Kurt Vile and the Violators at Palace Theatre (June 28, 2026)

Kurt Vile & the Violators Setlist

1. Chance to Bleed¹
   
   with Alan Sparhawk
2. Red Room Dub¹
3. Zoom 97¹
4. Hey Like a Child¹
5. Rock o’ Stone¹
6. 99 BPM¹
7. Blackberry Song¹
8. How Lucky (John Prine cover)
9. Girl Called Alex¹
10. Like Exploding Stones¹
11. Mount Airy Hill (Way Gone)¹
12. Pretty Pimpin¹
13. Wakin on a Pretty Day¹
    
    — Encore —
14. Bassackwards¹
15. Avalanches of Snow¹
16. Every time I look at you¹
    
    ¹ Kurt Vile song

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■ Kurt Vile
Kurt Vile is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer from Philadelphia. Best known for his solo career and his backing band, The Violators, he is also recognized as the former lead guitarist of the indie rock band The War on Drugs

Sunday evening concerts can be a bit of a mixed bag. The new week is nearly upon you and it’s easy for audience members to be a bit distracted as they start to think about all the things that need doing or all the things that didn’t get done. And while the performing bands are actually their “day” jobs, ai think they can sometimes get subconsciously lulled into a lower energy space. But it’s also an opportunity to recklessly push off the inevitable Monday morning for just a little while longer. At the Palace Theatre in downtown Saint Paul, it was time for the current king of lo-fi rock, with Kurt Vile and the Violators in town to keep the weekend alive.

I wasn’t sure what to expect of the opener, The Wandering Eye. On the one hand, it was a killer lineup with Alan Sparhawk (formerly of Low and many other current projects), Tim Saxhaug of Trampled by Turtles and more. On the other hand, they were performing as a Ween tribute band. I think I was too focused on Ween’s odd humor, but I shouldn’t have been worried, as The Wandering Eye aimed towards the great musicality Ween has in its broad oeuvre. The band (nearly everyone a vocalist, two on guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums) made those songs soar. By the time The Wandering Eye got to the country song Piss Up a Rope, they had fully erased any fears. Sparhawk took lead on Object and it had a nearly mournful sound in his hands. I’m not sure Voodoo Lady hit quite right, as I don’t think they had the right set up to make that bass heavy and dark “boogie-oogie” work, but they gave it the old college try, with Sparhawk working a very modulated guitar. Drummer Tyler Dubla (“all the way from Duluth”) got a special call out and a huge cheer from the crowd, and the jovial atmosphere was locked in. Keyboardist Dan Anderson took lead vocals for Demon Sweat and it felt like a 70’s power rock anthem with some intense late guitar from Sparhawk. Vocals were back to Marc Gartman and he had the Ween singing style down. The band had largely leaned into a blusier and psych rock version of the songs, and it really worked. Saxhaug got lead on I Don’t Want It, an Americana rocker and time was almost up. Finishing with The Mollusk was an inspired choice and The Wandering Eye had enchanted the audience in an unexpected, but satisfying way.

Kurt Vile is a Philadelphia area native who wears all the usual hats in the music scene: writer, singer, instrumentalist, producer, etc. He was lead guitarist with the rock band The War on Drugs in their earliest years, but has been flying solo or with his backing band The Violators for nearly twenty years (we last saw him at First Avenue in May 2022). In that time he’s put out ten studio albums, most recently 2026’s Philadelphia’s Been Good to Me. In many ways, Vile is the lo-fi ethos personified, with a laid back style that belies the work that goes into it. He’s got an almost swallowed vocal style that somehow really works, and the music always feels very real and loose. On stage as a quintet (vocals/guitar, guitar/keys, bass, keyboards, and drums), we got the addition of Alan Sparhawk on stage for the opener Chance to Bleed. It was the pace car song of the evening and when it ended Vile and Sparkawk’s hug was genuine and joyous, as we settled to the regular band. Zoom 97 was such a vibe and Vile’s guitar on the near instrumental was fabulous. A bit of thanking the crowd, “we’ve been here three times in the last year” got cheers, but this was a headlining act (those other two opening for The Pixies), and this crowd was here specifically for Kurt. That laid back rock was perfectly on display on Hey Like a Child and the backing music was well paced, with solid drumming and bass work to highlight Vile’s guitar riffs and ending solo. Another switch of guitars (it seemed like he changed guitars every song) to acoustic made for a lighter opening and rode through Rock o’ Stone. 

Vile doesn’t have the widest of vocal ranges, but had a way of working through a lower, near growl, to an occasional yell or even falsetto that gave some useful modulation. The Violators left stage as Vile took to acoustic guitar for a pair of songs, starting with Blackberry Song and had the audience in near complete silence. The band was back for a Girl Called Alex and that transition to the full music felt huge, with a repeating keys motif that was superb. Even with Vile’s fairly introverted style, he kept the crowd entertained between songs, and he found the right moments to yell a “hey” or “woo” to jazz it up, though the epic Like Exploding Stones had some of those explicitly as lyrics. It was also an interesting number as Vile played keys for a brief moment and another band member was also on keys. When that drumbeat hit for Pretty Pimpin, the crowd was rolling. The main set had to end with the break out Wakin on a Pretty Day, but I don’t think anyone thought that jam session banger was the end of the line. And sure enough, the band was back and Bassackwards was pretty brilliant for musical riffs that sounded like they were being looped backwards. Vile thanked the crowd, saying “we got a couple more”, even as they rolled over the 90 minute mark. Avalanches of Snow got us Vile on trumpet, and I started to wonder if there was an instrument he can’t play. Every time I look at you was a pure sentiment and such a perfect close, and Kurt Vile and The Violators had closed the weekend brilliantly.