Lyle Lovett is such a talented songwriter and storyteller. His bands are amazing. The band line up is rarely the same but they are always fantastic. At the sold-out Jefferson Center show in Roanoke, he had the fantastic Francine Reed singing with him. It was our first time seeing her with him and wow, can that woman sing! The Large Band was a total of 14 musicians including fiddler Luke Bella and several members of the Memphis Horns so they’ve got a lush, full sound.

The show included several favorites: If I had a Boat, Cute as a bug, Penguins, My Baby don’t Tolerate, I’ve been to Memphis. He also did his cover of Tammy Wynette’s Stand By Your Man. funny! He also played my all-time favorite, Lights of LA County. A love song with a beautiful melody but if you listen closely, it’s actually a murder ballad! I loved the song for a long time before realizing that!

Francine Reed did Wild Women don’t Get the Blues.

The show closed with a wonderful rendition of Ain’t No More Cane.

Apologies for the crappy cell phone picture. It’s all we could pull off from the balcony without a good camera.