Whether he’s pushing sonic envelopes with Wilco, jamming with family on Instagram live, or writing another bestseller on the wonders of songwriting, Jeff Tweedy is one of the great champions of twenty-first century artistry. Always as prolific as he is expressive, Tweedy’s newly released three record set titled Twilight Override is a unified statement on creativity for its own sake. The triple album’s variety of lyrical approaches, instrumentation and tributes to artistic influences is bound together by Tweedy’s familiar yet expanding vision. It comes as no surprise that an artist who can so easily balance the relatable and the thought provoking, could present a multi-disc set without a note of filler.

The characteristically spirited nature of the new songs has had fans anticipating the Twilight Override tour since the album was announced last summer. A sellout crowd filled Royale in the heart of Boston’s Theatre District on Saturday night to hear Tweedy’s solo magnum opus presented on stage. Seventeen of the evening’s twenty-seven songs hailed from the new record.

For this current jaunt, Tweedy is joined by his two sons, Spencer on drums and Sammy on keyboards and vocals, multi-instrumentalist Macie Stewart and bassist Sima Cunningham (both from the Chicago duo Finom), and guitarist Liam Kazar.  This crew of family and friends have collaborated with Tweedy through a multitude of projects, and their synchronicity was on full display on stage at Royale.

The crowd at Royale was refreshingly engaged, enthusiastic and exuberant. The wide age range of the audience proved that Tweedy’s compositions speak across generations. Concert goers conversed on music, family, politics and personal happenings in warm, congenial tones. Surprising for a Boston club on a Saturday night? Maybe so, but the familial atmosphere of Wilco/ Tweedy concerts is contagious. The spirit of Wilco’s Solid Sound was alive on Tremont Street.

This tour has presented Tweedy’s musical accomplices taking turns warming up the crowd in each city. Saturday was Macie Stewart’s moment to shine, and her performance was exemplary. Her solo acoustic set showcased her eloquent songwriting chops and beautifully melodic guitar stylings. The crowd was fully tuned in to the music from the first note, captivated by Stewart’s songcraft. Wilco family audiences are known for their broad musical palettes and notably treat openers with the same respect given to the headliner. After Sima Cunningham joined Stewart on electric guitar for her last song, fans were thrilled to find a few of Macie’s albums for sale on vinyl.

At nine pm on the dot, Jeff Tweedy took the stage with the Tweedy family band their musical and personal connection evident from their warm stage presence. The band opened with the evocative, folksy “KC Rain (No Wonder)” from Twilight Override. Sons Spencer and Sammy harmonized with their father plus Cunningham and Stewart on the chorus, with a few audience members mouthing along. “High in the morning,” they sang with rousing enthusiasm, perfectly packaged by the melody. Tweedy’s verses reflected the blend of sadness, perseverance and observational wit that he has mastered over the year. “I only care about the cat/some of this, a little of that/fat chance I’ll sing the blues” he crooned with trademark authenticity.

The following two songs, “Betrayed” and “One Tiny Flower” exemplified the variety contained in Tweedy’s newest artistic statement. An upbeat, country flavored tune tinged with humor, followed by the airy, experimental album opener which would sound at home on Wilco’s 2011 The Whole Love album. On “Caught Up in the Past”, Tweedy took us with him to Los Angeles to hear life passing by amid the chaos of the city. For Jeff Tweedy fans, new songs are not the time to rush to the bar.

Known for his entertaining concert banter, Tweedy engaged with the audience throughout the show. He acknowledged the volume of songs he and the band still had in store for the evening introducing “Signs of Life” as “containing the truest lyric I’ve ever written” and encouraged us to guess which lyric he meant. If one asked ten concert goers to examine the lyrics, each would likely have a different line in mind. Later in the set, he told a story of playing guitar while hospitalized and another patient opining that Tweedy could play but lacked confidence. When he left the hospital and saw himself on the cover of a magazine, he imagined the patient seeing the cover and exclaiming “He made it!”.  Anyone who’s attended a Tweedy show or read any of his books appreciated his dry sense of humor.

The poetry of “Feel Free” is the perfect eight-minute distillation of Tweedy’s artistic philosophy. This ode to artistic expression in all forms, tangible and abstract, is a centerpiece of Twilight Override. Lines such as “Get yourself born in the USA/Love with a love they can’t take away” and “Let it Be or Let it Bleed/John or Paul/ Mick or Keith” received rapturous, emotional applause. Tweedy’s reverence to his musical influences carried over into “Lou Reed Was My Babysitter”, a loving call back to the sounds of Loaded or Transformer. “Rock n Roll is dead, but the dead don’t die” wise words indeed.

Although most of the setlist came from Twilight Override, other Tweedy solo projects were represented sporadically throughout the set.” Gwendolyn” from 2020’s Love is the King showcased Cunningham’s impressive bass chops and classic punchy Fender tone. The band’s interplay on “Evergreen” from the Warmer lp appeared natural but still driven, focused and lively.  The dynamics and compressed power of “World Away” recalled vintage live recordings of The Band in all the best ways. On the ethereal title track from Love is the King, Kazar’s guitar guided the music to a crescendo then back down to the audience’s amazement.

During the encore set, the band played a heartfelt rendition of Tweedy family friend Mavis Staples’ “You’re Not Alone”. Tweedy noted that it was an appropriate song for that particular day, a subtle reference to the No Kings protests that afternoon, the largest day of protest in recent American history.

At each tour stop, the band has been playing a specific song for each city, not to be repeated for the rest of the tour. In Norwalk, Sammy Tweedy sang Neil Young’s classic “Only Love Can Break Your Heart”. Portland saw Wilco bassist John Stirratt sit in for “It’s Just That Simple” and “California Stars”. For the Boston crowd, Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart took the vocals for a fun and spirited cover of hometown disco legend Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”. Seventies styled colored lights draped the stage and the band and crowd alike had a blast. In a polarized climate, seeing musicians express genuine love for music of all genres and feelings is wholeheartedly inspiring. After the applause Tweedy said with a smile “Bet you didn’t have that on your fucking bingo card!” The audience roared again. Royale is a dance club after all.

After the show closed with “Enough” the bouncy, British Invasion flavored album closer, the band beamed with joy and gratitude. A thousand loyal fans reciprocated their energy. Of course, there’s no right or wrong way to enjoy music or art, but listening to Jeff Tweedy, his many collaborators and their countless influences is a fulfilling start to a limitless sonic journey.