Image via Sky Blue Sky’s website

Last night, Wilco played their third and final set at their tropical Sky Blue Sky festival at the Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico. The performance featured debuts, fan favorites and a slew of guests to top off a beautiful music-filled week.

Wilco opened with what has become a bit of a 2020 anthem, “A Shot in the Arm,” and then moved into “Random Name Generator.” Next, they performed the first-ever full-band performance of their slow-burning 2011 track “Sunloathe.”

Wilco continued their trend of pacing out a vast number of tracks from their discography through the set, allowing the crowd to settle in and wait until their favorite appeared. They played seven songs after “Sunloathe,” including “Bull Black Nova,” “Forget the Flowers,” “In a Future Age” before they welcomed up guitarist and co-founder of Spoon, Britt Daniel for “Kamera.” They didn’t wait to invite more friends on stage as Neal Francis joined them on the next song, “Theologians.”

Wilco continued to share fan favorites like “Jesus, Etc.” “Heavy Metal Drummer” and “I’m the Man Who Loves You” as they moved deeper into the set. They closed the set with a cover of Pavement’s “Cut Your Hair” with Pavement’s own Stephen Malkmus.

Wilco returned for their encore with an icon. Mavis Staples joined Jeff Tweedy and the band for a cover of her some with The Staple Singers “I’ll Take You There.” She stayed on stage to close the show with a soulful rendition of The Band’s “The Weight.”

Wilco
Fly Blue Sky Festival – Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico
Jan. 20, 2022

Set: A Shot in the Arm, Random Name Generator, Sunloathe (First ever full-band performance), Handshake Drugs, Can’t Stand It, In a Future Age, Misunderstood, Far, Far Away, Bull Black Nova, Forget the Flowers, Kamera (with Britt Daniel), Theologians (with Neal Francis), Born Alone, Jesus, Etc., Hate It Here, Heavy Metal Drummer, I’m the Man Who Loves You, Candyfloss, Casino Queen, Outtasite (Outta Mind), Cut Your Hair (Pavement cover) (with Stephen Malkmus)

Enc.: I’ll Take You There (The Staple Singers cover) (with Mavis Staples), The Weight
(The Band cover) (with Mavis Staples)