Lucinda Williams’ Midas touch is stronger than ever. Read any of the dozens of reviews about “Blessed,” her most recent release, and you’ll read bountiful praise for the Louisiana native’s exquisitely reflective stories of joy, pain and even a bit of heartache. Talk to the three-time Grammy Award-winning Williams and you understand that the insightful observances in her songs are just an extension of her personality.
| Onstage |
| Lucinda Williams |
| When: 7 p.m. Tuesday |
| Where: 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW |
| Details: Sold out at press time; tickets may be available from online resellers; 800-955-5566; 9:30.com |
“I feel attached to the songs emotionally,” said Williams when asked if she shares other songwriters’ views that once their work is recorded it no longer belongs to them. “I always am, to all my songs, and if I’m not I set them aside for a while.”
As she begins the tour behind “Blessed,” it’s not surprising that venues are selling out almost immediately. Although the songs Williams has written are enchanting, the rest of her catalogue takes on hypnotic qualities when she performs them herself.
“I’m always like an actor,” said Williams of how she infuses vivid emotion into her songs, even those that are decades old. “You just take on the role of the person in the song. Like you relive it in other words, you relive the person in the song and then, at the same time, I like my songs to be very universal and let people be able to relate to them.”
As a lifelong student of writing, Williams has absorbed wisdom not only from other great songwriters but her father, renowned poet Miller Williams. Her penchant for “pushing the envelope a little bit” hasn’t always set well with music executives who want the most commercial music.
Williams has never made any apologies for her music that ruffled a few feathers such as “Little Rock Star,” on her 2008 album “Little Honey,” about young singers with self-destructive tendencies who throw their talent away.
“I’ve always had good instincts,” Williams said of her music soon after releasing “Little Honey.” “Even though I’ve been hardheaded in the past, it’s served me well. If I had done things differently, maybe I would have been as well known as Sheryl Crow. You don’t know, though, if anyone has it all.”
Right now, though, it seems Williams is there or pretty close.
She credits her 2009 marriage to Tom Overby for infusing her with happiness, confidence and contentment that has allowed her creative energies to rise to new levels. That includes putting all of her energies into concerts when she’s on the road.
“People say when you’re there, you should see things, meet people. I can’t,” said Williams, noting she doesn’t sight see or visit with others when she’s on tour. “I put all my energy into the show and spend all the time I’m not on stage recuperating. That’s what I do. It’s who I am.”
