Andrew Bird and Iron & Wine finish summer tour at Surly Festival Field

Andrew Bird and Iron & Wine wrapped up their Outside Problems summer tour at Surly Festival Field in Minneapolis. It was a cool and cloudy Saturday evening and the show got started with a short sweet set by the icon Michelle Ndegeocello. White cardboard houses filled the front on the stage for Iron & Wine frontman Sam Beam who walked out with a big smile and picked up one of his four Taylor acoustic guitars that were onstage.

Beam proceeded to charm the crowd with a loose career-spanning set including the New Order cover “Love Vigilantes” which he opened with. The song “Father Mountain” that he originally recorded with Calexico on the Years to Burn album in 2019 was a big highlight, as was “Naked As We Came” from the awesome 2004 release Our Endless Numbered Days. It was clear Beam was having a good time and the large crowd at Surly Festival Field rocked along attentively.

I first saw Andrew Bird in 2007 when he and local drummer Martin Dosh opened up for Wilco at the Northrop Auditorium. Bird has come a long way since then. Backed by a solid band, Bird started the show with “Make a Picture” from his 2022 album Inside Problems. The sounds he creates on the violin were mesmerizing at times and his band was in fine form. “Sisyphus” from his 2019 album My Finest Work Yet showed off those attributes and also his epic whistling abilities, and after a few more songs, Iron & Wine returned to the stage to join Bird by two microphones.

The duo played a mix of their individual tunes and helped each other out with forgotten lyrics or music parts when necessary. Their cover of The Kinks’ song “Strangers” was a lot of fun. By this time the crowd was kicking off heat and the cool evening felt warm and friendly while Beam and Bird captivated us in delight. Bird’s backing band returned to the stage for a great version of “Three White Horses” to end the set. After a very brief encore break, Andrew Bird and his band finished the show with “Pulaski at Night” and a really nice new song called “Never Fall Apart” that Bird’s friend and local musician Jeremy Ylvisaker inspired.

The musical respect and friendship between Sam Beam and Andrew Bird was palpable and this show at Surly Festival Field was a great way to spend a summer evening in Minneapolis.

Michelle Ndegeocello