour in support of the still-unreleased album. Nonesuch issued Yankee Hotel Foxtrot in early 2002 to broad praise; an accompanying documentary, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, appeared that autumn. Tweedy also scored Ethan Hawke’s film Chelsea Walls around the same period.

After extensive touring, the band recorded A Ghost Is Born in 2003. Upon completion Leroy Bach departed amicably; guitarist Nels Cline, keyboardist Mike Jorgensen, and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone joined for the subsequent tour. Shortly before release Tweedy entered rehabilitation for painkiller dependence tied to chronic migraines and panic disorder. Rock journalist Greg Kot chronicled these events and Wilco’s history in the biography Wilco: Learning How to Die, published alongside the album in spring 2004. The 2005 live set Kicking Television: Live in Chicago, recorded at the Vic Theater, was later ranked by Q Magazine among the twenty greatest live albums. Sky Blue Sky, released in 2007, reached number five on the U.S. chart and performed strongly abroad. Wilco (The Album) followed on June 30, 2009, one month after Bennett’s accidental fentanyl overdose in Urbana, Illinois.

Following that tour Wilco took an extended break in 2010 before launching their own dBpm label and issuing The Whole Love in 2011. They supported the record with extensive dates, including shows alongside Nick Lowe, and participated in the 2013 Americanarama Festival alongside Bob Dylan, Richard Thompson, and My Morning Jacket; Thompson later enlisted Tweedy to produce his 2015 album Still. John Stirratt’s side project the Autumn Defense released Fifth in 2014, while Tweedy formed the duo Tweedy with his son Spencer on drums, issuing Sukierae that September. The band marked its twentieth anniversary with the compilations What’s Your Twenty? Essential Tracks 1994–2014 and Alpha Mike Foxtrot: Rare Tracks 1994–2014, plus multi-night residencies including six shows at Chicago’s Riviera Theater.

Wilco surprise-released Star Wars as a free download on July 16, 2015; a CD edition appeared via dBpm on August 21 and vinyl on November 27. One year later they premiered “Locator” and “If I Ever Was a Child,” both from Schmilco, issued September 9, 2016. Touring continued through 2017, and proceeds from the August 2017 digital single “All Lives, You Say?” benefited the Southern Poverty Law Center and Life After Hate. The band announced a 2018 touring hiatus for individual projects yet recorded new material and scheduled the 2019 Solid Sound Festival. Expanded reissues of A.M. and Being There emerged in November 2017. Tweedy published his memoir Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back) in November 2018. Wilco resumed live activity in June 2019 with shows in Knoxville and Europe before releasing their thirteenth studio album, Ode to Joy, in October 2019.

COVID-19 halted touring in March 2020; during lockdown Tweedy hosted the webcast series The Tweedy Show with his family, issued the solo album Love Is the King and its live counterpart, and contributed songs and production to Norah Jones and Daughter of Swords. His second book, How to Write One Song, appeared in 2020. Nels Cline released Share the Wealth with the Nels Cline Singers and guested on sessions with Elvis Costello, Joan Osborne, the Dark Bob, and Julius Hemphill. Wilco resumed limited performances by year’s end, including dates with Sleater-Kinney, and returned to the Loft in 2021 to record twenty-one low-key country- and folk-influenced tracks. The double album Cruel Country emerged in May 2022, coinciding with Solid Sound in North Adams, Massachusetts. Earlier that year they performed Yankee Hotel Foxtrot in full across celebratory shows in New York and Chicago. A Super Deluxe Edition followed in September 2022, and the set received the 2023 Grammy for Best Historical Album.

Cate Le Bon first encountered the band at Solid Sound 2019 and later produced Cousin at the Loft in 2022–2023; the album blended Yankee Hotel Foxtrot-style experimentation with introspective lyrics and appeared in September 2023, shortly before Tweedy’s third book, World Within a Song. On June 28, 2024 the six-song EP Hot Sun Cool Shroud, drawn largely from Cousin outtakes, coincided with the opening of Solid Sound 2024, where a limited vinyl edition featured customizable artwork. The festival also presented a rarities concert and a complete performance of A Ghost Is Born.