On January 10, 2015, a remarkable and diverse assemblage of artists, including Mary Chapin Carpenter, Chris Coleman, Shawn Colvin, Sheryl Crow, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Vince Gill, Patty Griffin, Chris Hillman, Iron & Wine, Alison Krauss, Kris Kristofferson, Daniel Lanois, Martina McBride, the Milk Carton Kids, Buddy Miller, Conor Oberst, Herb Pedersen, Shovels & Rope, Mavis Staples, John Starling, Trampled by Turtles, Sara Watkins, Holly Williams, Lucinda Williams, Lee Ann Womack, and Emmylou Harris herself gathered together at Washington, DC’s DAR Constitution Hall to honor one of the most distinctive and deeply-admired musicians of our time. The house band, led by co-musical directors Buddy Miller (guitars) and Don Was (bass), featured Sam Bush (mandolin, banjo, fiddle), Audley Freed (guitars), Fred Eltringham (drums), Matt Rollings (keyboards), Greg Leisz (pedal steel, lap steel), and Sara Watkins (fiddle, harmony vocals).
Writing in Rolling Stone, Jonathan Bernstein observed that “The breadth and variety of the evening’s lineup — scrappy and elegant, mainstream and indie, legendary and freshman — reflected the many artistic dividing lines that Harris has straddled throughout her entire career.”
