Iron and Wine with Calexico

For Calexico's Joey Burns and John Convertino, agreeing to collaborate with Sam Beam of Iron and Wine was a no-brainer. It's an indie dream come true, a fantasy mating of Beam's sepia-toned Southern folk with the instumental fireworks of Calexico's widescreen technicolor West. Logistical hassles delayed the project, with both bands enjoying newfound success and touring incessantly over the past two years, but in October 2004, Beam and Calexico finally found time to record this fall's stunning In the Reins EP. "It all happened pretty easily," Burns says. "We hadn't played music together, we hadn't really hung out much together, but I think just through the music we kind of got a feel of where he was coming from." In keeping with this spirit of collaboration, the bands will make the ensuing tour a unique concert experience, playing the EP in its entirety after their separate sets and inviting special guests to join them onstage. These guests have included Minutemen legend Mike Watt, singer-songwriter Victoria Williams and Califone's Tim Rutilli. See for yourself if anyone will join them in Fort Worth at what might be the show of the year.