It appears that Spencer Tweedy, son of Wilco’s Jeff, has been promoted. The 18-year-old, who will handle live drumming duties for his father’s string of solo tour dates leading up to his appearance at Newport Folk Festival in July, is now collaborating with dad on an album initially billed as the elder Tweedy’s solo effort. Instead, they’ll form a band dubbed Tweedy. Sukierae (pronounced sue-key-ray) will arrive September 16 via Jeff’s own label dBpm Records.
Joining the Tweedies, in Tweedy, will be bassist Darin Grey, guitarist Jim Elkington, and keyboardist Liam Cunningham. Guests include Lucius’ Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, along with singer/songwriter Scott McCaughey (R.E.M., the Baseball Project).
“When I set out to make this record, I imagined it being a solo thing, but not in the sense of one guy strumming an acoustic guitar and singing,” Jeff said in a statement. “Solo to me meant that I would do everything — write the songs, play all the instruments and sing. But Spencer’s been with me from the very beginning demo sessions, playing drums and helping the songs take shape. In that sense, the record is kind of like a solo album performed by a duo.”
(He’s also been with him since the very beginning of his life, but no matter. Don’t you know it’s about the music, man?)
Tweedy, the band, have also revealed the first listen off of Sukierae, “I’ll Sing It.” The song features gentle backing vocals — none of the high-pitched noises Jeff prohibited his son from making when Spin profiled Wilco in 2009. They make an easily dynamic duo, with Spencer’s gentle but insistent drum-rolls undercutting Jeff’s lightly loaded rasp. “We’re never getting closer,” he sings. From their musical synchronicity it doesn’t sound like he’s addressing his son, but it will be interesting to see how their relationship plays out across Sukierae and in a live setting.
Check out Tweedy’s upcoming tour dates below the track.
(Jeff) Tweedy tour dates:
June 5 – Detroit, MI @ Masonic Temple
June 6 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Three Rivers Arts Festival
June 7 – Hunter Mountain, NY @ Mountain Jam
June 9 – Baltimore, MD @ Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
June 10 – Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theatre
June 11 – Louisville, KY @ The Brown Theatre on Broadway
June 16 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Pabst Theater
June 17 – Columbia, MO @ Missouri Theatre
June 18 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
June 21 – Austin, TX @ Texas Union Ballroom
June 22 – Dallas, TX @ Majestic Theatre
June 24 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
July 4 – Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Blues Fest
July 6 – Toronto, ON @ Toronto Urban Roots Fest
July 12 – Chicago, IL @ Taste of Chicago
July 27 – Newport, RI @ Newport Folk Festival
