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The Problem with Being a Folk Singer from Texas
Lyle Lovett live at the Beacon Theatre
Lyle Lovett
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What’s the problem with being a folk singer from Texas? You get labeled as a country musician. Especially if, like Lyle Lovett, you grew up on a ranch and have a penchant for wearing cowboy boots.
In the 70s, Lyle Lovett was a college student studying German and journalism. He played guitar on the side, covering folk tunes and occasionally performing them live. He began pursuing his musical career in the 80s, writing and playing enough songs for a successful debut album, Lyle Lovett, which was a hit on the country album charts. Lovett’s next record, Pontiac, attests to his eclectic songwriting style. From then on, Lovett’s audience was a little less country and a little more rock ‘n’ roll.
If you like music, pretty much music of any kind, you will find something to love in Lovett’s considerable catalog. His music successfully blends honky tonk with folk, soul, blues, jazz, gospel, bluegrass, swing; you name it. Borrowing from the edges of American popular music, cult favorites as divergent as Townes Van Zandt and Randy Newman, Lovett may not always seem original, but he carries the candle for often forgotten treasures from American music’s vaults. His songs capture moments from goofy to pedestrian to devastating. Lovett wields this breadth of possibilities evenhandedly, with equal amounts of joy and sorrow and most everything in between.
Lovett’s live show provides insight into the quiet man behind these great songs. Onstage, Lovett is teasing and self-effacing. If his lyrics evidence his persona, then his stage presence furthers proof that he is smart yet humble, keen but quiet. He orchestrates performances professionally, with a true reverence for the art of the stage show. He never preens, only slyly smiling in what seems like a humble disbelief that he and his band have, yet again, put on a fantastic show.
Lovett has been playing live with His Large Band for two decades. They include guitars, a cellist, a pianist, horns, a mandolin, a fiddle, and the gospel-trained singer Francine Reed. Surrounded by an old family of traveling musicians, it would seem that a consummate performer like Lovett would be utterly charming. But, at times, his insights are unnerving, his sadness palpable. This live show doesn’t let you off without feeling a little sorrow. And that’s what makes it so good.
Lyle Lovett and His Large Band play the Beacon Theatre November 4.