By Paul T. Mueller
Beloved singer-songwriter Julie Miller made a rare concert appearance in Nashville on June 26, and it’s hard to say who enjoyed it more, Miller or her adoring fans. A sellout crowd at City Winery greeted the artist and her husband, Americana superstar Buddy Miller, with a lengthy standing ovation before they sang or played a note. The enthusiasm continued throughout the performance, leaving both Millers clearly moved and delighted.
Fans not in attendance might be out of luck. “This is the beginning and the end of our world tour,” Buddy Miller announced two songs into the 45-minute set, which included five songs from the couple’s recently released CD, Breakdown on 20th Avenue South. Julie Miller has not performed much in public in recent years, and her husband’s concert schedule is much lighter than it once was. No other performances are scheduled for the duo.
On the first song, “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me,” Julie’s vocals seemed a bit hesitant. But the song was met with thunderous applause, and after repeating “Thank you so much!” several times, she seemed to gain strength and confidence, her high-pitched voice harmonizing sweetly with Buddy’s gruffer delivery.
Highlights included the mystical “Feast of the Dead,” featuring multi-instrumentalist Colin Linden on the Millers’ antique hurdy-gurdy, and a lovely cover of Richard Thompson’s “Keep Your Distance,” with Buddy playing a small guitar he had once given to Julie. “It looks like you got it at the airport,” she told him with a laugh. An intense rendition of “All My Tears” came near the end, leaving some audience members, not coincidentally, in tears. Another standing ovation followed at set’s end. After a short break, the band returned for a one-song encore, “Hole in My Head,” which Buddy described as “one of our sillier songs,”
The show was preceded by well-received sets from fellow Americana icon Jim Lauderdale, whose CD From Another World was released the same day as Breakdown, and young singer-songwriter and fiddler Lillie Mae. In between, Linden – former musical director on the TV series Nashville – performed one song on his own, using a more familiar instrument, a resonator guitar. The show was recorded for the SiriusXM satellite radio program “Buddy and Jim,” hosted by Buddy Miller and Lauderdale.