Emmylou Harris
By Debbie Brautman | Photo: Chris Schmitt
An Evening With Emmylou Harris At Glazer Hall… Doesn’t Get More Special Than This!
There’s a new venue in town. Palm Beach to be exact. It’s the historical site of the Royal Poinciana Playhouse, opened in 1958 and designed by John Volk. More than two decades after the Royal Poinciana Playhouse closed in 2004, Founders Avie and Jill Glazer had a vision to bring it back and generously donated to renovate and help reopen this iconic venue, now renamed Glazer Hall. It is a non-profit performing arts and cultural center that reopened January 22, 2026. This world-class performance space features renowned artists from the world of music, cabaret, film, comedy, dance, food and cultural events, speakers, Broadway and more. It is now top notch all the way, with State-of-the-Art Technology, quality sound, lighting and a beautiful water view. The staff was wonderful. It holds 400 people for one of the most intimate shows you will ever see. Opened just seven weeks, legendary music artist Emmylou Harris almost brought the crowd to tears at Glazer Hall with her extraordinary performance fronting her band the Red Dirt Boys. To say it was a special evening is an understatement. She is a 14-time Grammy Winner and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Country Music Hall Of Famer and Billboard’s Century Award recipient. She seamlessly blends classic country, Americana, bluegrass, gospel, folk and rock together in ethereal perfection. After a touching introduction by Executive Director Allison Stockel, Emmylou came out on stage looking as stunning and beautiful as ever, and said, “I’m going back to my folk singing days.” She began with her cover of the Jesse Winchester song “My Songbird,” which she had recorded for her 1978 album Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town. Her band, called the Red Dirt Boys, casually sauntered on stage and joined her. They are a tight knit professional band who complement her and clearly enjoy playing with her. She felt so comfortable with them as well.
“Here I Am” is one of Emmylou’s best songs and features her playing her Gibson L-200 Emmylou Harris Signature guitar, but it’s her voice that is an instrument in itself. It’s the voice of an angel and it excels here. She played Gillian Welch’s “Orphan Girl” and did the original justice. She joked that she wasn’t an orphan and that her brother was in the audience. She said, “A great brother is a joy forever. He turned me on to Country music, but I didn’t listen at first.” Then she fell in love with it. Their set was so varied and flowed beautifully. She played “Love and Happiness” that she had written with Kimmie Rhodes and had done a duet with Mark Knopfler on their superb album All The Roadrunning. They also played the song “All The Roadrunning” with fiddle and accordion giving it a beautiful Irish feel. It was another highlight. She mentioned that they don’t get out as much as they used to, but they like to rock it. She started her own song “Michelangelo” from her Grammy winning Red Dirt Girl album and forgot the words and joked that she’ll just mumble it. She said she knows 500 songs, and it was funny that she stumbled on one of her own songs. She restarted the song with ease and humor, and it was a complete success the second time.
In the spirit of Bill Monroe, a bit of bluegrass with “Get Up John” featured great vocal interplay. Emmylou remarked, “You people appreciate the fine songs.” Then she went on to speak about her favorite singer-songwriter and neighbor Nanci Griffith that she misses a lot, since Nanci passed away in 2021. She told how years ago she was driving down the highway when Nanci’s song “Gulf Coast Highway” came on the radio and she almost pulled over to the side of the road. It reminded her of her parents and their 50-year love affair. She performed a passionate cover of it. She admits she was a folk snob but came to see the error of her ways. Country won her over, but she is not confined to one genre of music. She is a big George Jones fan and has every album of his. Her mother’s favorite was “One of These Days,” and she was happy to play it for us. Emmylou had on her cowboy boots and a hip pants outfit, built for comfort. Her flowing white long hair is striking. She made white hair cool, way back when.
In April, Willie Nelson will be 93 and Emmylou said, “God bless Willie Nelson.” She joked, “I recorded “Pancho and Lefty” before Willie did.” For those unaware, Townes Van Zandt wrote this classic and Emmylou and Willie both did beautiful jobs interpreting it. Emmylou did a fabulous rendition for this performance. Emmylou mentioned that she will be 79 soon and that she could still see, as she tried tuning her guitar before launching into “Red Dirt Girl.” That was yet another highlight in an evening chock full of highlights. She said, “I’m going to try something a little new, but it’s an old song from 1980’s concept album The Legend of Jesse James, which featured Johnny Cash, Levon Helm and Emmylou. This time she was going to sing Johnny Cash’s part on the song “Help Him, Jesus.” She has always wanted to sing that. All five band members sang the chorus, “Help Him, Jesus.” It went right into Emmylou’s successful 1982 hit “Born To Run” (Not the Springsteen song but a country song written by Paul Kennerley.) You can tell how much she loves what she is doing, even after all these years. She joked that it was sort of a hit on the New Balance commercial for 15 seconds, for which she is grateful. Then she changes to a spiritual direction with an a capella rendition of the traditional song “Bright Morning Stars.”
She brought up that she is a huge Steve Earle fan and he’s one of her great friends. She introduced his 1995 song “Goodbye” from his album Train A Comin’ as the first song he wrote after getting out of jail and getting sober. She commented, “Thank God we have Steve Earle.” It was a touching and lovely song. She had recorded it on her 1995 Wrecking Ball album. One thing is for certain; Emmylou sure has some talented friends. Another pal of hers, Rodney Crowell, wrote a song together with her called “Tulsa Queen” and she featured it on her 1976 album Luxury Liner. Her band really shined on this 2026 version of it.
She played Canadian singer-songwriter Anna McGarrigle’s song “Goin’ Back To Harlan” that she famously covered on her 1995 album Wrecking Ball, and she nailed it. It has an Appalachian folk feel. Emmylou’s covers are amazing as are her own songs. She also mentioned that she loved this venue, like a big living room, and that it was a joy to play these songs. She said, I just love them. I am living the life I love and singing with my friends. Thanks for all these years of support” Emmylou is gracious, humble and appreciative. “Boulder to Birmingham” is her tribute to her mentor and musical partner Gram Parsons. They had a deep connection with their shared love of country music, shaping her musical direction, before his tragic death. Co-written by Emmylou and Bill Danoff , the song was a cathartic, emotional response to her grief and pain over Parson’s death. It was tremendously moving and it really showcased her uniquely exceptional vocals. She closed with “The Pearl” which was from the album Red Dirt Girl. Emmylou named her band The Red Dirt Boys and they are highly respected session musicians who have their own albums and have collaborated with artists such as Alison Krauss, Garth Brooks and Elvis Costello. The band members are Phil Medeira (keyboards, guitars, accordion and vocals), Kevin Key (electric guitar, vocals and newest member), Bryan Owings (drums and percussion), Chris Donohue (electric bass, acoustic upright bass), and Eamon McLoughlin (Fiddle, Mandolin, Vocals). They are all outstanding musicians that really added to Emmylou’s brilliance.
They came back for an encore and did Buck Owens’ 1964 classic “Together Again” that she had covered on her 1975 album Elite Hotel. She explained that it was about reuniting and with the lyrics, “Nothing else matters cause we’re together again,” it seemed like nothing else mattered for the wonderful time they were on stage playing for us. We all enjoyed every magnificent and magical moment together in this stunning new intimate venue. Simply unforgettable.
