Pen & Page

Acclaimed country and folk music singer/songwriter Emmylou Harris performs at the Alberta Bair Theater Nov. 17.

With a wondrous ability to transform her creativity into song, country and folk music veteran Emmylou Harris has been composing acclaimed music for nearly 35 years. Harris will perform with her band, the Red Dirt Boys, in her only Montana appearance on her current tour, on Nov. 17 at the Alberta Bair Theater.

Harris is touring on her latest album, 2008’s All I Intended To Be.

“Most of my career I’ve been a finder of songs, a gatherer of songs, so this showcases, in part, that side of what I do,” she said in a press release regarding the album, her first solo recording since 2003’s Stumble Into Grace.

Throughout her career, Harris has been lauded as a genre-transcending artist, a song connoisseur and a gifted singular artist. She has the unique ability to remain relevant as music evolves, and her sound constantly evolves with it, transforming from subtle country stylings to lush folk music to bluegrass inspired wanderings.

Harris built a career on her solo endeavors, but is also known for her duets with a wide range of artists, including Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, and Mark Knopfler, among others. Harris’s songbird voice is has also been sought for backing vocals from musicians as diverse as indie rocker Conor Oberst to folk rock pioneer Bob Dylan.

Harris began her career in the 1970s as a country music artist working with singer/songwriter Gram Parsons. Parsons helped shape her countrified music career to come. Following his death Harris continued on to form several musical groups, including the Hot Band, and eventually launch a Grammy-award winning solo career. To date her discography has more albums than years she’s been performing.

The concert begins at 8 p.m. Reserved seating is available for $45 (floor and lower loge) and $35 (upper loge) and are available at Rimrock Mall, the Alberta Bair Theater box office or online at 1111presents.com.