Lyle Lovett and his Acoustic Group @ the Moore Theatre – 2/19/25
Show Review & Photos by Mike Mitchell

4-time Grammy Award winning artist Lyle Lovett & his Acoustic Group visited the Moore Theatre in Seattle Wednesday evening to deliver a well received, career spanning set to a large and attentive audience. Backed by a crack band constructed of the longtime rhythm section from his iconic Large Band (the great Lee Sklar on bass and Russ Kunkel on drums) and augmented by Jim Cox on piano, Jeff White on guitar and mandolin, and Stuart Duncan on violin, Lovett treated the packed house to a generous 23 song performance, drawing from all phases of his long and varied career.

The show began with a spare and haunting take on Townes Van Zandt’s ‘Flying Shoes’ and concluded close to 3 hours later with a sprightly version of ‘That’s Right (You’re Not From Texas’). Highlights for this longtime fan included a stunning rendition of ‘The Waltzing Fool’ from Lovett’s first album (with a gorgeous piano solo from Jim Cox, who impressed all evening) and a lovely, slow, and aching version of ‘This Old Porch’:

And this old porch is the Palace walk-in
On the main street of Texas
That’s never seen the day
Of G and R and Xs
With that ’62 poster
That’s almost faded down
And a screen without a picture
Since Giant came to town

And this old porch is like a weathered, gray-haired
Seventy years of Texas
Who’s doing all he can
Not to give in to the city
And he always takes the rent late
So long as I run his cattle
And he picks me up at dinnertime
And I listen to him rattle

He says the Brazos still runs muddy
Just like she’s run all along
And there ain’t never been no cane to grind
The cotton’s all but gone
And you know this brand new Chevrolet
Hell it was something back in ’60
But now there won’t nobody listen to him
‘Cause they all think he’s crazy

Lyle Lovett sounded like a man hounded by doubts beyond his years when he released his first album 40 years ago. Over the last 4 decades he has gradually grown into the fellow he sounded like in 1986. Lovett’s once dark shock of high hair has gone white and he has accumulated a bit of not unpleasant patina and a smattering of rust on his once crystal-clear tenor voice. But the wicked, mischievous glint in his eyes remains undimmed, his skills as a bandleader are sharp as a tack, his heartfelt stories and ruminations still amuse and enlighten, and his catalog of songs ranks among the most impressive in modern American popular music. I was grateful for the opportunity to spend my evening with Lyle Lovett and his Acoustic Band at the Moore Wednesday evening.

Lyle Lovett and his Acoustic Band – all photos by Mike Mitchell