An Evening with Wilco on the Banks of the Muddy Mississippi in Memphis, TN

4 days ago
5 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Tuesday night, July 7^th, 2026, alternative rock legends Wilco returned to Memphis, TN for the first time in nearly four years. Playing at the newly renovated Grind City Amphitheater, the band delivered two tremendous sets, and a very special encore with a surprise guest.

Just North of downtown Memphis city, the ~4,000-person open air Grind City Amphitheater sits near the banks of the Mississippi River. With the stage facing north, the transparent backdrop provided a beautiful view of the Bluff City and its landmarks such as the Hernando de Soto “M” Bridge, and the world-famous Bass

Pro Shops Pyramid. With plenty of daylight left in the sky, the band took the stage at 7:05 PM, opening the show with the crowd-pleasing “Handshake Drugs”. Despite Memphis’ infamous summer heat and humidity, the audience’s mood was predominantly positive, expressing immense gratitude to spend a summer night with the band. They continued with “If I Ever Was a Child” and “Cruel Country”, both from their more modern era, nevertheless welcome selections from the fans. Afterwards, frontman Jeff Tweedy greeted the audience, making comments about the heat and the abundance of bugs present on the stage, a running joke he would return to throughout the night. The band then dove into the country-esq Wilco classic “Forget the Flowers”, followed by the lead single from the 2023 album Cousin- “Evicted”. Next up, the extensive “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull”, featuring a rewarding jam that took its time getting to the peak. The remainder of the set included several memorable moments, such as a stripped-down version of “I’m Always in Love”, the bittersweet “Hummingbird”, “It’s Just That Simple” with bassist John Stirratt on vocals (originally recorded at the historic Easley McCain Recording in Memphis), War on War, and Via Chicago at golden hour. The band ended the set with “Christ for President” and “California Stars”, both deriving from the Mermaid Avenue sessions with Billy Bragg.

With diminishing light remaining in the sky, the band took an intermission, which was promised with the “An Evening With:” shows; no opener, two Wilco sets with a short intermission. The first set was compelling, featuring a wonderful setlist comprised of both old and new material, balancing well known hits with deep cuts. However, while it was fulfilling, it was only a foretaste of what was to come.

As the band returned to the stage, they delved into a mellow jam before snapping into “Company in My Back”, which lead into “The Late Greats”, then “Annihilation”, a newer song that some fans are still acclimating to, but the band drew everyone back in with the forever iconic “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart”. They kept the ball rolling with “Kamera” into the dreary “Either Way”. Even amidst its down tempo, this was a song the crowd was excited to hear, myself included. From one sad song to the another, they went into “Impossible Germany”, a staple of nearly every Wilco setlist from before the song was even released on Sky Blue Sky in 2007. Featuring an extended solo, this is always the highlight for fans of guitarist Nels Cline, gracefully playing his guitar in the most aggressive way. It sounds oxymoronic but he effortlessly pulls it off. With the momentum high, the band used the opportunity to play an unreleased track “Losing Traction”; don’t be fooled by its title, it’s an up-tempo song that proves the band can still write solid music thirty-plus years into their career. Once again drawing the crowd’s attention back in, they slid into the timeless classic “Jesus, Etc.”. Still on a high note, they busted into “Walken”, a catchy tune driven by a clunky piano melody by Mikael Jorgensen. From there, the bluesy “Kingpin”, which no matter how long they stretch it out to- will always keep the energy flowing. Admittedly, I thought this would be the set closer, because where could they possibly go after delivering a high-energy, lengthy performance like that? Well, they topped my expectations by playing back-to-back Wilco hits “Heavy Metal Drummer” and “I’m the Man Who Loves You”.

With the crowd more ecstatic than ever, I was certain set two was over, but once again I was wrong. So where could they go now? The answer is simple- “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”. A song that can only be done justice by being played live, it heavily relies on the listener’s patience and participation with the big drop finally happens. Tweedy directed the crowd to sing the melody louder and louder and louder until we were to his liking, then he drummer Glenn Kotche to bring us into the main chorus, to which the crowd erupted. What was once a meandering studio track that took me ages to understand, has become a joyful memory that I crave to relive every second of. That’s what I believe to be a huge strength of Wilco’s live performances- their ability to make any of their songs interesting in a live setting that studio recordings can’t always do justice.

After the second set, I knew they would return for an encore, but I had no idea what they were going to play, they had already played all of their main hits, especially from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. That indecisiveness paired well with my excitement, because I knew that they could go with anything from their discography, and they would without fail choose wisely. As they once more took the stage, guitarist Pat Sansone stepped up to his microphone, thanking the crowd and telling them how lucky they were to live in Memphis, and how he has always considered it a home away from home for himself. He also thanked WYXR, Memphis’ Independent radio station, in which he hosts a Sunday night show “Baroque Down Palace”. Finally, he said there’s a lot of cool cats in Memphis, to which he invited drummer Jody Stephens to the stage. If you’re unfamiliar with Stephens, do yourself a huge favor and go listen to Big Star’s three core albums and read their Wikipedia page. If you don’t though, just know that it’s a huge deal that he shared the stage with Wilco. The crowd was losing their minds and without wasting a second, they jumped into “Box Full of Letters”, on top of being a fun and catchy song, it was also recorded in Memphis. Once concluded, Tweedy laughed while introducing the next song, saying “Here’s a song that learned a lot from that last one”, to which they covered Big Star’s “In the Street”, with John Stirratt once again taking over lead vocals. Finally, they closed out the show with the full band with “I Got You (At the End of the Century)”.

As someone who attends numerous concerts, it is easy for me to think of shows as good, or great, or awesome; but it is not as common to walk away from a show feeling as blown away as I did with this one. The entire drive home I felt so fulfilled and amazed from the performance. Even the day after I was still riding the musical high, and there’s no signs of that feeling leaving me.

Having seen Wilco before, this was definitely the superior show. Nothing wrong with the previous show, but the layout and execution of the “An Evening With:” format was flawless. The two distinct sets felt like two different shows, one being in the daylight, the other being in the moonlight, yet they were joined perfectly. Playing for a total of three hours, it really did feel like we spent a full night with the band. It was well worth the cost of admission, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I truly believe this to be the ideal and superior way to experience Wilco live.