In September, Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy released his solo triple album, Twilight Override. To support the new album, Tweedy launched a tour with a band who are very close to his heart; specifically, his sons Spencer and Sammy, and Tweedy family’s musically talented neighbors, Sima Cunningham, Liam Kazar, and Macie Stewart. “I love everybody in this band so much,” Jeff Tweedy says, “and it really does feel like an extended part of my family, and my family life, because I've known everybody since they were little kids.”

As the tour made a stop in the Twin Cities for a show at First Avenue in Minneapolis, Tweedy and his band visited The Current studio to play songs from Twilight Override, and to talk with host Jessica Paxton. Watch and listen to the music performances above, and watch the video below. Just beneath the interview video is a full transcript of the conversation.

Interview Transcript

Jessica Paxton: Hi. I'm Jessica Paxton, afternoon host on The Current, and I am joined today by Jeff Tweedy and his band extraordinaire. We've got Spencer, we've got Sam, we've got Sima, we've got Liam, we've got Macie. It's such a thrill to have you here. An incredible session. I have goose bumps. I just got to say really quickly, OK: three bestselling, New York Times bestselling books, 13 Wilco albums, working with Uncle Tupelo, working with Tweedy with Spencer. Now you've just released your fifth solo album, and not just an album, a triple album. Are you an overachiever? Have you been accused of that?

Jeff Tweedy: Never.

Jessica Paxton: Never?

Jeff Tweedy: Never been accused of being an overachiever.

Jessica Paxton: Well, an incredible session, and you guys, so much joy in the room. I feel like that performance was the definition of community, congregation, consolation. Thank you. Absolutely beautiful.

Jeff Tweedy: Thank you.

Jessica Paxton: And that leads me then to want to talk about Twilight Override. You and I talked briefly, you were here about a year ago, and at the time, we talked a little bit about the impending sense of doom, shall we say. And now here we are, fast-forward almost 12 months, it's not an impending sense of doom, it's a palpable sense of what the eff.

Jeff Tweedy: Yeah.

Jessica Paxton: So talk about what Twilight Override means in light of that, and maybe the inspiration for it. But also, I feel like, again, using this performance as the framework, the antidote to these very, very strange times.

Jeff Tweedy: Yeah. Yeah, I think it's just trying to stay focused on something pretty simple, and that is, like, the part of the world that you can have some immediate impact on, and, you know, not losing sight because of your concerns and your fear for the world, and your legitimate sensation of being oppressed a little bit by —

Jessica Paxton: A little bit.

Jeff Tweedy: ... by how the world is is turning. But you know, kind of reminding yourself that you're a part of making a world that's worth saving. The one that's worth fighting for is the one that does put more good into the world and creates beauty and creates connection and community, things like that, which all music is really good at, and art is is good at. And so it's a really simple act of defiance to not just surrender to the anger and the isolation that comes along with being angry at people. And not that I'm not. I think that there are plenty of people to be angry at. And I generally think people are prone to being angry at the wrong people a lot of the time. But yeah, if nothing else, it's a strategy that has worked for me in my life, to stay focused on creating, absorbing other people's art, spending time singing, doing all of these things that have sustained me during just privately challenging times. And it does tend to work for the broader picture as well, to recenter yourself in your own ability to make something out of nothing.

Jessica Paxton: Absolutely beautiful. You know, listening to the album, I was thinking about, you know, the Bobby McFerrin, "Don't Worry, Be Happy," which is really just kind of ignore everything around you and just put on a happy face, whereas I feel like your message is, "Yeah, it's OK to worry, it's OK to be afraid, it's OK to be scared, it's OK to question what is happening.

Jeff Tweedy: It's OK to not be OK!

Jessica Paxton: It's OK to not be OK, exactly. But that, to put that focus into, like you said, finding the joy, finding the kindness. David Byrne was just in town for two nights, and he said, hope and kindness — "Love, hope and kindness are forms of resistance," and that is the resistance that can, collectively, you know, bring us together.

