Sal's Site
This piece was originally published by Smile Politely.
From the 2023 Ellnora Guitar Festival
at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Urbana, Illinois
Emylou Harris and her five bandmates played for close to two hours in the Tryon Festival Theatre Saturday night. The late 9:30 p.m. start time did not deter folks from showing up – the venue was packed.
The warm performance by the 13-time Grammy Award winner (nominated 47 times) included songs that spanned Harris’s legendary career. With subtle lighting coming down on her dazzling white, shoulder-length hair, Harris began the show with “Here I Am” from the album Stumble Into Grace, followed by “Orphan Girl” and “Love and Happiness,” all songs that Harris joked were “from this century.” “Wayfaring Stranger” came next, a tune from 1980. Harris’s first record was released in 1975. The 76-year-old had no problem joking with the crowd about her longevity.
Harris’s bandmates have an unassuming look but are of course stellar musicians and background vocalists. On the left side of the stage, Phil Madeira could be seen playing the keyboard, a mean slide guitar, and the piano accordion. On the opposite side was Eamon McLoughlin, whose fiddle playing at times stole the show. McLoughlin also sprinkled the songs with his mandolin and viola throughout.
Harris, who is known for interpreting other musicians’ songs and making them her own, as well as for collaborating with other artists, plays with a heartfelt spirit that trickles down to her bandmates. Each of the musicians’ musical parts were poignantly in service of every composition, and often their faces conveyed that expressiveness.
Toward the end, Harris took time to say nice things about the recently deceased Jimmy Buffett, not a huge surprise. What was surprising was that her guitarist, Will Kimbrough, co-wrote Buffett’s latest single, “Bubbles Up,” from Buffett’s posthumous album, Equal Strain on All Parts, to be released on November 3. The band played “Bubbles Up” with Kimbrough singing, and it was perhaps the most powerful moment of the night.
“He really knew how to live,” Harris said of Buffett. “He knew how to make music. He knew how to make people happy. We could learn a lot from him.”
One could say the same things about what Emylou Harris has offered the world.
Photos by Sal Nudo