Adrianne Lenker has wasted no time telling 2,400 Big Thief fans that this was not, in fact, the show they expected to see. “We have a special night for you,” she said as Big Thief took seats around a large wooden table onstage, then quipped: “If you had hopes of hearing songs you know, those can be discarded.”
Instead, Lenker matter-of-factly explained that Big Thief had convened in Nashville in May to record a triple album called “Horsepower“. She didn’t divulge any release details, but suddenly the weekend’s shows at Nashville’s hallowed Ryman Auditorium were something else entirely: The band and various guests playing through the whole 29-song album, in a sprawling three-hour show, filmed for future release. it’s a triple album. During the 29-song set, the indie folk trio were joined on certain numbers by renowned Americana artists, Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, and Iris DeMent, all of whom joined the trio onstage. Welch joined the band for nine songs and DeMent sat in on 12 tunes. Williams took the stage for one song during the encore.
They were joined by the wider band who they made it with: Russ Pahl and Greg Leisz on pedal steel and guitar, and Hannah Read, Richard Bowden, and Zosha Warpeha on fiddle.
Many of the tracks across the set list have been kicking around the group or Lenker’s live sets for years. Two of the songs—“Carry,” and “Space and Time”—the band debuted back in May during a session in a field for Belgium’s Radio 1.
Big Thief at the Ryman Auditorium Set List 2026:
Horsepower
Baby Honey Sweetheart Darlin’
Wait a While
Space and Time
21
Casual Touch
Muscle Memory
Highway
Stay
Carry
Sadness as a Gift
True Love
Where Will We Go
Beautiful World
Faker
Loneliest Boy
Happiness
Oldest
Bright Future
Beautiful Powerful
Avalanche, Hurricane
Snail
Spatchcock Chickenshit Bingo
Trade Tomorrow
6-7-8-9 She’s Fine
These Are the Days
No Matter What
Born For Loving You
Gift Pleasure Joy
The Fat Angel Sings 