Emmylou Harris enjoyed opening up the 2014-2015 season at Kleinhans Music Hall this past Saturday night. Harris, who has a cherished 40 year history, brought that and much more to the delight of the 1,300 or so who showed up to take in one of country music’s most storied treasures.
Playing a 90 minute set that encompassed her entire career, Harris performed like she was playing at a coffee house in front of only 10 people. Her intimacy and storytelling between songs came off as very endearing.
Touring in support of her 20th studio effort that was released almost exactly a year ago (September 23, 2014), Harris opened up with the opening track to the disc called “Here I Am.” Her voice remains a constant, even though she was battling issues with it the night before. You would have never known during any of the songs she played.
Harris talked about her later start in music (she didn’t get going until her 20’s) and how she was introduced to the mainstays of country including George Jones, to whom she owes a debt of gratitude. She then went into the George Jones classic “One of These Days.” She also talked about when she was a young girl and how the murder of a 14 year old boy influenced her to write “My Name is Emmet Till.”
In between songs and stories, Harris gave some comic relief as she talked about how there were two kinds of music: Blues and zip dee dee doo dah. She remarked, “We will try to play some blues and hope you like our version of it” as the band went into “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.” Her accompanying band was extremely tight, giving Harris the ability to do what she does best; interact with the audience. Judd Hughes was on the mic next to Harris and held down the fort on the six string the entire night by playing electric and acoustic guitars.
Harris, who can still be called a singer and songwriter, really takes pride in being an animal activist as much as the aforementioned. She made a point to bring out one of her rescues at the end of her set and talked about the importance of rescuing or even just fostering a sheltered pet in need. It should mentioned that Harris runs a rescue called Bonapartes retreat. Go to the Bonapartes Retreat website if your interested in helping out this great cause around the Nashville, Tennessee, area.
Setlist:
Here I Am
Orphan Girl
Making Believe
Red Dirt Girl
Heaven Only Knows
Green Pastures
O Evangeline
One of These Days (George Jones cover)
Emmitt Till
Pancho and Lefty (Townes Van Zandt’s cover)
Michelangelo
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
Luxury Liner
Bang the Drum Slowly
Drifting Too Far From the Shore
The Pearl
Back When We Were Beautiful
Save the Last Dance For Me
Born to Run
Encore:
To Daddy (solo with no band – Dolly Parton cover)
Boulder to Birmingham
We would like to thank Mike Montoro from Kleinhans for the credentials to review the show.
