Wilco — 17 July 2026, Lexington, KY (The Burl [outdoors])

Once again not to make this too much about myself, but this show got me thinking about how many Wilco fans I actually know in Kentucky. Quite a few, as it turns out. More than in a lot of places. It seemed like they were all in attendance at a 10^th anniversary celebration for beloved Lexington venue The Burl. And thanks to some typically turbulent mid-summer weather, it turned into an evening that won’t soon be forgotten.

This was, somewhat amazingly, just the fourth time Wilco had ever performed in Lexington and the first in nearly a quarter century (though Jeff did play solo here back in 2022). One of those aforementioned local friends pointed out to me that this show at the Burl came exactly 31 years to the day of the band’s first show in Lexington, opening for The Jayhawks at the Kentucky Theatre. If Jeff was aware of that pretty remarkable coincidence, though, he didn’t mention it.

Instead, he did what you knew he would probably do at some point — namely, tease Glenn about his Lexington roots. After the drummer put a little extra oomph into his drum roll at the end of Forget The Flowers, Jeff joked that Glenn was “showing off for his drum professor. … I’m serious. This man has a degree in percussion from the University Of Kentucky. Not just anybody can play these country songs. You have to have a highly educated person.” Jeff continued, goading Glenn to “show them the most impressive thing you learned.” Glenn obliged with a rim shot, to which Jeff replied: “Thanks for that, Kentucky.” Later, after Glenn’s stick twirl in Heavy Metal Drummer, Jeff pointed out, “He learned that here.” (Ostensibly Glenn — who graduated from college in 1994 — might even have attended that first Wilco show in Lexington, but I think he and/or Jeff would have mentioned that at some point if it was true.)

No matter how far back their Wilco fandom went, though, just about everyone in attendance seemed thrilled that the band was finally back in town. The only question was whether the weather would throw a proverbial wrench into the proceedings. Early on, it looked like Mother Nature would cooperate. Jeff expressed as much after six songs, saying that in spite of the muggy conditions, “I think it’s gonna be a good night. I think the weather’s gonna hold out. You all look good. Sweat makes everyone glisten.” You knew it was pretty steamy when instead of leading the usual clapping bit during Hummingbird, Jeff stripped off his brownish plaid button-down shirt (revealing a plain white pocket tee underneath), briefly whipped it around and eventually threw it offstage over Mike’s station.

Just a couple of songs later, though, those of us up front knew something might be up when we saw guitar tech Jeff Tweedy bring out a note during Via Chicago for actual Jeff Tweedy to read. After Via, sure enough there came an announcement over the PA system that the show would have to be paused and the venue cleared because of storms in the area with lightning. This came at about 9 p.m., and for the next hour or so, there was plenty of uncertainty about whether the show would resume.

In my years of going to Wilco shows, I can’t remember another situation like it. There have been shows cut short due to storms and shows that never got started, but I’m not sure we’ve ever had one paused halfway through. It made for a confusing situation for members of the sold-out audience, many of whom wanted to reclaim the spots they had before the delay, but who also were told they had to leave the stage area and seek shelter. What ended up happening was people either grudgingly retreated to one of the nearby buildings in the Burl complex or to their vehicles, but before too long, many folks began to creep back toward the stage awaiting word that the show would indeed go on.

Finally, a little after 10 p.m., organizers sent confirmation through social media that the show would resume. Thanks to the hard work of the Wilcrew — in retrospect, perhaps it was lucky that the scaled-down setting of the Burl’s porch stage prevented Wilco from having its full lighting rig, among other production concerns — the band started playing again by 10:17. It opened Set 2 with planned Set 1 closer California Stars (which Jeff somewhat awkwardly changed at least once to “Kentucky Stars”), and proceeded to do an abbreviated version of the usual second set. “Thanks for sticking around,” Jeff told the fraction of the sold-out crowd of 1,500 that stuck out the delay. “We’re gonna give you as much of a show as the law allows.”

Apparently there is an 11 p.m. curfew for outdoor shows at the venue, but Jeff and Co. ensured they would blow past that by dispensing with the usual encore routine and launching right into an intense Spiders (Kidsmoke) after the usual Set 2 closer of I’m The Man Who Loves You. Urging the relatively small but enthusiastic crowd to participate in the ba-ba-ba-bas and clapping at the end of Spiders, Jeff said, “We’re already 10 minutes over curfew, let’s go. C’mon Kentucky.” (Earlier he had also quipped, “Fuck the law,” though he quickly relented and admitted that “there are some laws you should obey.”) Ultimately, though, Jeff concluded, “I like rock ‘n’ roll. I think rock ‘n’ roll is pretty good for you.” And with that, Wilco sent its slightly damp audience home, happily, with the classic two-fer of I Got You (At The Century) and Outtasite (Outta Mind).

It was more show than we probably had a right to expect, given the conditions, though ultimately the delay did mean about nine or 10 fewer songs than a typical “Evening With…” performance. Definitely a weird night — and I didn’t even mention the guy who was apparently giving Jeff the finger during Kingpin, causing him to say in part, “I don’t know why you’re flipping me off, sir. I have no idea. That’s not what this song’s about. This song’s about love. … I don’t wanna wake up in the morning thinking about the people I hate. I just want to try and give more of my love away. That’s why we’re here,” — but I sense that the 122 minutes of music that Jeff and Co. managed to deliver will be long savored by the community that has developed around The Burl over the past decade. It wasn’t a perfect birthday party, to be sure, but no doubt will be remembered as a pretty legendary one.

Here was the complete setlist, as played (numerous songs were cut from the printed setlist, including Falling Apart (Right Now) and Christ For President in Set 1 and a total of seven songs in Set 2, including a new(?) electric version of Company In My Back as well as the new song Losing Traction):

Set 1

1. Handshake Drugs

2. If I Ever Was A Child

3. Cruel Country

4. Forget The Flowers

5. Evicted

6. Bird Without A Tail/Base Of My Skull

7. I’m Always In Love (acoustic arrangement)

8. Everyone Hides

9. Hummingbird

10. It’s Just That Simple

11. War On War

12. Via Chicago

Set 2

13. California Stars

14. Impossible Germany

15. Jesus, etc.

16. Walken

17. Kingpin

18. Heavy Metal Drummer

19. I’m The Man Who Loves You

20. Spiders (Kidsmoke)

21. I Got You (At The End Of The Century)>

22. Outtasite (Outta Mind)