Photo by Dean Budnick

“Rainbows are stupid,” Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy joked as the Chicago rockers made their debut on Saturday at this year’s Lockn’ Festival. As it turned out, if the double rainbow that inspired his comment wasn’t quite stupid, the rain that preceded said display of natural beauty (and returned later), did hamper the day’s festivities. Following two beautiful, if warm, days of weather, the penultimate day of Lockn’ was marred by conditions that sought to ruin the promising schedule of music. However, as always, music prevailed in the battle with Mother Nature.

The joyful noise began at a low decibel as Larry Keel and Sam Bush took the stage accompanied by Jenny Keel on upright bass for an hour of bluegrass. The trio warmed up the crowd for the forthcoming raucous afternoon and evening with feel-good playing, including a cover of Bob Marley’s “One Love” that was particularly well-received. The rock would come shortly after, as Freeman took the stage. Led by Aaron Freeman, aka Gene Ween, the band burned through tunes from their new self-titled, debut record. Although Freeman is currently seeking refuge from his former Ween personality, the guitarist isn’t completely in the clear in the eyes of the fans, as many chants of “Gener” could be heard throughout the set.

One of rock’s brightest young stars appeared after the former Ween frontman’s performance, as Gary Clark Jr. graced the Oak Stage with his band. Following a 15-minute weather delay, Clark and company dug into heavy, blues rock tracks. Clark, who recently shared the stage at the Grammys with Dave Grohl and Joe Walsh, delivered one mesmerizing lick after another, prompting worthy applause from the crowd at every turn. The guitarist and his group drew on the hits, as would be a theme throughout the day, performing “Ain’t Messin’ Around,” “When My Train Pulls In” and a closing “Bright Lights,” among others.

Tedeschi Trucks Band then swiftly took to the Ridge Stage and delivered one of the weekend’s best sets. Led by husband and wife super duo Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, the powerhouse group wasted no time getting into a variety of soul, blues and straight southern rock and roll, much to the crowd’s delight. The TTB would receive one of the warmest receptions on the day, as all hung on every note played by the guitarist as well as every word sung by Tedeschi. The group would dig into cuts like their single “Bound for Glory” and the closing epic, “The Storm,” which featured an extensive and thrilling solo from Trucks. The closing tune foreshadowed what was to come (even though Tedeschi mentioned she hoped it didn’t come true) as did one of the opening tunes, a cover of Traffic’s “Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring,”a nod to Steve Winwood, who performed with Widespread Panic a few hours later.

Photo by Dean Budnick

Next up was Wilco, another band making their Lockn’ debut. Some friendly banter from frontman Jeff Tweedy along with the cohesive, riveting jams of the band that includes guitarist Nels Cline and drummer Glen Kotche, was enough to win over the crowd rather quickly. While Tweedy drew raucous laughter in the crowd for his comment about rainbows (one appeared during the performance of “I’m the Man Who Loves You”), the musical takeaway was that Wilco is a well-oiled machine at the moment. The band expertly moved through compelling tunes such as “Impossible Germany,” “Handshake Drugs,” “Jesus Etc.” and “Shot in the Arm” all of which got the crowd up and moving (Susan Tedeschi and Joe Russo were both spotted jamming to the latter tune) as the sun and rain took turns bombarding the onlookers. Wilco will also perform today following Willie Nelson.

Phil Lesh & Friends then took the stage for an attenuated but rousing performance. This set came to an early conclusion due to an impending storm that forced the concert field to be evacuated. Still the group delivered some memorable moments on such songs as “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo,” “Dark Star” and “Bird Song.”

After more than an hour delay, fans returned to the concert field under a light rain to the sounds of the Widespread Panic with special guest Steve Winwood. Randall Bramblett who has toured with both Winwood and Widespread Panic over the years, completed the roster. Winwood stepped out three songs into the set, following Panic’s take on their original “Fishwater,” as the musicians moved into Traffic classic “Glad.” Other highlights included “Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” (the second time the song was performed at Lockn’, following a version by Phil Lesh and Friends on Friday) a beautiful “Can’t Find My Way Home” and “Dear Mr. Fantasy.” The set concluded with a rousing “Gimme Some Lovin.”

To close the night, Lockn’ welcomed its biggest name yet as the two-year old festival played host to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Petty seemed to sum up the day’s proceedings, by opening with The Byrds’ “So You Want to be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star.” There were no shortage of hits to follow as the rock legend rolled through the likes of “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” “I Won’t Back Down,” “Free Fallin’,” “Into The Great Wide Open,” “Yer So Bad,” “Runnin’ Down a Dream” and “American Girl,” among others—most of which prompted field-wide sing-alongs. An appreciative Petty exited the stage, arms held high, to a thankful crowd who recognized they successfully braved the elements to witness the best in rock and roll past, present and future.