Wilco delivers an electrifying double set at Heinz Hall

In some ways, Downtown Pittsburgh’s Heinz Hall is the perfect venue for indie rock band Wilco. With 30 years of experimentation, evolution and inspiration under their belt, the band could be the modern popular equivalent of classical music, in many ways.

Fronted by singer and guitarist Jeff Tweedy, the sextet has released 13 studio albums since 1994, not always with the same lineup. But the current band composition has been constant for more than two decades, and it’s easy to see how much they like making music together.

Tweedy said as much at Heinz Hall on Wednesday night during the band’s concert. “We’re playing two sets tonight,” he said. “We’ve been doing this a lot lately and we enjoy it a lot, so we hope you enjoy it as much as we do. It gives us a chance to play some stuff we don’t normally play and gives us a chance to enjoy listening to each other onstage.”

The band played 33 songs over more than two and a half hours on Wednesday night, and very few of their 13 albums didn’t get at least a little love in the process.

Sure, they pulled out the heavy hitters — the breezy, summery “Heavy Metal Drummer” got the crowd to their feet during the encore, the more melancholy “Jesus, Etc.” was a singalong for the whole auditorium and “Impossible Germany” was both an audience favorite and an epic jam session. But all corners and styles of Wilco’s discography was heard under the Heinz Hall stage lights.

Plenty of their songs, especially from 2022 album “Cruel Country,” lean into Tweedy’s alt-country roots. As a veteran of alternative country band Uncle Tupelo, Tweedy knows his way around the genre. Early in the evening, songs including “Story to Tell” and the album’s title track were foreboding and full of subtle layers, including some wicked lap steel.

They also ended the first set with the popular “California Stars,” from the “Mermaid Avenue” album they recorded with Billy Bragg in the late 1990s. This, and the other songs on that album, were recordings of unrecorded songs by late folk legend Woody Guthrie. Though “California Stars” may not have packed the drum-and-guitar punch of other setlist offerings, it was a particularly poignant and meditative moment under blue stage lights.

The first set also featured plenty of their most recent album, “Cousins,” from 2023. Notably, a song that was a required inclusion for this tour stop — the moody “Pittsburgh,” which was third to be played.

“That’s in sincere appreciation of Pittsburgh, we love Pittsburgh,” Tweedy announced after the song’s close.

More upbeat country and folk influences were seen in the first set in songs such as “Forget the Flowers” and “Hesitating Beauty,” also from “Mermaid Avenue.” The whole band added their musical flourishes, from catchy guitar lines to little drum rolls. Tweedy bobbed and nodded onstage, often aloof but with the warmth of his vocals ever-present.

After playing the sweet little ditty “You and I,” Tweedy announced that it was his 30th wedding anniversary. The crowd exploded with cheers. “If you see my wife, tell her I played ‘You and I.’ ”

That adorable announcment imbued the following songs with a rosy glow, especially “Hummingbird,” which Tweedy looked genuinely overjoyed to sing.

On the other side, the more experimental songs also made their appearance. “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” was a ranging showcase for the band’s musical stamina and “Via Chicago” was a strange and compelling mix of maudlin with an organized cacophony of drums and other instruments overlaid.

The second set brought out more bouncy, upbeat songs, starting with “The Late Greats” and “Whole Love.” It ended with twin all-out rockers “I Got You (At the End of the Century)” and “Outtasite (Outta Mind),” both of which feel a little like the solo work of Paul Westerberg apart from The Replacements.

Before playing “Box Full of Letters,” Tweedy announced, “This is off our first record, this is the oldest song we’re going to play.” It’s a rock-solid mid-1990s tune, and it doesn’t sound dated in 2025.

After that, he said, “This is the newest song we’re going to play tnoight. We put these songs back-to-back frequently just so people can marvel at the growth.”

Then the band played “Annihilation” off the 2024 EP “Hot Sun Cool Shroud.” While it has some great musical touches — a drumbeat changeup, for example — I think I’d still pick “Box Full of Letters” in a head-to-head matchup.

But that’s the thing about Wilco. They’re mellow, they’re country, they’re pounding drums and screeching guitar, they’re heart-rending lyrics. They’ve tried a little bit of it all. After 30 years, they could have played four sets over five hours and their fans would’ve been overjoyed. And with how much they seemed to love being onstage, maybe that’ll be the next tour’s format.