Wilco brought out drummer Jody Stephens during their concert at Memphis, TN’s Grind City Amphitheater on Tuesday night. The Big Star member, and local hero, emerged during the encore of Wilco’s two-set “evening with” show to play on “Box Full of Letters,” from Wilco’s 1994 debut A.M., and his own band’s enduring classic “In the Street.” Wilco, whose founding members took inspiration from Big Star, recorded A.M. in Memphis and have covered “In the Street” on occasion since 2009, when Stephens sat in with them for a few tunes at Memphis’ Orpheum Theatre. Notably, “In the Street” is one of only a handful of tunes where John Stirratt handles lead vocals while on stage with Wilco. However, before this week, Wilco had not performed “In the Street” live since an October 5, 2017, stop in Memphis that featured Stephens on both “Box Full of Letters” and the Big Star anthem.

Stephens, who is the sole surviving member of Big Star’s original lineup and CEO of Ardent Studios, performed with Jeff Tweedy in the alt-country supergroup Golden Smog and has recruited members of Wilco for his various Big Star tribute shows. Wilco also recorded his group’s wistful folk tune “Thirteen” for the 2006 tribute album Big Star, Small World.

Wilco will perform at North Charleston, SC’s Firefly Distillery this evening.