Wilco Bust Out The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” for First Time Since 2019, Nels Cline Outlines 70th Birthday Concert with Featured Guests

Photo: Hana Gustafson

Last night, Wilco commenced its annual destination concert event, Sky Blue Sky, at the Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico, performing its first of three scheduled appearances throughout the weekend. Thursday’s show was comprised almost entirely of original material from across the band’s opulent discography, with one exception: a cover of The Beatles’ psychedelic impulse, “Tomorrow Never Knows,” which represents a bust-out, last played by the band on Dec. 15, 2019. On the same day the group opened their festival, guitarist Nels Cline shared details about his birthday concert. 

Ahead of the band’s arrival on the seaside stage, Cline outlined the plan for his impending 70th birthday concert, dubbed “70 Is The New 70,” and featuring Jimmy Rip and Lee Ranaldo, in addition to Cline’s wife, Yuka Honda, also known as Eucademix. The celebratory event is scheduled for Wednesday, February 25, at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, N.Y. Describing the purpose of the night, Cline wrote on social media: “The intent is to create an immersive, compelling 70-minute ambient exploration that reflects this experience in all its wonder, exhilaration, dread, astonishment, and creeping surreality.”

As a follow-up to the news of Cline’s birthday concert, Wilco took the stage for the onset of their destination concert event. The set touched on a range of material from across their expansive and beloved discography. It kicked up select songs played during last night’s concert for the first time since 2024, including “Red-Eyed and Blue,” “Someone Else’s Song,” “Hotel Arizona,” “Kingpin,” “A Magazine Called Sunset,” “Passenger Side,” and the event title track “Sky Blue Sky.” 

The evening’s encore launched the band’s return to “Tomorrow Never Knows.” Initially, Wilco began incorporating The Beatles’ cover into their songbook in 2013; that year alone, they performed the song live on five occasions. The track has remained a rarity, played once on September 17, 2016, and again on December 15, 2019. Last night’s return ended a six-year lapse in live deliveries. 

After their take on the Revolver classic, Wilco returned to originals with the first “Candyfloss” since 2024, and an even deeper dive into their songbook via the Being Here feature, “Dreamer in my Dreams,” played for the first time since June 23, 2017. 

Tonight, Jeff Tweedy will perform on the main stage, with Wilco returning on Saturday and Sunday evenings. View the festival schedule here.

View Cline’s detailed post about his imminent birthday concert below.