Jeff Tweedy: Well, there's certainly the things that you shouldn't surrender. I mean, whether it's resistance or not, it should not be conceded. I think that that's really important, and I guess by definition, that means it's some sort of resistance, but they don't — the powers that be, the stresses on all of us, don't deserve us to forfeit that ability and that connection that we can form. You know, I just think that that's, it's really simple. It sounds really simple. It's pretty hard to do. And there's a lot of momentum away from that, and I think that it's good to try and stay focused on it.

Jessica Paxton: That's sort of the message I got from the song, "Feel Free." I think sometimes as humans, we sort of beat ourselves up for feeling, or feeling we have to worry about this, or we need to do this, shoulda, woulda, coulda. Whereas "Feel Free" to me is like, the best thing you can do is experience just experiencing; like, just be, just live, just let yourself have those experiences.

Jeff Tweedy: I mean, yeah, I'm not like a coherent philosopher or anything.

Jessica Paxton: At times you are, good sir.

Jeff Tweedy: Well, I just, yeah, I think it's all, it's all, it's all kind of ... Well, the Twilight Override theme was also, I think, that it is hard, it is really sad, and I can't get enough of it. You know, I think most people, it takes a lot for people to get to a position in their life where they don't want to be here. And that's always really tragic, but for the most part, everybody kind of suffers, maybe not at the same degree, at the same time, but everybody has moments in their life that are really challenging, and moments in our history that are really challenging. But we don't want to be anywhere else. I think we get this moment. So it is good, I think, to try and convince yourself, or remind yourself, that it's all a part of this one kind of gift that you get, to experience it.

Jessica Paxton: Well, and there's beauty in darkness, there's beauty and sadness. It's OK to be sad. It's OK to feel things. And you can find joy and optimism and laughs in that, too. I like dark humor.

Jeff Tweedy: Or at the very least, it's  like, it defines the good times. You know, it's a way, it's something to project against, to highlight or underline what the differences are between. But you know, I think a thing that I've learned as I've gotten older is like, very rarely do we have one emotion at one time. And so that's always complex, but we tend to think we should have one emotion at a time, and I think that that creates a lot of problems for us.

Jessica Paxton: Well, the world is not black and white, it's not one extreme or the other. Hence, it's OK to hate and to love, to be angry and be happy. Well, I want to, like, you know, get these guys involved in, too. Obviously, I was gonna say, how did this band come together? I know Spencer and Sam, sorry, you guys kind of like, you know...

Jeff Tweedy: Well, when a man loves a woman...

Jessica Paxton: I've heard that story before. Thank you. No, I'm just kidding. But I mean, it's you guys like, again, that session was so amazing. Not only are you all incredible musicians in your own right, but there's an obvious joy and an interaction that you guys have where you can tell you guys are really enjoying performing together and really appreciating what you're doing collectively. And that doesn't just happen, or sometimes it does. You know, it can be an organic thing. But how did the band all come together?

Jeff Tweedy: I can, I mean, I'll let everybody jump in. But, I mean, I love Wilco, I love the guys I've been playing music with for a long time, and that's something that you have to have and develop over time with musicians to have this intimacy that allows you to be good musicians and good listeners for each other. And it's really rewarding when you get deeper into that, like, relationship musically. This band starts there. It starts with this incredibly deep connection that feels unshakable, you know, like there's...

Jessica Paxton: Except for when you're on the tour bus.

Jeff Tweedy: Then we get shook around?

Jessica Paxton: Sorry, bad joke.

Jeff Tweedy: I was really onto something, and now I'm distracted. No, I was going to say I love everybody in this band so much, and it really does feel like an extended part of my family, and my family life, because I've known everybody since they were little kids.

Jessica Paxton: No way. Wow, that's cool. 

