Emmylou Harris revisits days with Nash Ramblers on ‘Lost Concert’ album
What if “At The Ryman” wasn’t Emmylou Harris’ only live album with the Nash Ramblers?
Turns out, Harris isn’t done sprinkling the once-described “hillbilly dust” she captured on the landmark 1992 release that helped restore Nashville’s famed tabernacle to live music glory. And this time, she’s taking listeners near to her beginning with the Ramblers, an ace backing band loyal to country tradition.
A new unearthed live album, called “‘Ramble in Music City: The Lost Concert,” transports listeners to a 1990 concert from Harris and company recording at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.
Released Friday via Nonesuch Records, the pristine “Lost Concert” recording features the Country Music Hall of Famer singing a number of her favored songs while backed by a who’s who of pickers and players — Sam Bush, Roy Huskey Jr., Larry Atamanuik, Al Perkins and Jon Randall.
More:Emmylou Harris and the Nash Ramblers return to the Ryman
“I was just completely — I shouldn’t say surprised, because it was such a great band,” Harris told The Tennessean. “I remembered how good they were, but to actually hear it all in a long concert like that and hear those guys playing so beautifully, it was a trip down memory lane. And a really good one.”
Rhino Records’ James Austin — who Harris described as the world’s “most devoted music archeologist” — discovered the tape, which captured Nash Ramblers at the end of an inaugural tour, per Tennessean archives.
Harris debuted the Ramblers earlier that year at Wembley Arena in London, she said. At the time, she wanted to perform her songs with a new sound, leaning into traditional country and bluegrass instrumentation.
She stepped on stage unsure of how her English audience would greet her performance after breaking from longtime group the Hot Band. With a light laugh, Harris said she remembered the moment in-part because it was her first performance without a pedal steel player.
“I really wasn’t sure that people weren’t gonna boo me off the stage without the Hot Band,” Harris said. “But, of course, the boys were so fantastic. And it was the same material. My audience embraced the change from the beginning.”
She added, “Every gig is just a gig. You go out there and you give it your A-game and do the best you can.”
“Lost Concert” features a 23-song set, from a rollicking “Roses In The Snow” introduction to her timeless storytelling on “Amarillo” and closing with staple “Boulders To Birmingham.”
Harris sings her renditions of songs penned by the Louvin Brothers, Paul Simon and Townes Van Zandt, among others — often joined by Bush’s fiddle or mandolin work and Randall on distinct backing vocals.
Although it features a different setlist, the recording likely got left behind after Harris released her Grammy Award-winning “At The Ryman” in ’92, she said.
“I don’t like to do the same show exactly every night,” Harris said. “I think it keeps the band fresh, it keeps me fresh. Those things, they’re important to me. Because if I’m not excited about the set, how would the audience be excited? It’s a little trick I’ve always used.”
And a new band isn’t all Harris picked up for her tour in 1990. Bush introduced her to professional baseball; she still follows her Atlanta Braves daily.
“That’s a highlight of the Ramblers for me,” Harris said. “I got really infected with baseball. That’s another gift Sam gave me, but it’s also a lot of heartbreak.”
Harris isn’t planning to new material in the near future, she said, but she discovered “Lost Concert” in-part while searching for cuts of her singing Gram Parsons songs for what could be a future collection.
For now, listeners can enjoy a trip back in time with the Ramblers.
“There’s nothing like a live performance,” Harris said. “I guess that’s why this past year and a half has been so hard for everyone, not being able to go and see live music. Not being able to play as much as you’d like to. So, the next best thing is a record of a live concert.”
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