The Neil Young detour.
The spirit of Neil Young became the unspoken headliner at this year’s Sky Blue Sky festival.
Jeff Tweedy’s Mexican getaway transformed into an impromptu tribute stage, with both Wilco and MJ Lenderman summoning Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis for distinct, guitar-drenched homages.
During Wilco’s Sunday finale, Mascis emerged to blister through the epic ‘Cortez the Killer,’ a song forever etched in the alt-rock canon.
Two nights prior, he defied his own setlist history, joining Lenderman & The Wind for a debut live rendition of ‘Lotta Love.’
These collaborations were the peaks of a weekend defined by cross-pollination.
The festival, buzzing with indie rock alumni, saw Lenderman as a connective thread, sharing stages with Waxahatchee, sitting in with Yo La Tengo, and reviving the Snocaps supergroup.
It was less a curated lineup and more a living, breathing hang, where every song felt like a discovery among friends.
