
Sarah Lee Guthrie @ the Solid Sound Festival @ MASS MoCA, 2011 (photo by Matt Mac Haffie)


Sarah Lee Guthrie @ the Solid Sound Festival @ MASS MoCA, 2011 (photo by Matt Mac Haffie)

Parade of Shoes: Liam Finn @ Solid Sound (photo by Matt Mac Haffie)

Jeff Tweedy
Most of the people that packed MASS MoCA’s Joe’s Field on Saturday night bore a striking resemblance to drowned rats, and yet you couldn’t have found a happier bunch anywhere. The sight had a real effect on Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy. “Thanks for standing out in the rain all day,” he told us, adding in amazement, “Such a great attitude!”
It’s true, the weather hadn’t been cooperating. Rain started bucketing down just before Wilco’s Friday night set, causing a 20-minute delay that was admirably filled by an impromptu comedy routine from John Hodgman (curator of this year’s Comedy Cabaret) and Justin Long, Hodgman’s partner from the “Mac/PC” commercials. But literally a minute before Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion were scheduled to kick off Day Two of Solid Sound 2011, the sun burst out from behind the clouds, followed by sterling blue skies. I attributed this change to the umbrella I carried in my overstuffed backpack. I hold that kind of power, after all.

After the fabulous success of Wilco’s three-day Solid Sound Festival last August at MASS MoCA in North Adams, there was really only one question to ask.
How can they possibly top that?
The answer is Solid Sound II, which is heading back to MASS MoCA from Friday, June 24-Sunday, June 26.
Festival organizers haven’t announced the line-up of performers yet, but they did divulge some new information today.