Watch Calexico and Iron & Wine perform on their Years to Burn tour at the Palace Theatre in St. Paul.

Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) and Calexico's Joey Burns and John Convertino first collaborated on the 2005 EP In The Reins. "When we left each others' company last time, we made a pact — a blood pact," said Sam Beam. "I cut my hand and Joey cut his hand, and I said, 'I will see you in 14 years in Nashville, to the day.'"

They reconvened in Nashville in 2018 to record what became Years to Burn, gathering at the Sound Emporium with esteemed engineer Matt Ross-Spang. Sam Beam brought five songs to the session, and Joey Burns added one of his own. They took differing approaches; Sam shared meticulous demos ahead of time and was ready with arrangement ideas and instrumental parts, while Joey spontaneous as ever, came in with concepts and an eagerness to improvise. Upon arriving in Nashville, he also penned a tune.

Each group is familiar to The Current's listeners. As Iron & Wine, Beam has performed in The Current studio four times, most recently in 2017. Calexico have performed in The Current studio three times, most recently in 2018, and they performed at Rock the Garden 2009.

The Current provided a live video stream of this concert — including the set by opener Madison Cunningham — in its entirety.

Set List

"Father Mountain"
"In The Reins"
"Follow the Water"
"Glimpse"
"Sixteen, Maybe Less"
"Prison on Route 41"
"Red Dust"
"Bring on the Dancing Horses" (Echo and the Bunnymen cover)
"Flores y Tamales"
"Naked As We Came"
"On The Road Again" (Willie Nelson cover)
"Fortune Teller" (featuring Madison Cunningham)
"The Bitter Suite"
"I Lost It"
"Midnight Sun"
"In Your Own Time"
"History of Lovers"
"What Heaven's Left"
Encore
"Dead Man's Will"

External Links

Calexico - official site

Iron & Wine - official site