Listening to Wilco in 2022 is like finding a letter you once wrote to your future self. You might have forgotten that you wrote the letter, or that at one point you identified so strongly one way or another. It’s exciting when you find it but seeing the handwriting you once had makes you feel dissociated from who you once were. You can see through all of it though – because you understand that the letter was an attempt to make sense of what your world was at the time. The new reissue of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is just that: reuniting what could have been and what actually is, but musically. Seeing the band perform songs from the original album is like coming home and finding that while you couldn’t once smell your own home, the scent won’t escape you now. 

From the moment Wilco assembled on stage, it was clear why the band was headlining the Roots N Blues music festival and why Jeff Tweedy was presented with the 2022 Missouri Roots Songbook Award. The experimental sound of this band is unusual yet familiar. Innovation runs deep in its veins.

The band closed the first day with a set that foreshadowed the festival’s energy for the rest of the weekend. The group was greeted with loud cheers from an expecting audience, not only from the excitement behind the band’s novelty, but from its embodiment of the musical direction behind the festival. Fans, friends, and family all gathered near the stage to sing and dance to songs they hold dear in their hearts. The audience alluded a sense of kin and as the band played, the atmosphere was complimented with a sense of belonging.

With each song, the instrumentals echoed and were mirrored by the off-tuned chants of fans singing from the crowd. The instrumental arrangements gave room for dancing and reinvigorated old fans who were brought back to 2001 when they heard the beginning of “Jesus, Etc.” Though the performance stands unique in its psychedelic Americana sound, it was reminiscent of the band’s roots as the alt-country pioneering band of its time.

The band’s front man, Jeff Tweedy was this year’s Missouri Roots Songbook award recipient. 

This accolade is presented every year to artists that are from or have spent a significant amount of time in Missouri. The honorees are entered into the Missouri music hall of fame and serve as inspiration for Missourians through their musical heritage. Previous honorees include Sheryl Crow (2021), John “Blind” Boone (2019), and Chuck Berry (2018). 

Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, spent a good amount of time trying to make his music career take off in St. Louis. He performed at Columbia’s own Blue Note multiple times with his former band Uncle Tupelo before they broke up in 1994. The band also played for KCOU back in 1989. Now in 2022, Tweedy returned with Wilco for a performance serving as the revival of his musical relationship with Columbia.

The band will resume its live performances in April next year from Reykjavik, Iceland to celebrate its 30th anniversary.