Jeff Tweedy
Jeff Tweedy is "one of the most daring songwriters of his generation" and his band Wilco "vital, adventurous . . . breaking new stylistic ground with each ambitious and creatively restless album." Salon.comAs the founding member and leader of the American rock band Wilco and before that the co-founder of alt-country band Uncle Tupelo, Jeff Tweedy is one of contemporary American music's most accomplished songwriters, musicians and performers. Since starting Wilco in 1994 Tweedy has written original songs for eight Wilco albums and collaborated with folk singer Billy Bragg to bring musical life to three albums-full of Woody Guthrie-penned lyrics in the Mermaid Avenue series.
Tweedy has had a firm hand in producing all of Wilco's eight studio albums, and over the past decade has created "the Wilco loft," a state-of-the-art recording studio and rehearsal space on Chicago's North Side "where eccentric vintage instruments sit side by side with near classics . . . industrial-grade shelves filled to the ceiling with guitar cases and amps. Everywhere you look, there are instruments." Fretboard JournalTweedy, an accomplished and in-demand producer beyond the Wilco realm, has collaborated twice with soul and gospel legend Mavis Staples. First on her 2010 release You Are Not Alone, and more recently, on the just-released One True Vine. Both albums were produced by Tweedy and recorded at the Wilco loft and both have garnered widespread critical acclaim. "One True Vine sounds at once contemporary and true to Staples' lengthy career and history . . . haunting, beautifully restrained . . . A-" The A.V. Club. "Guided by the brilliant production of Wilco's Jeff Tweedy . . . mixes triumphant gospel and evocative blues, infusing each with hard-won wisdom."
NPR on You Are Not Alone, which went on to win Best Americana Album in the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards.Tweedy's most recent producer credits include The Invisible Way by the Minneapolis trio Low, Wassaic Way by folk-rock duo Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion's (co-produced with Wilco's Patrick Sansone) and a forthcoming album by Austin's psychedelic rockers White Denim.A touring tour-de-force since the release of The Whole Love in September 2011 on the band's own dBpm Records, Wilco has played more than 170 concerts worldwide including multiple tours of North America and Europe as well as tours in Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Wilco also mans the helm at its own Solid Sound Festival at MASS MoCA in The Berkshires - a three-day event blending music, comedy, world-class contemporary art and more.In addition to his work with Wilco, Tweedy tours frequently as a solo artist, playing intimate unscripted acoustic sets that draw from his 400-plus song repertoire. A departure from Wilco's carefully orchestrated, sonically complex performances, Tweedy's solo concerts showcase his prolific output as a songwriter, his proficiency as a guitarist, his charismatic and compelling stage presence, and his wry sense of humor.
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