Jeff Tweedy Announces Solo US Tour

Jeff Tweedy has greatly settled into himself over the last decade, or so. From an outsider’s perspective, he comes across as someone maintaining the delicate balance of remaining busy, while not killing himself in the process. In the early days, he fought to prove himself to himself as much as anyone, establishing an identity outside the shadow of his previous Uncle Tupelo collaborator, Jay Farrrar (Son Volt). Once the acknowledgments started coming in and that train was rolling, the award-winning songwriter had to keep it on the tracks. He stumbled head-on into substance abuse while becoming very precious and serious with his art as a perfectionist.

The Jeff Tweedy of today has a much more jovial disposition than the one in decades past and it isn’t from simply backing away from the work, but in the ways he has learned to approach things. Jeff has become a best-selling author of multiple books, while continuing to tour and release music with Wilco. He’s also put out several solo albums and even released music and toured with his son in the project Tweedy. Surprisingly, his prolific nature is tied to his ability to approach creation and art in a more relaxed manner. By regularly writing new material, he has a consistent backlog of music to pull from, so he never has to feel like he’s under the gun the produce something. By doing relatively short tours with Wilco, it allows the members to have full lives outside of the band, while also pursuing other musical endeavors. Tweedy presents a formula where remaining busy and fulfilled are tied to diversifying one’s efforts and, in turn, aid in refueling the creative process and personal energy rather than depleting them.

This has been a busy year for Jeff Tweedy seeing the release of his third book and New York Times Bestseller, WORLD WITHIN A SONG: Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed My Music (Dutton); Wilco’s thirteenth studio album, Cousin; and the Hot Sun Cool Shroud EP via dBpm Records. This summer also included another successful Solid Sound Festival in June. Adding to all of this, Tweedy has just announced a “fall US tour including many cities throughout the country he hasn’t played in years, and bookended by three-night residencies in Woodstock, NY and Menlo Park, CA.” But while all of this is undoubtedly great news for fans, I have to admit that, the main reason that I am posting about any of this is because I really wanted to have an excuse to include the above press photo where the WILCO frontman is holding a rental skate up to his ear like a bad dad joke.

You can find the full list of tour dates below.

Jeff Tweedy Tour Dates

Sun. Sept 8 – Evanston, IL @ Evanston Folk Festival, In-Conversation Series
Sat. Sept 21 – Chicago, IL @ Navy Pier / Chicago Live!
Fri. Oct. 11 – Woodstock, NY @ Bearsville Theater #
Sat. Oct. 12 – Woodstock, NY @ Bearsville Theater #
Sun. Oct. 13 – Woodstock, NY @ Bearsville Theater #
Tue. Oct. 15 – Buffalo, NY @ Buffalo State PAC #
Wed. Oct. 16 – Columbus, OH @ Southern Theatre #
Fri. Oct. 18 – Champaign, IL @ Virginia Theatre #
Sat. Oct. 19 – Madison, WI @ Barrymore Theatre #
Sun. Oct. 20 – Omaha, NE @ The Admiral #
Tue. Oct. 22 – Jackson, WY @ Center for The Arts #
Wed. Oct. 23 – Salt Lake City @ Rose Wagner Theater #
Fri. Oct. 25 – Grass Valley, CA @ Center for The Arts #
Mon. Oct. 28 – Menlo Park, CA @ The Guild Theatre #
Tues. Oct. 29 – Menlo Park, CA @ The Guild Theatre #
Wed. Oct. 30 – Menlo Park, CA @ The Guild Theatre #
Fri. Feb 28 – Miami, St Croix, USVI & St John’s, Antigua @ Cayamo Cruise

# with Elizabeth Moen