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\n\tWilco<\/a> fans, mark your calendars: The band\u2019s biannual Solid Sound Festival<\/a> is returning to North Adams, Massachusetts, on June 26-28, 2026 \u2014 and they\u2019ve just announced a very special show to kick off the weekend. On the festival\u2019s opening night, Wilco will be joined by U.K. folk singer Billy Bragg<\/a> for the first-ever full concert of songs from their Mermaid Avenue<\/em> collaboration.<\/p>\n \n\tThe Mermaid Avenue<\/em> project brought the two acts together starting in the mid-Nineties to work with a trove of lost lyrics penned by the late icon Woody Guthrie<\/a>. They composed fully original melodies and arrangements for Guthrie\u2019s words and recorded the resulting songs together, with Bragg and Wilco\u2019s Jeff Tweedy<\/a> sharing lead vocal duty. The collaboration \u2014 which yielded three albums\u2019 worth of material, released between 1998 and 2012 \u2014 is the source of one of Wilco\u2019s most beloved live songs, \u201cCalifornia Stars,\u201d along with less-frequently performed gems like \u201cHesitating Beauty\u201d and \u201cWay Over Yonder in the Minor Key.\u201d\u00a0These sessions captured Wilco at a pivotal time of transition between the loose, rootsy rock of Being There<\/em> and the further-out explorations of Summerteeth <\/em>and beyond; helped bring Bragg back to prominence with U.S. audiences after his triumphs of the 1980s; and affirmed their shared foundation in the folk tradition embodied by Guthrie. But they\u2019ve never performed a full show together until now.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe world needs all the Woody Guthrie it can get,\u201d Tweedy said in a press release. \u201cWe\u2019re thrilled that we get to bring these songs to life with Billy.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBragg added: \u201cThere\u2019s an abiding love out there for the Mermaid Avenue<\/em> albums, so I\u2019m really looking forward to reconnecting with Wilco to bring Woody\u2019s words to life once again.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSolid Sound<\/a>, which first took place in 2010, traditionally opens with a special show on night one (past years have featured all-covers, karaoke, and\u00a0all-deep-cuts sets<\/a>). The second night is typically devoted to a more traditional Wilco set, while the third day features Tweedy and friends performing solo material. The festival, held on the modern-art-filled grounds of MASS MoCA<\/a>, also features tons of other performances by an eclectic mix of acts from many genres; the rest of this year\u2019s lineup will be revealed in the coming weeks and months. It\u2019s a uniquely welcoming festival experience, geared toward people who genuinely love live music, and any fan of Wilco or indie rock more generally should try to make it there at least once.<\/p>\n