Wilco-hatchee Summer Tour Arrives at The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN

By Andrew Pringle

On Friday, May 9th, 2025, alternative rock legends Wilco and soon-to-be legends, Waxahatchee, brought their “Sweet and Sour” summer tour to Nashville’s newest state-of-the-art venue, The Pinnacle. The 4,500-person capacity venue housed a diverse range of fans who came to watch Wilco perform songs from all three decades of their career. However, fans of Waxahatchee showed up and showed out, making their presence known. 

Opening in late February 2025, The Pinnacle is Nashville’s newest medium-scale concert venue. Having never been, I made sure to show up early to explore the place before the music started. Consisting of two levels and housing a max capacity of 4,500, The Pinnacle offers both general admission standing room as well as concrete bleachers on both the first and second levels. The second level also contains comfortable stadium style seats available for an additional cost. Regardless of where one chooses to stand or sit, they will have a clear view of the stage and a clear sound of the performance. There are only two downsides of the venue that come to mind, the first being parking. Like most places in Nashville, free parking is scarce and paid parking can seem unreasonable. However, travelling to the venue with friends, family, or other people, the cost of parking or a rideshare service (Uber, Lyft, etc.) can be split, reducing the cost per individual person. The other downside of The Pinnacle is when the show started and everyone was in the main room, the climate began to feel hot. This could be specific to just this show, or it might be a normal experience for the venue, so make sure to dress accordingly and take measures to ensure hydration. Pro tip- most venues, including The Pinnacle, allow empty water bottles in which can be refilled for free. 

Moving on to the music. The first performance of the night was Waxahatchee. Founded and fronted by Katie Crutchfield, Waxahatchee is an indie-alternative band that heavily incorporates the warmth and twang of slow country music, which can be attributed to her Alabama roots. The band consists of the instruments typically found in a band, but also utilizes instruments such as a banjo and pedal steel guitar to compliment the already comforting sound. Although Waxahatchee has been active for well over a decade, she has recently gained a multitude of new fans due to her collaborative work with fellow alt-indie artist MJ Lenderman. 

From the moment Katie and her band took the stage, she had the audience in the palm of her hand. Opening her set with her ballad “3 Sisters”, which is the first track from her critically acclaimed 2024 album “Tigers Blood”, it became crystal clear that Waxahatchee’s live sound is just as solid, if not better, than their studio work. Song after song, Katie delivers beautiful gut punches that remind the audience of the pain and complexities of life and love, with just enough hope to leave them with smiles on their faces. Their stage presence was accompanied by golden-orange lights and incense burning on top of the amplifiers, adding to their already warm and soothing sound. Not only were the live renditions beautifully executed, it is also worth mentioning the vocals harmonies pull at the heartstrings in ways that few songs and singers do. While some might find this statement controversial, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the sound of the early work of Taylor Swift, as if the instrumentation stayed the same, yet the lyrics require a more cynical outlook on love and the world. 

A key moment of the set was hearing the collective roar and cheering of the audience as the band played the opening notes of their radio hit “Right Back to It”. Looking through the crowd, it was easy to see that people were just as excited to see Waxahatchee as they were for the headliner; many fans proudly wearing merchandise. It is safe to assume that at the end of the night, Katie Crutchfield won over a new batch of fans, as well as satisfying the expectations of her long-time supporters. Needless to say, if there is anyone deserving to be on tour with Wilco, Waxahatchee is without a doubt worthy of that role. Fun fact: Her current touring drummer is Spencer Tweedy, son of Wilco founder Jeff Tweedy. 

Now for the main event- Wilco. For many years Wilco was referred to as alt-country, then alt, then experimental-alt, then back to alt, then back to alt-country. However, Wilco continues to defy every label they have gained since forming in 1994. In the thirty-one years of their existence, they have built a fanbase of devoted fans who continually prove their faithfulness, most evidently in concert ticket sales. Going into this show, I had no idea what to expect of the fans, but whatever preconceptions I did have were quickly proven wrong. I was delighted to see audience members of all ages and genders, and no matter what differences they seemed to have, there was one thing for certain that everyone shared- their love for Wilco.

