Photo by Annabel Mehran

Last night, Wilco kicked off their Sky Blue Sky event at the Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico. The festival will continue this week with performances by Spoon, Kurt Vile & The Violators, Thundercat, Ohmme, Soccer Mommy and more through Jan. 21.

Wilco keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen was unable to make it to the event due to COVID. The Chicago bred group recruited three musicians to fill in for him at various points throughout the night. Liam Kazar, who plays in Jeff Tweedy’s solo group, Kazar’s sister Sima Cunningham and Cunningham’s Ohmme bandmate Macie Stewart. Tweedy jokingly described them as the “Young Jorgensen.”

Wilco opened their set, appropriately, with “Monday” before moving into the first bust out of the night, “You Never Know,” which hadn’t been played live since Dec. 8, 2014. They then moved into fan favorites “Shouldn’t Be Ashamed,” “Side With the Seeds,” “She’s a Jar,” and “Either Way.” Next, they played “Company in My Back” off their 2004 LP A Ghost Is Born.

The busts out continued with “Cry All Day,” which Wilco haven’t shared since June 28, 2019. Afterward, they played the hometown homage “Via Chicago” before moving into a cover of Loose Fur’s “Laminated Cat.” The love songs continued to flow with tracks like “One and a Half Stars” and “Box Full of Letters.” The band then got sentimental with “At My Window Sad and Lonely,” which hadn’t been heard live since Dec. 6, 2014.

Wilco continued with hits and classics with “You and I,” which they haven’t played live since Oct. 27, 2019, “Love is Everywhere,” and “War on War.” They closed the set with all three keyboardists on “Spiders” and “The Lonely One,” which was last performed on Nov. 23, 2019.

They encored with “The Late Greats” and “I’m A Wheel.” Wilco will return to perform on the Mexican beach outside the Hard Rock Hotel again tonight.

Learn more about Sky Blue Sky here.

Wilco
Sky Blue Sky – Riviera Maya, Mexico
Jan. 17, 2022

Set: Monday, You Never Know, Shouldn’t Be Ashamed, Side With the Seeds, She’s a Jar, Either Way, Company in My Back, Cry All Day, Via Chicago, Laminated Cat, One and a Half Stars, Whole Love, Box Full of Letters, At My Window Sad and Lonely, Someone to Lose, You and I, Love Is Everywhere (Beware), War on War, Everyone Hides, Spiders, The Lonely 1

Enc.: The Late Greats, I’m a Wheel