Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy Reacts To Fan’s Call For Refunds: “I 100% Understand All The Anxiety And Anger And Confusion”

Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky 2022 concert is a massive destination concert scheduled for January 17 to 21, set to be located at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Mexico. The show’s lineup originally consisted of Wilco, Spoon, Kurt Vile, Thundercat, Stephen Malkmus, Waxahatchee, Nubya Garcia, Julian Lage, Mountain Man, and many others. However, in light of the Omicron Variant of Covid-19, three of the scheduled acts, Waxahatchee, Julian Lage and Mountain Man, will unable to perform, and will be replaced by Soccer Mommy and Ohmme.

Predictably, many people planning to attend the now sold-out concert were upset with this change of lineup, and were also concerned about attending a live show in some of the darkest days of the global pandemic. This led many to demand refunds from concert promoters and from Wilco, the headlining band whose album the concert was named after.

In response to these growing frustrations, Jeff Tweedy, the band’s front-man as well as a planned solo-act of the concert, made clear in a statement that he and his band have no control over how tickets are handled or refunded. Pitchfork quotes Tweedy as stating that “The festival promotor, Cloud 9, is solely responsible for and determines all ticketing policies, including pricing and availability of refunds or credits.”

In a livestream, Tweedy reassures his audience that he and his band “100% understand all the anxiety and anger and confusion that has been surrounding Sky Blue Sky festival.” He reiterates that Wilco is “a contracted entity for this event. We’re hoping there’s some situation that becomes clear and resolves itself in a way that makes everyone happy. I find that to be an unlikely outcome at this point.”

Wilco has recently been inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame, and performed at Austin City Limits alongside Jason Isbell, Rosanne Cash, among others. In addition to Sky Blue Sky, Wilco are scheduled to perform at the Beach Road Weekend festival in August, which will feature Beck, the Avett Brothers and many others.

Photo Credit: Alyssa Fried