The second that the band took the stage, the crowd began cheering at a deafening volume, and the moment that frontman Jeff Tweedy threw his guitar strap over his shoulder, they knew they were in for a good time. The band opened with the song “Company In My Back”, a deep cut from their Grammy-winning album “A Ghost is Born”. This comes as no surprise, as Wilco is a band who values their deepest cuts just as much as they value the fan favorites. Despite being an obscure song, it seemed as though the fans knew every word and beat. The band’s next song selection was the 2023 radio single “Evicted”, a safe choice for the new and long-time fans alike. The next two songs “Handshake Drugs” and “Muzzle of Bees” also belong to the “A Ghost is Born” album, which out of any album, had the most songs performed during the band’s set. This could be due to the fact that the album celebrated its twenty-year anniversary last year. The album also features some of Tweedy’s most intimate and personal songs, such as “Hummingbird”- the personal favorite of Tweedy’s father, which he sang to him in the last moments of his father’s life. This is a great time to mention that Jeff’s memoir Lets Go (so We Can Get Back) is an incredible read, even for those who might not be familiar with him and Wilco. Any who, while the band performed “Hummingbird” the audience yelled the chorus just as loud as Tweedy’s voice coming through the sound system.

Other highlights include the extended jam section of “Bird Without a Tail/ Base of My Skull” which resembled the improvised work of the Grateful Dead, which is no surprise when considering Wilco has performed with former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and the late Phil Lesh on multiple occasions. In addition to that, there seems to be an obvious overlap between the fanbases of the two bands. The band’s ability to improvise solos was further highlighted in their performance of “Impossible Germany”, which clocked in at nearly ten and a half minutes. Four and a half of those minutes belonging to lead guitarist Nels Cline, who masterfully crafted a soulful and heartfelt solo which balanced melodies with feedback and other noises, all in real time. 

Even in the less epic moments of the show, the crowd was just as invested. I cannot think of many other concerts I have been to where the crowd shows as much enthusiasm for the slow songs as they do for the up-tempo songs. This was displayed when the band performed “Via Chicago”, a song which pays tribute to their origins as a Chicago band. The audience went joyfully ballistic after Tweedy sang the chorus line “I’m coming home, Via Chicago”. The song also features a section that allows drummer Glenn Kotche to display his ability as a drummer, which, simply put, is rhythmic acrobatics that always manages to seamlessly fall back onto the “one” beat. After the song, Tweedy asked if anyone from the crowd was from Chicago, to which a lot of people positively responded. He proceeded to speak in a purposefully exaggerated Chicago accent, making comments along the lines of “What do you guys think of da Pope?” in reference to Pope Leo XIV, a fellow Chicago native, who had been elected the day before. A few songs later, he circled back to the impression saying, “This is Da Pope’s new walk on music” before playing their biggest song “Jesus, Etc.”, a song in that no matter the status of any Wilco fan, they (should) know every word. A truly special moment in the show where the collective energy of every fan in the crowd was on the same wavelength, a moment of connection that reminds us why we love music and going to concerts. 

After playing the iconic song “I’m the Man Who Loves You”, they walked off the stage, only before returning to the stage for a five-song encore, beginning with their bittersweet hit “California Stars”. After which they played their neo-country hidden gem “Falling Apart (Right Now)”, all before returning to their early material. They ended with two of their late-nineties classics- “I Got You (At the End of the Century)” and “Outtasite (Out of Mind)”. Both of which left the entire audience roaring for more. 

Seeing Wilco live is an experience that can be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates music. Out of the twenty-four song setlist, there was never a moment or song that felt dull, even in the obscure material. If you’re on the fence about diving into the world of Wilco, their live material is a great place to start. Regardless of if it is your first show or fiftieth show, there is enough to be taken in for anyone. Maybe it is a song you are hearing for the first time or one you’ve heard countless times; they all feel just as fresh hearing them live. Wilco continues to prove themselves as one of the most prevalent bands of recent decades and their live shows are the most blatant evidence of it.