Photo courtesy Emmylou Harris/Facebook
Emmylou Harris is coming to the Villages. For real
Yes, we know. The Villages is kind of a long drive for a concert. And it’s, you know, The Villages. But there are two things to consider here.
The first is that we’re talking about Emmylou Harris, the very definition of an American music icon who — incredibly — has not only maintained her integrity and high standards through nearly a half-century of work, but has also indulged multiple artistic left turns and experiments to push the genre of “country music” in thrilling new directions.
Putting aside the groundbreaking work she did with Gram Parsons, her solo career has been a study in how to excel as both an interpreter of songs and as a creative guidepost for songwriters. Her run of albums in the 1970s set an impossibly high bar, one that she would later vault over with excursions into atmospheric folk (Wrecking Ball), acoustic traditionalism (her Hot Band and Nash Ramblers records and tours), and eminence grise collaborations with everyone from Conor Oberst and Nick Cave to Anne Murray.
She is a perfect example of a bucket-list performer that everyone should see and who, fortunately, is still in prime voice. The second thing? The Morse is a gorgeous theater set among the phantasmic streets of The Villages and, honestly, you know you’ve always wanted to hang out in The Villages. Now’s your chance.
7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center, 1051 Main St., The Villages, thevillagesentertainment.com, $95-165.
