Read The Daily Record’s feature story on Lyle Lovett and his performance at MPAC Tuesday, August 7!

Daily Record: “Lyle Lovett and His Large Band come to NJ”

By Bill Nutt

Texas-born singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett relishes performing.  He loves the intimacy of a solo concert, but he also enjoys collaborating with other musicians on stage.

For both these reasons, he takes great satisfaction in his current tour with the ensemble known as “His Large Band.”

A throwback to the Texas swing of his fellow Long Star Stater Bob Wills, the Large Band includes a full contingent of horns and strings, as well as a rhythm section.

“I’ve been so blessed,” said Lovett.  “With the Large Band, I have the feeling of being complexly supported.  The range of material we can do is complete.  There are no limits in terms of the arrangements.”

The versatility of the group will be on display at two shows in the coming week.  Lovett and his Large Band will play the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown on Tuesday, August 7, and the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park on Wednesday, August 8.

One of the non-so-secret weapons in the Large Band is vocalist Francine Reed.  Lovett noted that Reed sang on the early demos of songs that he recorded in 1984.  Those demos, with minor tweaking, ended up becoming his self-titled debut LP in 1986.

“I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t fall in love with her,” said Lovett of Reed.  “She’s an emotional force of nature.  She lifts the spirit of everyone in the room, and that includes everyone on stage.”

The members of the Large Band are versatile enough to navigate Lovett’s eclectic and idiosyncratic catalog, which runs from the gospel-inflected shaggy-dog story “Church” to the horn-driven jazz-swing number “That’s Right (You’re Not from Texas).”

Lovett noted that the Large Band features all the members of his acoustic touring group for his more introspective numbers, such as “She’s Already Made Up Her Mind.”  “We can break out the smaller group for the more intimate numbers,” he said.

“My job is air traffic controller,” said Lovett.  “Not everyone is on stage for all the songs.  I try to organize things to make the comings and goings as fluid as possible.”

His set list is a mix of careful planning and seat-of-the-pants instinct.  “I have a framework, but within that framework, I allow for spontaneity,” he said.  “The enjoyable part is to be able to read the room.  That’s what’s fun about performing.”

As a songwriter, Lovett acknowledged his debt to two mentors: Townes Van Zandt, dead since 1997, and Guy Clark, who died in 2016.  Giants in the world of singer-songwriter-storytellers, they pioneered a distinctively Texas blend of country and folk.

“I still admire their work,” said Lovett, who has covered songs by both and who periodically shared the stage with Clark (and two other singer-songwriters, Joe Ely and John Hiatt).  “My love for them inspires me to write my next song.”

Lovett, whose last CD of original songs was “Natural Forces” in 2009, said he has been writing new material with an eye toward his next album.  But he added that he is not ready to share those songs with audiences just yet.

“I used to play new songs (live) as I wrote them,” he said.  “But in the digital age, if you do that, they end up on YouTube, and they’re not new anymore.”

In the meantime, Lovett maintains a busy touring schedule.  Later in the year he will do some dates in the Midwest with his friend and fellow singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen, whom he has known since their days at Texas A&M University.

Though his roots are in Texas traditions, Lovett said that he draws inspiration from a wide swath of writers.  “It’s impossible to play New Jersey and not think of Bruce (Springsteen),” he said.  “It’s impossible to play New York and not think of Paul Simon.”

He then rattled off a long line of hard-to-classify artists he admires:  Joni Mitchell, Willis Alan Ramsey, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Randy Newman.  “I’m such a fan of great writers,” he said.  “Writers like that made me the songwriter I am.”

Lovett will turn 61 in November.  “I don’t kid myself about my age,” he said.  “I’m grateful to still be able to do what I do, and people show up.  I never thought in 1976, when I got my first job playing music, that I’d still be doing this in 2018.”

IF YOU GO

LYLE LOVETT & HIS LARGE BAND

WHAT: The singer-songwriter from the Lone Star State taps into the tradition of Texas swing with his large ensemble, featuring guest vocalist Francine Reed.  Lovett’s body of work includes elements of cowboy story-songs, folk, country, blues, gospel, and jazz, filtered through his idiosyncratic wit and observations.

WHEN: 8 p.m. Tuesday, August 7.

WHERE: Mayo Performing Arts Center, 100 South St., Morristown

TICKETS: $59 to $99

INFORMATION:  973-539-8008 or www.mayoarts.org.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

●      Lyle Lovett and His Large Band will play the Mayo PAC in Morristown on Tuesday, August 7, and the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park on Wednesday, August 8.

●      The Texas-born singer-songwriter began his recording career in 1986.  His songs, which are marked by idiosyncratic humor and off-kilter perspectives, include elements of jazz, blues, country, gospel, and folk

●      His Large Band (with featured guest vocalist Francine Reed) is his nod to the Texas swing sound of Bob Wills.