Emmylou’s Regal London Goodbye

Emmylou Harris and the Red Dirt Boys perform their last London concert at the famous Royal Albert Hall

One question remains after the final concert by Emmylou Harris at London’s Royal Albert Hall on May 17: Did the Queen of Americana enter the hallowed Hall through Door 12, the South Porch entrance reserved for royalty? If not, then she certainly deserved to.

For Harris marked the somewhat momentous occasion with regal elegance. Like her first performance there on February 9, 1978,  it was a near-capacity audience at the Royal Albert Hall -  perhaps the world’s most prestigious concert venue. And she enthralled shoulder-to-shoulder fans with a nearly two-hour  setlist which spanned her genre-defining career of 50-plus years.

Her London concert - incorporated into the 2026 Highways Festival – has to have been the most significant in her much publicised final European tour, spanning the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway and Finland. “I can’t quite remember when I was actually last here,” she quipped while motioning to the multi-level hall. “But I’m now 79 so I can’t remember anything.”

For those  - like myself - who attended her very first Albert Hall appearance, there could be only one stunning conclusion from this, her final show there: Nothing has changed! Harris is still the same incomparable artist, with the angelic voice  - and persona  to match – who would lay the foundation stone of the modern music genre now known as Americana.

The big difference from way back then was intent. In 1978, Harris had produced her first four Reprise albums, in as many years, and was clearly selling her distinctive multi-genre sound to a growing audience. And a host of those songs did become classics. Many, like “Pancho & Lefty,” ”Boulder to Birmingham” and “Luxury Liner,” are still in her catalogue. But now, as an international superstar, she has no need to promote anything. Her intention is purely one of context – who were her major influences and how did she interpret them?

Yes, there was a basic change from the London in 1978. Now there is no Hot Band, so named because they included “the hottest musicians around.” Some, like Rodney Crowell and Albert Lee, would go on to have successful solo careers. In the intervening years, Harris would be backed by several line-ups. Now they are the Red Dirt Boys, her long-time band comprising Phil Medeira  (keyboard/accordion), Will Kembrough (electric guitar), Bryan Owings (drums), Chris Donahue (bass), and Eamon McLaughlin (fiddle/mandolin).

And the Red Dirt Boys were simply sensational. They went back to the future with Harris as they made the most of the creative license they were given to explore her vast five-decade catalogue. At times they appeared musically punch-drunk as they playfully romped with Harris. It was pure multi-genre! At times, McLauchlin’s fiddle was flirting with Kembrough’s lead guitar, while Medeira’s accordion was harmonizing with Emmylou’s faithful Gibson acoustic. But the boys  never allowed her ageless mezzo-soprano vocals to be drowned out.

Harris began the show in fitting fashion. She chose “Love Hurts,” the Everly Brothers classic she recorded with her mentor and two-album  collaborator Gram Parsons. Their version would become one of the finest duets in country music. This time her singing-partner was Jim Lauderdale, the veteran singer-songwriter who made this brief return to the stage after doing the show-opener with nine songs, one of them, “The King of Broken Hearts,” being his actual tribute to Parsons – and George Jones.

But Lauderdale’s finest moment came at the conclusion of his act when he warm-heartedly thanked Harris – with voice breaking – for giving him the honour of supporting her on such a significant tour.

Besides “Boulder to Birmingham” – her endearing memory of Parson which is now her signature song – Harris did two Gram compositions back-to-back, though they were someway down her 24-song setlist. By now the Red Dirt Boys were in full swing as they pounded out “Wheels” and “Luxury Liner” with Harris. “Luxury Liner” proved a crowd favourite and McLaughlin’s fiddle break earned the one mid-song applause of the evening.

Surprisingly, given that he was her major influence, Harris chose not to amplify on her short, but career-defining  association with Parsons - he died suddenly in 1973 – as she did with many other singer-songwriters. In fact her story-telling between songs was indeed insightful and, at times, fascinating.

“When I first wanted to be a folk singer, I headed to Greenwich Village (New York) and there one night I opened for a tall, lanky singer called Townes Van Zandt." This was the cue for back-to-back renditions of  Van Zandt’s two most popular compositions, “Pancho and Lefty” and “If I needed You,” which had Emmy’s high vocals reaching for the Albert Hall ceiling.

Harris also fondly remembered another departed singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith who, she noted, was one of many friends lost in the global pandemic. “I first heard this song by Nanci on the radio and  the story reminded me of my parents wonderful love affair which lasted more than 50 years, “ she noted before launching into a duet of “Gulf Coast Highway” which she originally recorded with Willie Nelson.

While Emmylou’s reputation is more as an interpreter than creator, she has of course written a host of songs over the years. “ I might be regarded as a stealer of songs, but here is one of my own.” She then launched into perhaps her finest, “Red Dirt Girl,” the title track of her

turn-of-the-century album which featured 11 of her own compositions. She again prefaced the song with another reminiscent: “I was heading to New Orleans when I came across a sign which said ‘Meridian, Mississippi’ and by the time I got to there (New Orleans ) I had the story inside my head.” The sad, melodic ballad is creative story-telling at its best:

But there won’t be a mention in the News of the World

‘Bout the life and death of a red dirt girl named Lillian

Who never got any further across the line than Meridian

Only once did Emmylou’s faithful Gibson guitar – “I regard her as a she” - actually leave her shoulder and that was to deliver a stunning A Capella quartet-version of the Country Gentleman standard “Calling My Children Home.

As the final number, she allowed the Red Dirt Boys to rip into “Long May You Run,” even upping the tempo from the Neil Young original. Then it was time to leave and indeed time for a three-minute standing ovation from more than five thousand adoring fans. “My own country should stand up and take notice,” she joked. “It’s been a wonderful journey coming out to play for your guys.”

Her - now common - encore was the Bakersfield weepie “Together Again.” It could not have been more poignant.

Together again

My tears have stopped falling

The long, lonely nights are now at an end

Sadly, for her British devotees, the long lonely nights are only beginning. The last glimpse they got was of Harris making a cute curtsy before exiting stage-left.

Paul Cutler

Editor Crossroads – Americana Music Appreciation