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There are many great websites featuring live performances by Americana artists. We try to keep track of some of these sites for your convenience.  Check out the Concert Page for links to free online concerts featuring Americana artists. 

Tweedy's Busy Spring

You can call Jeff Tweedy a lot of things - but don't call him lazy.  At least not when it comes to recording and touring with his various bands and side projects. On March 5, Tweedy and his fellow Wilco bandmates hit the road for an extended Spring tour across the Eastern US.  If the back-to-back opening shows in Chapel Hill, NC are any indication, expect a live set akin to the band's most recent live CD Kicking Television: Live in Chicago - with a new song or two thrown in for good measure.  

Of course, Wilco has largely transcended the "alt-country" label initially attached to the band in the 1990s.  The Chapel Hill concerts illustrated the appeal and impact of the band's newer releases on a younger and ever-growing fanbase. The typical Chapel Hill attendee was likely in elementary school when the band was formed from the ashes of Uncle Tupelo in the mid-1990s. Nevertheless, Wilco remains an imaginative and compelling band with a musical influence that should not be ignored.

If Wilco is not enough to satisfy your Tweedy fix, you fortunately have lots of alternatives these days.  On March 21, Tweedy will join with Jim O'Rourke and Wilco bandmate Glenn Kotche to release their second Loose Fur CD called Born Again in the U.S.A.  Loose Fur released its self-titled debut CD in 2002.  

Meanwhile, Tweedy's other side project - Golden Smog - is set to release its latest CD on July 18. The new CD will be entitled Another Fine Day and will hit the shelves almost eight years after the alt-country supergroup's last effort in 1998.  The group's current line-up includes Tweedy, Soul Asylum's Dan Murphy, Big Star's Jody Stephens and the Jayhawks' Gary Louris, Marc Perlman and Kraig Johnson. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the latest Golden Smog release is the presence of the former Jayhawks.  After much speculation regarding the future of the Jayhawks, this project combined with Louris's 2005 tour with former Jayhawk Mark Olson suggests that the members are still on good terms. Hopefully, the rumors of the band's permanent demise were a bit premature.

(Mar. 8, 2006)