Jeff Tweedy Shares "Lou Reed Was My Babysitter"

Jeff Tweedy releases the new single/video, “Lou Reed Was My Babysitter,” from his forthcoming triple album, Twilight Override (dBpm Records), out September 26, 2025. Following “Feel Free,” “Lou Reed Was My Babysitter” is an ode to both the visceral-ness of live music—the beauty and catharsis of being close to sound—and, of course, Lou Reed. In the song’s opening lines, Tweedy sings: “I wanna sweat next to you // Sweat next to you // With a sticky carpet sucking on my shoes. // ’Cause rock ‘n’ roll ain’t never gonna lose,” an energy felt in the song’s accompanying video, directed by Austin Vesely.

Tweedy says the song’s title references “The joy in this dark music that Lou Reed made, and the beautiful conflict that it creates when you try and analyze it. And how it was such a positive force for so many people. ‘My life was saved by rock and roll’—Lou Reed is saying the same thing. I was babysat by fucking Lou Reed, literally, in my bedroom as a 10-year-old, 12-year-old kid. His music was a more legitimate mentor to me than most of my teachers.”

TwilightOverride is an intentional, sprawling three disc album, a testament to creativity in the face of overwhelming darkness. Recorded and self-produced by Tweedy at his Chicago studio, The Loft, with engineering and mixing from Tom Schick, Twilight Override features Chicago-based friends and family: Tweedy’s children Spencer and Sammy, and collaborators James Elkington, Sima Cunningham, Macie Stewart, and LiamKazar.

The three chapters of Twilight Override stand alone, but together, they tell a story of the past, present and future. While Tweedy began the project with only a loose intention to incorporate the group’s many singing voices, connections between the songs became apparent after a few listens. “I’m not trying to imply that I had this all mapped out as a story,” he explains. “The way that this ended up falling together and being arranged—it does tell a story that I think I wanted to tell. That’s what a process does for me.”

Next month, Jeff Tweedy will embark on an extensive North American and European tour. A full list of dates is available below. Additionally, a special Twilight Override album release show is taking place September 25th at a surprise location in Chicago. Limited tickets will be available via a ticket lottery here, and the location will be announced when winners are chosen.

Jeff Tweedy Tour Dates
(new dates in bold)
Thu. Sep. 25 – Chicago, IL @ Location TBA
Sat. Oct. 4 – San Francisco, CA @ Hardly Strictly Bluegrass
Wed. Oct. 8 – Three Oaks, MI @ Acorn Theater * – SOLD OUT
Fri. Oct. 10 – Toronto, ON @ The Concert Hall #
Sat. Oct. 11 – Montreal, QC @ Théâtre Beanfield !
Mon. Oct. 13 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground * – SOLD OUT
Tue. Oct. 14 – Lebanon, NH @ Lebanon Opera House #
Thu. Oct. 16 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre !
Fri. Oct. 17 – Norwalk, CT @ District Music Hall *
Sat. Oct. 18 – Boston, MA @ Royale #
Mon. Oct. 20 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
Wed. Oct. 22 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel !
Fri. Oct. 24 – Patchogue, NY @ Patchogue Theatre #
Sat. Oct. 25 – Richmond, VA @ Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden !
Sun. Oct. 26 – Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theatre *
Mon. Oct. 27 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club #
Wed. Oct. 29 – Grundy County, TN @ The Caverns !
Thu. Oct. 30 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall *
Sat. Nov. 1 – Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed (Indoors) #
Wed. Nov. 5 – Milwaukee WI @ Pabst Theater !
Thu. Nov. 6 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue * – SOLD OUT
Sat. Nov. 8 – Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall #
Sun. Nov. 9 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom !
Tue. Nov. 11 – Dallas, TX @ Longhorn *
Wed. Nov. 12 – Austin, TX @ Paramount Theatre #
Fri. Nov. 14 – Houston, TX @ The Heights ! – SOLD OUT
Sat. Nov. 15 – New Orleans, LA @ Chickie Wah Wah * – SOLD OUT
Sun. Nov. 16 – New Orleans, LA @ Chickie Wah Wah # – SOLD OUT
Tue. Nov. 18 – Hattiesburg, MS @ Hattiesburg Saenger Theater
Wed. Nov. 19 – Germantown, TN @ Germantown Performing Arts Center !
Thu. Nov. 20 – Bloomington, IN @ Buskirk-Chuley Theater *
Fri. Nov. 21 – Madison, WI @ Shannon Hall #
Wed. Feb. 11- Madrid, ES @ Teatro Eslava
Thu. Feb. 12 – Barcelona, ES @ Paral·lel 62
Sat. Feb. 14 – Paris, FR @ Alhambra
Sun. Feb. 15 – Geneva, CH @ Antigel Festival
Tue. Feb. 17 – Antwerp, BE @ De Roma
Wed. Feb. 18 – Utrecht, NL @ TivoliVredenburg
Fri. Feb. 20 – London, UK @ Islington Assembly Hall – SOLD OUT
Sat. Feb 21 – London, UK @ Islington Assembly Hall