Confidence is Key: Concert: Emmylou Harris and Mary Chapin Carpenter

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This was my second* country music concert at Wolf Trap this summer. I was mainly excited to see Mary Chapin Carpenter; I grew up listening to her Come On Come On CD. I think she was actually supposed to open for Emmylou Harris (like she did at the same venue in 1989), but Emmylou had to catch a ferry somewhere, so they swapped timeslots. I was wondering why Emmylou had a 90-minute set as the "opener" !

I didn't know any of Emmylou's songs. I think she was big well before my time, so I wasn't familiar with the music. But her band is very talented! Many of them play multiple instruments, and I enjoyed hearing their brief solos throughout the set. And she looks fabulous for her age! Here are a few songs of hers:

One of These Days

Red Dirt Girl

Tougher Than the Rest

Once it was Mary's turn to come on, I actually think what I liked best about her set was her storytelling. Between some songs, she would tell a story about what inspired a song, or how she felt at a particular moment, and she really knows how to tell a narrative! She talked about playing croquette with her bandmates, spoke about how Eudora Welty's story of Halley's comet inspired the song Halley Came to Jackson, and described how butterflies flew from her chest when she thought a young man recognized her (only for him to tell her, "My grandmother loves you!"). I'd be just as happy to listen to her tell tales as I would if she sang songs!

She did change up her songs a little bit, which I realize a lot of artists do for live performances, but I like the original versions best. And she (like Emmylou, too, actually) had what I might describe as an "ephemeral" voice: it would go in and out. Sometimes she'd hit the notes loud and proud and perfectly, and other times I could barely hear her, or it felt off-key. I understand that voices change as they age, and I think that's what was happening in this instance.

Here are some of my favorite songs of hers:

I Feel Lucky

Passionate Kisses

Shut Up and Kiss Me

He Thinks He'll Keep Her (As I was listening to her sing this song, I was thinking that, even as a child, this song was one of the reasons I didn't want to have children myself. I remember thinking, "It sounds like this woman isn't happy being just a mom and a wife. I don't want to be that." The power of music! I also looked it up, and Mary was inspired to write this song when she heard a sexist commercial in which a man likes how his wife keeps the household and jokingly says, "I think I'll keep her." It's amazing where songwriters can find inspiration.)

The Bug (She did not perform this song. Too bad!)

This was a fun, relaxing concert. I mostly just laid on my picnic blanket staring at the sky as I let the music wash over me. It was just a lovely evening to be outside and listen to some nice music!

*The first country concert I went to this summer at Wolf Trap was to see Little Big Town. But my friend ended up being very distracted with work phone calls, and he had to leave before the main act even started. At that point, it had begun to rain, and while I would have stuck it out with him, since my friend was leaving, I just left, too. So I only had the chance to see the opener, Karley Scott Collins. I had never heard of her before, but I liked her! She kind of had a young Taylor-Swift vibe (but maybe it's just because she's a pretty blonde, because her folksy voice is very different). Here are a few of her songs:

Heavenly