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Lyle Lovett and his Acoustic Group

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Venue:

Göta Lejon, Stockholm

Date: 27/08/2025

Lyle Lovett and his five-man group take the stage at a well-filled Göta Lejon. It’s the first time I’ve seen the famous Texan perform with a band since a London gig in June 1988, on a memorable double-bill with k. d. lang. All are dressed in a suit and tie, with the exception of legendary 78-year-old session man Leland Sklar, with his huge white beard and mane of hair, perched impassively at the back of the stage with his five-string, fanned-fret bass guitar, surveying proceedings like a guru. It’s quite a band that Lyle has put together, including Russ Kunkel, who’s drummed for anyone who’s anyone in the country/rock orbit since the early 70s, and top session pianist Jim Cox. They play in an engaging, relaxed style, making light of their virtuosity. Joining them occasionally is backing singer Amy Keys, whose talents are rather under-used.

Lovett’s setlist stretches over his whole songwriting career, from “This Old Porch”, written before his 1986 debut album with Robert Earl Keen, all the way up to recent songs written “in collaboration with” his 8-year-old twins (!) And like many older artists, Lyle punctuates the set with storytelling and other spoken-word elements, interviewing three of his band members in turn about their careers. He loves to trade observations about his home state with some of the Texans in the Stockholm audience. He also talks fondly about his old Swedish motocross buddy Lars Larsson, whom he befriended in the US in the 70s. Lyle is warm, genial, humble, with a wry sense of humour. He genuinely seems like a top bloke.

But he can’t sing any more. It pains me to say it, but his voice is shot. Naturally, one can’t expect a 67-year-old to have the same vocal range as when they were 30. But there seems to be something medically wrong with Lyle’s voice. It’s almost as if he has to take a big gulp at every line, before arriving at the first note a bit late, and continuing in a whiny rasp. In the faster numbers, when the band is at full tilt, like “That’s Right (You’re Not From Texas)”, it’s less noticeable. But in the classic slow ballads like “North Dakota” and “The Road to Ensenada”, it’s a little embarrassing. In online reviews of Lyle’s concerts over the past year and a half, there’s been speculation about what he might be suffering from; it’s unexpected and rather sad.

So, in many ways, this was an excellent concert. The only thing it lacked was the beautiful, familiar tenor voice of Lyle Lovett. And that, unfortunately, was what had drawn us to the concert hall in the first place.

The audience:

About 1,000 people.

It made me think..

1

Comments

  4. I wonder if he has COPD? The way you describe his singing sounds very like the way I sing – minus the talent, obviously. And minus the dozens of brilliant albums and thousands of brilliant gigs. I too was at the Forum for him and k d. What a night!

  5. Hmmm I thought it might be temporary but if it was like that in Jan then it aint temporary.
    Dylan changed his style of singing and even the songs to accommodate his Howling Wolf voice of the last decade or so.

  6. I immediately thought of vocal disphoria which afflicted Sam Brown, Linda Thompson, Alison Krauss amongst others. It’s not well understood and seems to come and go, possibly due to stress. I had it quite badly for a few years but now it seems to have somewhat abated possibly due to retirement in my case.

    • @Twang

      His voice audibly cracked when he tried to reach higher notes. Sounded very similar to Ian Anderson (who apparently has COPD) when I last sure him and TMT a few months before COVID.

      Know IA used to be a heavy smoker and had to perform on a stage filled with dry ice night after night.

      While there’s been no dry ice in evidence either time I’ve seen LL, I’ve no idea whether he was or is a smoker

      • I suspect a lot of it is poor vocal technique too. See also Robert Plant. I thought COPD was more to do with lung capacity? My mum had it after decades of smoking and refusing to take any exercise.

        Probably a combination of all of the above.

        My voice cracks too and goes v horse – I have to warm up for ages and take it very gently and it’s ok now. Touch wood.

  7. Thanks for an excellent review, @duco01. You give a very comprehensive description of what was a long, very generous concert, And what a band Lyle had put together. They clearly enjoy playing together.

    It’s a very rare event for Mrs KFD to come to gig with me in 2025 and we were delighted to be sitting next to the Duke last Wednesday in some of the best seats in the house.

    As background, I should mention we had tickets to see Lyle at the RAH back in 2001. That was a big deal as flying over to the UK to see a gig was something we ever did. Sadly, due to traumatic world events that gig was abruptly cancelled.

    So we were really keen to finally see him in person. And yes, his voice us not what it was.
    Talking about it afterwards, with him, I realise that the Duke felt deeply embarrassed for Lyle for pretty much the whole concert, That was not how we felt at all.

    To finally to be at a concert by an artist whose music I’ve been enjoying for 40 years was a big deal.

    Nils Hansson who writes for DN, and whose opinion I really respect, gave the concert only three stars, and also had big problems with Lyle’s voice, but found a lot to like.

    He thought there were too many anecdotes. Not me.

    I loved hearing about recording with the Chieftains and his current guitarist., Jeff White on the album, Down the old plank road.

    Paddy Maloney’s playing left him speechless. As did the great Irishman’s enthusiasm for Texas ribs.

    Interesting too to hear about Lyle working as teenager at his father’s motorcycle shop, I mentioned this on Facebook and an old Pinner schoolfriend, who has relocated to the one star state, mentioned often driving past the shop.

    Very amusing to hear about Lyle’s twins and their enthusiasm for the Bangles.

    Overall there was a lot of talk about his family and the area where he has spent most of his life. A sort of Lyle Lovett, This is your Life. I learnt a lot.

    This is what Lyle and his band sounded like at the Tønder Festival in Denmark last weekend.

    Listening in the cold light of day to how he sounds in 2025 and comparing it to how he sounded back in the day, I have to confess that the Duke and Big Nisse have a point.

    But I am still very pleased that I went to Göta Lejon last week.

    As we left the theatre they played Walk like an Egyptian. Classy.

    • Thanks for all that KFD and duco!

      One of my very favourite artists of all time. He was playing Edinburgh last night, but sadly I can’t get to gigs anymore. Unfortunately, no reviews online yet.

      I first saw him on some music show late night TV around 1986 or 87. It had to be then as I still lived with my parents. I had no interest in pop charts music so this was really something for me. I’m sure the gig was in Ireland. Anyway, I remember scouring Melody Maker and Sounds and found a record shop in London that had his record. Sent a cheque and it arrived the next week! Probably the self titled one. Either that, or Pontiac. I was lucky enough to see him at Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh with his small band about 15 years ago.

  10. I’ve been lucky to see him a few times – Big Band with Emmy Lou, and then smaller shows when it was just LL and Robert Earl Keen, and then John Hiatt.

    I knew ahead of time that we were going as much for the chat as for the tunes, and so it proved. Great shows, all of them.

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