Interview: Catching Up with Lyle Lovett

Lyle Lovett is busy doing all he loves.

I was lucky enough to talk with the decorated singer-composer while he was at home in Texas recently and enjoying a day off. He’s touring almost nightly with his infamous Large Band throughout July and, with a crew and band totaling 30 altogether, he’s quick to admit it’s like moving a small village every time they uproot from one city and head to the next.

Still, it’s the lifestyle he and his group are accustomed to. Lovett’s been with his Large Band since 1988, allowing the collective to play his songs in concert the very way they recorded them.

“It took a couple years before I could afford having a band [of that size] on the road with me, but now I have the full range of possibilities at my fingertips,” Lovett says.

Put another way, it allows the background singers and sax players and multiple guitarists (and pretty much everyone else) plenty of freedom when it comes to genres. Some songs are better expressed as country tunes, while others are best stripped down and done acoustically. Still others demand a full horn section.

Whatever is warranted at the time, chances are they’re able to tackle it, and with a fair amount of panache. Besides, he’s had some time to get really, really great at this: Lovett’s been in the business of creating and playing songs since 1976. Next year marks 50 years since he started.

“Playing live is what I will always love to do. When you play for people who support you and come to your shows, you know they want to be there. What could be better than that?”

He’s a fan of music, period. He enjoys surrounding himself with musicians who are free to improvise whenever they see fit. Night after night, they’ll change songs when Lovett least expects it, and he’s the only one who gets to hear how they transform with every performance; he likens that to having the best seat in the house, getting to listen to and be inspired by a group that’s both smart and talented at what they do.

“I’ve never approached my career stylistically. I think of myself as a songwriter, giving voice in the best ways possible to each song,” Lovett says. “And I want to give everyone in the ensemble a chance to play, too. When the show’s over, I want the audience to feel like they know everybody on stage, not just me.”

Playing a wide range of genres came from habits that started early in his life. Lovett grew up in Houston, and was often glued to the radio and absorbing whatever stations came in clearest. When he wasn’t doing that, he dug through his parents’ records, albums by time-tested greats like Ray Price, Glenn Miller, Ray Charles, and Nat King Cole. And when they gifted him a record player that played 45s, he built out his own library of Elvis Presley, Beatles, and Rolling Stones records, a collection he still has and cherishes.

“And when I started first grade at a Lutheran school, singing in the choir was a big part of every day, trying to sing in tune and keep pitch. I always looked forward to it,” Lovett says. “It felt as much fun for me as recess.”

While Lovett can’t pick a favorite song he’s written — each occupying unique periods throughout his life — he doesn’t hesitate at picking favorite singers. Randy Newman and Paul Simon are standouts. So are Guy Clark and Michael Martin Murphey and Jackson Browne. Their songs offer deep insight into their humanity, he says, undeniable connections between what they have created and paired with their authentic singing voices. 

When asked about using AI to help write music, he’s quick to say he’ll steer clear. He’s not even remotely curious to hear what a music generation assistant might do with his voice or writing. In the same breath, it strikes him as funny that he’s lived long enough to even have a conversation about it, and to see it beginning to happen.

AI won’t be creeping into anything he or his band does, though, and that feels right.

“No matter how accurate computers are, I’d rather listen to a real person and know the song came from them, rather than listening to an interpretation,” Lovett says. “There’s something about that human connection and feeling that is important, and I much prefer it.” 

Lyle Lovett and His Large Band play Sandy Amphitheater on Wednesday, July 9 at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster.

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