Lovett/Hiyatt/Ely/Clark

The Arlington Theatre audience was greeted to a simply set stage: four comfortable chairs in a row, interspersed with cocktail tables between them, each covered in black. The setting was as comfortable as a living room. The stage was dark with simple lighting, and the performers were all clad in black, as well. The focus was on the performances. These were four reputed artists, each a singer-songwriter.

The boys took the stage, each playing solo in turn—sort of a round-robin affair. The all-acoustic performance was graced with brightly strummed guitars, each performer getting his own special attention while the others watched patiently and quietly, also enjoying the performances from their front row seats.

Lovett, Hiyatt, Ely and Clark

I felt like I was sitting around a campfire, being treated to these special musicians in an intimate setting. The conversation between the songs was jovial, adding extra character and insight to their backgrounds and musical motivations. All the songs rang of compelling stories, nicely backed up with careful, gentle finger picking.

Joe Ely

John Hiyatt

Guy Clark

Lovett even commented from his own perspective while watching the others perform, “This is such an opportunity to sit here and learn. It’s like a workshop.” His comments were followed by some questions to Hiyatt about his 6th string tuned down to a D and his Gibson, Ren Ferguson J45 guitar. He then followed his first comment with, “Ya know there’s just nothing like hearing a singer/songwriter play his own material.”

In all, I had pretty high expectations, and I surely was not let down.