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Home , A Ghost Is Born, Dbpm records, Glenn Kotche, John Stirratt, Loose Fur, Mermaid Avenue

After a busy 2010, is already putting its mark on 2011.

The rock band founded in the mid-’90s by singer, and songwriter last year launched and headlined the inaugural Solid Sound Festival, while Tweedy produced and wrote two songs for the Grammy- winning release by soul legend Mavis Staples, You Are Not Alone, which won Best Americana at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in February.

Staples joined Wilco, Avi Buffalo, Vetiver, the Baseball Project and more to perform at the first Solid Sound Festival, held Aug. 13-15, 2010, on the grounds of MASS MoCA (the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art), a converted textile mill in North Adams, tucked away in the scenic Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts.

Wilco has already announced the second incarnation of Solid Sound June 24-26. Along with a pair of headline performances by Wilco, this year’s version features the Levon Helm Band, guitarist , New Zealand rocker Liam Finn, alt-country duo The Handsome Family and folk couple Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion. Also performing are soul singer Syl Johnson, trumpeter Dave Douglas and Chicago retro-soul band JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound, plus indie-rockers Here We Go Magic, Sic Alps, Purling Hiss and a rare live set by Pillow Wand, a collaboration between Moore and Wilco guitarist . Comedian John Hodgman hosts this year’s Comedy Cabaret, featuring Daily Show correspondent Wyatt Cenac and comics Eugene Mirman and Morgan Murphy. Tickets are available via solidsoundfestival.com.

Also, Wilco this winter founded , headquartered in Easthampton, MA, to release future Wilco . Speaking of which, is currently recording the follow-up to its Grammy-nominated 2009 release Wilco (The Album) at the band’s studio in Chicago, The Loft.

It’s the latest chapter for Wilco, which Tweedy founded in 1994 after the dissolution of his previous group, . From its raucous roots-rock origins, Wilco over the years has expanded its sound to encompass classic pop and genre-spanning experimentalism on acclaimed albums including 2002’s (the subject of Sam Jones’ 2002 film I Am Trying to Break Your Heart) and 2005’s Grammy-winning effort . Wilco also teamed with English singer in the late ’90s at the invitation of ’s daughter, who invited them to collaborate on setting to music some of the folk icon’s previously unrecorded lyrics, resulting in a pair of highly regarded albums.

The current Wilco lineup solidified in 2004 with the addition of guitarist Nels Cline and guitarist/keyboardist , who rounded out a roster featuring Tweedy, founding bassist , drummer and keyboardist . Kotche joined the band during the making of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and Jorgensen helped with live sound manipulations on that tour before switching to piano and becoming a full-time member of Wilco.

In life beyond Wilco Stirratt and Sansone play together in the folk-pop group Autumn Defense, Jorgensen fronts the pop-rock band Pronto and Cline performs in multiple side projects, most notably with the free-jazz instrumental group . Kotche performs with bassist Darin Gray in On Fillmore and as a composer and a solo percussionist. He has also collaborated with Tweedy on the side project.

In addition to Solid Sound, the band has announced a string of shows in May, including stops at the Jazz & Heritage Festival and Sasquatch! Music Festival in Washington. Full confirmed tour dates can be found at the band’s official website in the “Shows” section: http://wilcoworld.net/tours/index.php

Wilco are: Jeff Tweedy – , vocals; John Stirratt – bass, vocals; Glenn Kotche – drums, percussion; Nels Cline – guitars; Pat Sansone – guitars, keyboards, vocals; Mikael Jorgensen – keyboards, vocals

Wilco discography: AM (1995) Being There (1996) Mermaid Avenue (1998) (1999) Mermaid Avenue Vol. II (2000) Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002) A Ghost Is Born (2004) Kicking Television: Live in Chicago (2005) (2007) Wilco (The Album) (2009)