Wilco — 16 June 2026, Lafayette, NY (Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards)

Jun 23, 2026

At this point in my Wilco-going career, it’s not often when I see Jeff do something on stage that I’ve never seen before. But as they say, variety is the spice of life. Or would it be more apt to say that apparently you can teach an old dog new tricks? Which of these is an idiom and which is an adage? I’m sure someone among my dozens of readers will chime in and straighten me out. Wait, where was I again?

Oh, right…Jeff doing something I’ve never seen him do before. This happened during Wilco’s return to the lovely field where they hold concerts at the Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards complex in central New York, and I had a bird’s eye view of it because it happened right next to me. This happened after Jesus, etc., during which Jeff must have spotted the young woman to my left along the barricade attempting to take a selfie of her family singing along. He offered to snap a photo for her, which she eagerly accepted. Then it was a matter of tossing her phone to Jeff from about 10 feet away — no small feat, I must say — and him trying to negotiate it while a crowd of thousands watched.

“I don’t think I did anything,” Jeff admitted after successfully tossing the phone back to the beaming young woman — again, no small feat. “It’s possible there’s nothing on there.”

I never found out how that photo turned out, but no matter what, the family seemed to be thrilled with the memory. It was just one moment in a show that, if I had to pick just one word, I can only describe as wholesome. How else to characterize a gig that featured a small dog wearing ear-protecting headphones, or kids playing football off in the distance, seemingly oblivious to the performance taking place? Or, for that matter, another kid asking for a setlist during the show on behalf of his mom? Yet another yelled at Glenn to sign his Kotche-model drumsticks purchased at the merch tent, again during the show.

Jeff seemed especially smitten with the dog, which was apparently a 12-year-old named Nigel. (Because of course it was.) It didn’t take long for Jeff to spot the dog and inquire about it. After the fourth song of the show, Forget The Flowers, when I expected Jeff to tease Glenn about his drum roll as he had done the previous couple of shows, Jeff instead went straight to the dog’s owner. “Is that dog wearing ear muffs?” Jeff asked. “Good job taking care of his hearing.” Jeff continued, “Is he a fan (of Wilco)? … We don’t wanna waste tickets on any dogs that aren’t fans.” Later in the first set, after You And I, Jeff said, “I’m looking at you, Nigel. You made that song have a different meaning. I felt it.”

Another funny visit to Banter Corner came just before that, after It’s Just That Simple, when Jeff noticed some kids off in the distance playing with a football. “Can somebody get those kids playing football over there to pay more attention?” Jeff joked. “You just missed a beautiful performance by John. Whatever. Don’t come to me when the waltz craze hits. Actually, do come to me when the waltz craze hits because, uh, we’ve got some waltzes.”

One reason I had wanted to come to a show at Beak & Skiff, of course, was simply the fact that it purported to take place in an apple orchard. This was another place that Jeff and Co. were revisiting on this little run after performing here nearly four years earlier in the leadup to that festival they played on Martha’s Vineyard. But of course, the show itself took place not in a grove of apple trees, but rather just in a large field adjacent to the orchards (which I actually never really saw). A bit of a letdown for my imagination, to be sure, but I suppose more of a practical setup.

Even Jeff made light of it early on when he called a spade a spade. “We’ve been here before, we’ve been to this apple field before,” he said. “It’s called an apple field, right?” Of course at least one guy totally missed Jeff’s attempt at humor when he called out a song later, “Hey Jeff, it’s an orchard, not a field.” Jeff shot back, “I know. It was a little joke. I love being corrected.” Glenn, for one, cracked up behind him. Added Jeff: “It’s an orchard, not a field. It’s a killing field.” A few songs later, Jeff’s guitar tech — you know, that Jeff Tweedy — also got into the act when he brought out a guitar between songs and apparently pointed out that Jeff’s black baseball cap, which simply had the word “Helvetica” on it, wasn’t actually in that iconic font. “I think it’s a joke,” Jeff said, a bit annoyed. “I get it. Keep correcting me, everybody.”

Fortunately that slightly contentious start didn’t sour the mood too much as Wilco rolled through its usual set of material on this run. I guess I should probably talk about the music itself a little more, but honestly, that almost took a backseat to the band’s interaction with its audience tonight. There were some standouts, for sure, like the raved-up Kingpin, on which Jeff actually got downright philosophical when he got to the “How can I give my love to you/When I don’t know what to do?” part near the end. I won’t attempt to fully recount what he said, but in part he pondered out loud the sentiment behind that couplet in these turbulent times. “It’s a simple rhyme, a stupid lyric, but maybe it means something (more),” he said.

Perhaps a similar thing could be said, ultimately, about Nigel, who certainly helped turn Jeff’s early mood around. I mean, given such a lovely late spring evening with such an earnest crowd in such a pleasant setting (despite not really being very close to the apple trees), who could really stay grumpy for very long?

Here was the complete setlist, as played (didn’t get a look at a printed list for either set, so can’t say if there were any changes/omissions):

Set 1