Wilco has released a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" to celebrate the iconic rocker's birthday. He would have turned 77 on Monday, Jan. 8.
The acoustic cover was recorded last April as the band played a set for Mountain Stage, a public radio program that airs on NPR.
'It’s always an honor and a challenge to tackle any of David Bowie’s space-soaring arrangements,' Wilco said in a statement.
It will be part of a new compilation album called Live On Mountain Stage: Outlaws and Outliers, which will be released via Oh Boy Records on April 19. The LP also includes performances by John Prine, Jason Isbell, the Indigo Girls, Tyler Childers, and more.
"As a gratefully, if not begrudgingly, Earth-bound band, it’s always an honor and a challenge to tackle any of David Bowie’s space-soaring arrangements," the band said in a statement obtained by Pitchfork.
"Striving to reach the heights of his freedom and talent is a wise goal for any band. We thank Mountain Stage for letting us give this song another home on Earth."
Commenters were loving the new track.
"Well done Tweedy and company! A great way to honour the incredible, dearly missed David Bowie," one YouTube user said. "It's tough to cover such a classic without sounding lame. Nicely done," said another.
Bowie was only a few years into his recording career when "Space Oddity" became the singer-songwriter's first big hit in 1969. The song made it to No.1 on the U.K. singles chart when it was re-released in 1975.
This came after Bowie released three No. 1 albums in a row in the country: Aladdin Sane and Pickups, both from 1973, and Diamond Dogs in 1974.
The glam rock star died from liver cancer at age 69 in 2016. He had been battling the disease for more than a year.
The original track made it to the No. 1 spot on the U.K. singles chart when it was re-released in 1975.
Wilco released its latest studio album Cousin in September. The band returned to the alternative rock sound that made it famous after exploring its country roots on 2022's Cruel Country.
Wilco is hosting Solid Sound Festival 2024 this summer in North Adams, Massachusetts, a small town near the border with New York and Vermont.
The event slated to run from June 28 to 30 will include performances by Wednesday, Ratboys, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Soul Glo, Water From Your Eyes, Iris DeMent, Dry Cleaning, Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets, Fenne Lily, Joanna Sternberg, Mikaela Davis, Sylvan Esso and more.
Wilco and its frontman Jeff Tweedy's solo project will also play sets at the festival.
Wilco is hosting Solid Sound Festival 2024 this summer in North Adams, Massachusetts.
"Look out. Here we come again," Wilco said in a social media post. "And we're bringing our friends SOLID SOUND 2024!! Be there or have FOMO."
Tickets to the event include admission to MASS MoCA, which is the nation's largest contemporary art gallery, according to a press release from the festival organizers.
The event was first organized by Wilco in 2010. It last occurred in 2022.
Wilco formed in 1994 following the dissolution of Tweedy's previous band Uncle Tupelo, which played a pivotal role in popularizing alt-country. His former bandmate Jay Farrar went on to form Son Volt.
