Live Review: Solid Sound Festival 2011

It's been wonderful watching Wilco break away from the music industry over the past few years, taking with them their seemingly ever-growing entourage of devoted followers. The group has come to a point in their career where the confines of record label are no longer a necessity, where the band no longer takes their music to people but rather brings their fans to them. Nowhere was this more evident than at the second iteration of the Solid Sound Festival--nestled in the somewhat remote town of North Adams, MA on the campus of the world class Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA). The facilities were transformed in a Wilco-mecca of sorts, finding concert posters and homemade instruments nestled next to work from luminaries such as Sol LeWitt and Katharina Grosse. And then there was the music——handpicked by the folks in Wilco and encompassing everything from garage rock to brass bands. But why stop there? With a comedy cabaret curated by John Hodgman, a falconry demonstration, a pop up record store and a menagerie of local vendors, there was no excuse not to fill every moment of the weekend. Not to mention two headlining sets from everyone's favorite convention-defying rock band. The perfect weekend for this diehard Wilco fanatic? Yup.

Wilco's "I Might" Cover Art is Doodle-icious

While I'm still not sure what to expect from Wilco's latest studio recording, at least we now know what its packaging will look like. Tri State Indie snagged the cover art for dBpm Records' inaugural release of Wilco's new single "I Might," backed by a cover of Nick Lowe's "I Love My Label." The 7" will be first be made available to fans attending the Solid Sound Festival in North Adams, MA later this month. If you can't make it out to Massachusetts, you can expect the single to hit the shelves of your local record store on July 19. The folks over at CD Universe already have the record available for pre-order.

I'll definitely be snagging a copy of the 7" at Solid Sound and as soon as I can find my way to a turntable, I'll be posting my impressions of the new tracks.

Oh, and I usually don't make a big fuss over cover art, but this is Wilco—they're the exception. 

UPDATE: The single is now available for pre-order from the Wilco Store, in regular (black) and blue varieties. Rough Trade has a silver version of the 7" available for pre-order. It's safe to say Solid Sound attendees will have access to some sort of exclusive color variant as well.

Solid Sound Plans Solidify

One of my biggest regrets of last summer was having neither the time nor the resources to make it out to Wilco's inaugural Solid Sound Festival. From what I heard and read, it was an incredible experience, gathering a slew of Wilco fans in the beautiful confines of MASS MoCA for three days of music and art. This year, the independently organized festival is happening almost two months earlier than it did last summer (June 24-26), which means I'll be in attendance for the first time.

Of course, the undeniable highlight of the weekend's festivities are the two sets that Wilco will play over the course of the weekend's first two evenings. I expect they'll be debuting material from their upcoming record in addition to their usual live offerings. Today the band confirmed via Facebook that they'll be releasing an exclusive 7" single at the festival via their newly formed dBpm Records, featuring a brand new Wilco tune entitled "I Might."

Once again, various Wilco side-projects will also be performing, including The Autumn Defense, Pronto, Pillow Wand and Glenn Kotche on solo drum kit. Other notable artists on the bill include the Levon Helm Band, Thurston Moore, Sic Alps, Here We Go Magic and the Handsome Family. There will also be a comedy stage curated by Daily Show correspondent John Hodgman featuring comedians Wyatt Cenac, Eugene Mirman and Morgan Murphy. Additionally, there will be workshops with members of the group and their cohorts as well as the return of the charity dunking booth, which gives you the chance to drench your favorite member of Wilco.

I'm beyond excited—it's going to the well-deserved end to an almost year-and-a-half drought of live Wilco. Fellow fans, I'll see you in Massachusetts!

Wilco Launch dBpm Records

In an interview with Express Night Out last summer, Wilco guitarist Nels Cline alluded to the band starting a label of their own once their contract with Nonesuch came to an end. Months later, it appears as if Cline's predictions have come to pass as the group today announced the formation of its own dBpm Records. Longtime Wilco manager Tony Margherita will run the label from its headquarters in Easthampton, MA, and distribution will be handled through ANTI- Records. The label will release future Wilco records and could conceivably act as a home for side-project releases from band members as well as friends and contemporaries.

"This is an idea we've discussed for years,” said Tweedy in a statement issued by the label. “We really like doing things ourselves, so having our own label feels pretty natural to me. And, to be working with ANTI- a label that has its roots in a label that was started by a punk rock guy to sell his own records seems like a perfect fit for us.”

Wilco is currently hard at work recording their next record at "The Loft" in Chicago and will be returning to MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA to curate and perform at the second edition of their Solid Sound Festival from June 24 - 26.

Wilco Eschew Summer Festivals, Start Their Own

On last night's webcast from Boston, Jeff Tweedy dropped the news that Wilco will be curating a three day festival at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) in North Adams, MA. Dubbed the Solid Sound Festival, the event will take place August 13-15 and will feature performances by Wilco as well as all currently existing Wilco side projects. This means attendees will have a chance to see Glenn Kotche's On Fillmore, Pat Sansone and John Stirratt's Autumn Defense, Mikael Jorgensen's Pronto and the Nels Cline Singers, all over the course of three days. Additional Wilco-related events will include a guitar pedal exhibit created by guitarist Nels Cline and a drum clinic with Glenn Kotche. Essentially, if you're a Wilco fan, this is where you'll want to be come August.

And as if the veritable cornucopia of Wilco-related events wasn't enough, more bands will be added to the lineup as the date draws nearer. I expect that groups chosen will be those with a connection to Wilco, maybe former tour-mates, collaborators, etc. There will also be a comedy stage (Ferecito?), a concert poster screen printing demo, and the entirety of MASS MoCA's facilities to keep you occupied. Pre-sale tickets go on sale Friday, April 9 via WilcoWorld, and for more information on the actual festival, check out MASS MoCA.