![]() ![]() “The phone rang less than a week before he passed away and it was Merle, and I think he was calling to say ‘goodbye,'” Stuart said. Between songs, the two shared stories about the pillar of outlaw country, including the last time they spoke to him before his death in 2016. ![]() Related: Guests Pour In For Billy Strings’ Ryman Run: Bob Weir, Les Claypool, Ronnie McCoury, More Ĭonnie Smith played beside her husband Marty Stuart as the two paid tribute to the late Merle Haggard with “The Fugitive”. During his time on stage, Billy was joined on upright bass by his bandmate Royal Masat, who performed with the Fabulous Superlatives throughout the evening. Strings offered a decided change of pace with his acoustic homage to traditional country and bluegrass with takes on “Freight Train Boogie”, “Long Journey Home”, “Tennessee Stud”, and more. Ahead of King, 26-year-old Georgia acoustic bluesman Jontavious Willis made his Ryman debut to a standing ovation. King performed his own “Wildflowers & Wine” (per Stuart’s request) as well as a cover of Howlin’ Wolf‘s “Killing Floor”, mining the history of his blues-rock influence. ![]() The evening also saw a double-dose of guitar wizardry with King and Strings each showing off a different school of playing. Lainey Wilson made proper use of Williams’ 1939 Martin guitar (also used by Johnny Cash) on a cover of “Lost Highway” early on in the program, performing with Stuart’s backing band The Fabulous Superlatives. Proceeds from the sold-out Late Night Jam will go toward building Stuart’s Congress of Country Music, a soon-to-be-opened museum, theater, and educational space in his hometown of Philadelphia, MS. Along the way, the musicians helped themselves to host Marty Stuart’s extensive collection of historic instruments-which number over 20,000 total-playing guitars once owned and used by Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, George Jones, and more. What followed was a marathon, three-hour concert that saw the rising stars of today share the stage with luminaries of bluegrass and country music. “It was a strange feeling for the past two years when the first Wednesday night in June rolled ’round and we didn’t have the Late Night Jam,” Stuart said to start the show, per Tennessean. The 19th edition of the CMA Fest week tradition in Music City featured guest appearances by Billy Strings, Marcus King, Emmylou Harris, and many more. Produced by Mike Campbell (of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), the album is a cinematic tour-de-force, an exhilarating musical journey through the California desert that solidifies Stuart as a truly visionary artist.After two pandemic-induced years away, Marty Stuart’s Late Night Jam returned to Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on Wednesday. Way Out West, his 18th studio album, hits both of those marks. Carter and an assortment of Cash’s black boots among his vast collection of memorabilia.īut most importantly, Stuart continues to record and release keenly relevant music, records that honor country’s rich legacy while advancing it into the future. Including its literal shoes: Stuart counts the brogan of Carter Family patriarch A.P. He’s played alongside the masters, from Cash to Lester Flatt, who discovered him been a worldwide ambassador for Nashville, Bakersfield, and points in between and safeguarded the country’s most valuable traditions and physical artifacts. While he’s too gracious to admit it himself, the Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and musician is living, breathing country-music history. With legends like George Jones, Johnny Cash, and Merle Haggard all passed on, country music purists often echo the question Jones himself asked: “Who’s going to fill their shoes?” The answer, in part, is Marty Stuart.
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