OTTAWA -- Roots music is supposed to be a democracy, but at Friday night's Folk Festival Main Stage, Lynn Miles and Emmylou Harris made a strong case for matriarchy.
Six thousand fans of folk music's leading ladies staked their turf early at Britannia Park for a rare chance to see two of the best songwriting storytellers on the same bill.
The combination was just short of stunning.
With 30 albums and 10 Grammys to her credit during a career spanning 30 years, the steely-haired veteran Harris is a reference point for American music. And with her next album Stumble and Grace due out next month, the 56-year old shows no signs of slowing down.
Accompanied by roots guitar wizard Buddy Miller, the Alabama siren hypnotized the house with a low-key concert that sounded as spare as a prayer.
The festive outdoor atmosphere gave way to soul-searching satisfaction from Harris, who unravelled her intimate stories of suffering and joy like photographs from a family album.
If there was ever an artist who gets better with age and experience, it's the seemingly ageless Harris, who's sweet twang still rings young in her plaintive voice.
Opening with the fancy-free Songbird, Harris and Miller played effortlessly off each other like a married couple, easing their way into Easy From Now On, Blackhawk and the White Winged Dove and Red Dirt Girl to the despairing Win Your Love, Love Hurts and the familiar longing in Steve Earle's Goodbye.
It was hard to resist Harris' melancholic tales, her soothing vocals and the strumming rhythm of her guitar. This combination might have been too heartfelt, too sincere for some festival-goers feeling frisky on a Friday night.
For the most part, though, Harris left the fans mesmerized, pretty much the same way Ottawa's own Lynn Miles began the evening.
Performing from her Juno-award-winning roots album Unravel, Miles stole the show with bittersweet songs such as Over You and Unravel -- songs marked with a depth of feeling you don't often find in pop music. (More on Emmylou Harris)
JAM! Rating: 4 out of 5