Sima Cunningham: Yeah, we, Liam and I, who is my brother, and me and Macie and Liam have been playing in bands together since we were young, and we grew up just a couple blocks from the Tweedys, so we were lucky enough to kind of be neighbors and go to school with the Tweedy boys. And then also just sort of grew up in Chicago with, like, you know, with Wilco being like the this incredible force of both songwriting as we were all turning into songwriters ourselves. And also this, like, band that was bringing together really beautiful songs and experimenting. And those are like two things that we have in spades in Chicago. And so we sort of got to incubate, I think, in this city. And then, you know, and then I think Jeff fed that incubator over the last 15 years and has, like, really nourished and supported us all as young and emerging artists. And now here we are having a grand old time on the road together.

Jessica Paxton: That's amazing. So at what point did you go from calling him Mr. Tweedy to Jeff?

Jeff Tweedy: That still hasn't happened. We're getting, we're getting there! No, I'm just kidding.

Jessica Paxton: I used to actually work for my dad. Do you call him Dad, or do you call him Jeff? 

Spencer Tweedy: We call him Dad. But lately, we've taken up the moniker Jeffy.

Jessica Paxton: Oh, do you? Oh, all right.

Spencer Tweedy: It can be useful logistically when strangers who don't know that ... Well, maybe you can just look at us and know, but…

Jessica Paxton: I was gonna say I kind of see [the resemblance].

Spencer Tweedy: Somebody who doesn't know.

Jeff Tweedy: Yeah, he did. He did.

Sammy Tweedy: "We" is a strong word. I've never said "Jeffy" in my life.

Jeff Tweedy: He did call me Jeff at sound check yesterday, and it was just like, "What?" He asked for less Jeff in his monitor.

Jessica Paxton: Hello.

Jeff Tweedy: Did you think I wasn't gonna hear it if you didn't say Dad?

Liam Kazar: I call my mom Mom, and my niece calls her Jackie, and that's weird to me.

Jessica Paxton: Yeah, yeah.

Liam Kazar: Yeah.

Jessica Paxton: I ultimately, my dad's name is Dwayne, and so I ultimately, instead of D or Dwayne, I just called him The Big D. So that was, but I don't think our coworkers really appreciated that either.

Spencer Tweedy: (referring back to sound check comment) That was strictly a matter of logistical expedience. 

Jeff Tweedy: I know, Spencer, you don't need to explain it.

Sima Cunningham: I think it's a Montessori thing, actually, to address your elders by their first name. 

Spencer Tweedy: Yeah, we're all Montessori kids.

Jessica Paxton: OK.

Spencer Tweedy But I just, I put on the record, I've never, ever wanted to obscure that Jeffy is my dad.

Jeff Tweedy: Oh, my God.

Jessica Paxton: Are we having a therapy session?

Jeff Tweedy: Actually, we should have one, but I will say that, thinking back on the original question, I don't know if I've ever heard any of you call me Mr. Tweedy. Ever.

Spencer Tweedy: It's just not a thing.

Jeff Tweedy: It's just not.

Spencer Tweedy: We're northerners. We're, you know, Chicago.

Sammy Tweedy: I never heard anyone say that.

Jessica Paxton: It's just, "Hey, you." “Hey you.” Yeah.

Jeff Tweedy: I have not earned that level of respect, apparently.

Jessica Paxton: Not quite yet. It's on its way.

Jeff Tweedy: Actually, our bus driver calls me “Mr. Jeff.” I can't get him to stop doing it! 

Jessica Paxton: So on the road, I mean, like, what do you guys do when you're not performing? How do you, like, stay excited? How do you relax? How do you try to deal with hours and hours and hours on a bus and achy hips?

Jeff Tweedy: I mean, I play guitar a ton. We go for hikes. Everybody goes to museums, bookstores, all the stuff that it feels so privileged to get to go do.

Sima Cunningham: Jeff is like a teenager that just got his first Strat and wants to play all the time, and it's inspiring to see someone so excited to just jam all the time.

Macie Stewart: This is also, I think, this is the most music I've ever played on tour, and I've been touring for a very long time, and like, I feel like it's kind of an amazing experience to be able to play music on and offstage together. And kind of like, yeah, just hang out that way.

