The first time I saw Iron & Wine, he played on a split bill with Andrew Bird at Wolf Trap. That night, he played solo, and his set was punctuated with wild, highly entertaining banter and asides (I will never forget the imaged he conjured of “a hot, sweaty Nancy Pelosi”) as he bounced around the stage. When I saw him most recently at the 9:30 Club, he played with a full band. While Sam (Beam, the singer-songwriter who uses the moniker Iron & Wine) still got in some funny moments, this was a more buttoned-down show, but it showed off his songs just as well.
When artists play solo, they often don’t prepare a setlist, preferring to feel their way through the show and react to the energy in the room. Playing with a full band requires coordination, which means fixing the setlist (though the Drive-By Truckers claim to never use one), and it means there’s less room to freestyle.
Sam is a clear guy, though, and he made some sly comments on May 14. Introducing “Paper and Stone,” he asked if anyone had ever solved a problem through rock, paper, saws. He prefaced “All In Good Time,” which was inspired by a parent-teacher conference, with a quip about having “a lot of kids.” It wasn’t ha-ha funny, but there was something amusing about him asking if anyone had ever played a “Singing Saw.”
Earlier this year, Sam put out a new Iron & Wine album, Hen’s Teeth, though it was recorded at the same as Light Verse, which he released in 2024. This performance included most of the songs on the new album: In addition to the aforementioned “Paper and Stone” and “Singing Saw,” the set included “Dates and Dead People,” “Defiance, Ohio,” “In Your Ocean,” and “Roses.” He ended the main set with “Wait Up,” where he was joined by opening act Improvement Movement, and he finished his encore with “Half Measures.”
Watch the official music video for “Wait Up” by Iron & Wine featuring I’m With Her on YouTube:
Before he got to the new material, Beam opened with a couple old favorites, “Sweet Talk,” followed by “House By The Sea.” There were plenty more beloved songs from his catalog: “Why Hate The Winter,” “Passing Afternoon,” “Jesus the Mexican Boy,” “Grace for Saints and Ramblers,” “Freedom Hangs Like Heaven,” “Communion Cups and Someone’s Coat,” “Tears That Don’t Matter,” and “Call It Dreaming,” along with “Faded From the Winter” in his encore.
I wasn’t familiar with the opening act, Improvement Movement, a band from Atlanta. Their music struck me as sort of jazz-rock; it wasn’t quite what I might have expected to get at this show, but it was a lot of fun.
Iron & Wine, of course is a lot fun: Whether he’s letting his freak flag fly, like the first time I saw him, or operating in more structure, like he was on Thursday, the power of his songs and the quality of his voice is undeniable, and the full band arrangements complimented them perfectly. Whatever format he’s playing in next time he’s here, I’ll be excited to see it.
Here are some photos of Iron & Wine performing live at 9:30 Club on May 14, 2026. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Casey Vock.
