When the pandemic canceled touring plans for musicians, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy began writing music at an even more prolific rate. He penned one song a day, which he shared with friends and family. But the musician began missing the connections forged from performing live music for fans. To suffice, Tweedy announced Wednesday that he’s officially launching a Substack newsletter to better connect with his listeners.
Titled Starship Casual, Tweedy’s newsletter will allow his fans to get to know him on a more intimate level. Through his writing, Tweedy plans on sharing memories, cultivating a community of fans, and even opening an advice column. The first newsletter arrives on August 5, the same day Tweedy is hitting the road for his fall tour.
In a statement shared about Starship Casual, Tweedy explains why he wanted to pivot away from social media in favor of a regular newsletter:
“I know I’ve shared a lot — been pretty prolific for a scary long time now. But a couple of things happened this past year (which I’ll get to in a sec) that have me craving a bit more of a direct experience with my collaborators (you). Social media has never quite met these needs for me. Occasionally I’ve dabbled with tweets and whatnot, but I’ve never been able to quite put my finger on the reason for the emptiness I feel trying to engage with all of you while using those formats.
I really want this newsletter to be an extension of that experience, and to put into practice some of the insight I’ve gained about my past attempts to make social media feel worthwhile and honest to me. It’s the community I’ve always missed. Blue checks or not I’m not sure anyone is really themself — really who they say they are in that climate over there. I’m going to settle in here and share all kinds of things with an added emphasis on a feeling of direct interaction. Mostly, I just want to be here where you can find me. If you need me. Because I like you. Let’s spend some time together.”
Subscribe to Tweedy’s newsletter here.