Jessica Paxton: That truly is kind of like the definition of a family band; like, you're just making art, making music, enjoy each other's company. And those jam sessions all the time, on and offstage. 

Jeff Tweedy: When I'm at home, I'm always thinking, "Boy, I really wish I had somebody to play with" a lot of times, you know? I get tired of looping things and playing over loops and stuff, but, you know, but yeah, like, it feels like we're going to go out on the road, we're going to do this. It's not just about putting on a show. To me, it's about, like, getting to learn so much from all of these amazing musicians and getting to, I don't know, I just think some of my favorite parts of the day are like when we are together in the dressing room, and we're getting ready for the show and playing. I mean, that's the same with Wilco. Wilco practices before every show, too, and we don't play as much music as we have been on this trip, but I think it's really good. I mean, that's why you're there.

Jessica Paxton: Well, I think that just gets back to the fundamental point of the album. You know what you just said, It's not about the performance, it's about the community, the congregation, the connection that only music can create, and nourishing that and relishing in that as much as you can.

Jeff Tweedy: Yeah, thank you. I mean, I want to — the "Override" part of it is like, I want to override the notion of failure. To me, if your heart's in the right place, it's beyond critique. It's just, it's a good thing. And there's a whole lot of things in the world that are mixed; you know, almost everything. Like, everything is a little bit complicated when you zoom out or you zoom in. But there are some things in this world that you can pretty definitively agree with yourself and the world that this, I'm not hurting anybody. Like this is good, and I'm occupying my time in a way that makes me feel more in the moment and alive.

Jessica Paxton: Well, and I think music is truly magical that way, and it is the ultimate connector, the ultimate way to create community. Thank you guys so very much. I know we've taken up a lot of your time. I could talk to you all forever. Absolutely beautiful. Looking forward to the show tonight. Good luck.

Jeff Tweedy: Thank you.

Jessica Paxton: On the rest of the tour. Congrats on an incredible 30-song ... have you ever counted how many songs you've done? Is there a tally? Do you know how many songs you've actually written?

Jeff Tweedy: In my life?

Jessica Paxton: In your life. Do we have that number anywhere?

Jeff Tweedy: No, I don't.

Jessica Paxton: Someone want to be charged with that task?

Sima Cunningham: I think it's around 2,486.

Jeff Tweedy: I don't think we even know how many are on the computer at The Loft.

Jessica Paxton: So someone has done something, someone has looked at the file. Wow, that's incredible. Well, thank you guys so and thank you, each and every one of you again. Spencer, Sam, Sima, Liam, Macie, Jeff. Mr. Tweedy.

Jeff Tweedy: I want everybody to refer to me as Mr. Tweedy from now on.

Sammy Tweedy: You got it, boss. 

Jeff Tweedy: Yeah!

Jessica Paxton: Well, truly, thank you so much.

Jeff Tweedy: Thank you. Thanks for having us.

Jessica Paxton: Have a blast tonight.

Jeff Tweedy: Always great to get to be here. Thank you.

Jessica Paxton: We appreciate it.

Gallery: Jeff Tweedy in studio

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Songs Performed

00:00:00 Lou Reed Was My Babysitter
00:03:18 Enough
00:06:44 Out in the Dark
All songs from Jeff Tweedy’s 2025 album, Twilight Override, available on dBpm Records.

Musicians

Jeff Tweedy – vocals and guitar
Sammy Tweedy – vocals and keyboards / synths
Spencer Tweedy – drums
Sima Cunningham – bass and vocals
Liam Kazar – guitar and vocals 
Macie Stewart – violin and vocals

Credits

Guest – Jeff Tweedy
Host – Jessica Paxton
Producer – Derrick Stevens
Video – Aaron Ankrum
Audio – Evan Clark
Graphics – Natalia Toledo
Digital Producer – Luke Taylor

External Link

Jeff Tweedy – official site