Aryn Honaker June 27th, 2026 - 5:22 PM
Chicago-based rock band Wilco joined forces with singer-songwriters Billy Bragg and Natalie Merchant during the first day of Wilco’s Solid Sound festival. Together, they performed the songs from the three volumes of the album Mermaid Avenue for the first time in full. They all came together to sing songs like “Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key,” “Birds and Ships,” “California Stars” and “Airline To Heaven.”
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Mermaid Avenue was released in 1998 by Wilco and Billy Bragg and consisted of unheard lyrics written by the late folk artist Woody Guthrie, organized by his daughter, Nora. The second volume came out 2 years later, in 2000, and the third volume came out over a decade later, in 2012. There were several featured musicians across the three volumes, including Natalie Merchant.
Wilco’s Solid Sound festival is a three-day event that began on June 26th and will end on June 28th. It takes place at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts. Outside of headlining this festival, the band has a series of other live performances to come, including joining Willie Nelson for some dates on his Outlaw Music Festival tour and making an appearance at No Rest After Fest. They’re also currently on their An Evening with Wilco tour that started back in April and is set to end mid-July.
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