After a long spell of shuttered venues and silent streets, the summer of live music continued its echoes through the usually listless Sunday night in Amagansett, as Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock” was sung by none other than one of her cherished friends, Brandi Carlile.
Sirius XM and Pandora provided sweet musical salvation in the third presentation of their Small Stage Series, held outdoors at the Stephen Talkhouse.
Fall was in the air, and in the colors. Ms. Carlile wore a maroon suit, with Tim and Phil Hanseroth, the twin brothers guitar and bass players, in their signature hats. The full band was present, with the addition of Shooter Jennings on keyboards.
Ms. Carlile began with the folk-oriented youthful lyricism of “Looking Out,” the name of her charitable foundation, from her 2009 album “Give Up the Ghost." With vocal power and musicianship that have filled many a stadium, nothing was subdued in the small-stage setting.
Beaming with gratitude, she remarked multiple times on the warmth of the crowd, who cheered and sang with no need for instigation by the Sirius crew. Much of the crowd had won tickets through an online sweepstakes and seemed eager to hear their most earnest feelings articulated in song.
She debuted new music from her upcoming album, “In These Silent Days,” including the Queen meets Elton John single “Right on Time,” and an unreleased, Joni Mitchell-approved “You and Me on The Rock.” The set moved on to some of the best of “By the Way, I Forgive You,” including “Fulton County Jane Doe," and the Crosby, Stills, and Nash-style three-part harmony of “The Eye." With “The Mother,” Ms. Carlile merged comedic moments of her life as a mom with the refreshing honesty of her complex experience being a gay parent.
The covers included Elton John’s “Rocket Man” and a salute to Paul McCartney, who was in the crowd, with the Beatles’ “I’ve Just Seen a Face.”
Weaving in and out of genres, this set felt like a continuation of a career of true poetry and profundity, nothing forced, with no pontification and not one song lacking pointed relevance. She finished with “The Joke,” and the encore was another new song, “This Time Tomorrow,” dedicated to the audiences both in-person and listening over the live broadcast.
Each moment through the joy and tenacity of live music felt like the beating pulse of our times. Offering up this long-cultivated, long-awaited gift, Brandi Carlile and her formidable band delivered one of the best shows of the summer. The days are no longer so silent.
