Lucinda Williams Delivers Stirring Belfast Performance with Renewed Intensity
At 73 years old, Americana icon Lucinda Williams continues to command the stage with remarkable authority and artistic urgency. Her recent sold-out performance at Belfast's Limelight venue demonstrated that her creative fire burns as brightly as ever, despite facing personal health challenges.
A Legendary Presence in Modern Music
Williams remains a guiding star within the expansive Americana music genre, bringing with her the weight of multiple Grammy awards and decades of songwriting excellence. Just two days after celebrating her 73rd birthday, she took to the stage with the confidence of an artist who has helped define American roots music for generations.
The singer is currently navigating the after-effects of a stroke, requiring careful movement when entering and exiting the stage. Yet once positioned behind the microphone, she transforms completely, radiating determination and artistic resolve that captivates the entire audience.
Vocal Power and Musical Precision
Remarkably, Williams' voice appears to have gained new dimensions in recent years. Her phrasing has become more deliberate and considered, while her distinctive vibrato catches the emotional light in each lyric. There's a burnished quality to her delivery that suggests an artist who has refined her craft through both triumph and adversity.
She opened the Belfast concert with the title track from her newly released sixteenth album, World's Gone Wrong. The song lands as both protest anthem and musical groove, with harmonies locking perfectly and slide guitar providing a slow-building warning tone.
Masterful Musical Support
Williams is supported by an exceptionally talented band that understands how to complement her distinctive vocal style without overwhelming it. Former Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford contributes blues lines with slow-bend eloquence that perfectly frames Williams' phrasing. Drummer Brady Blade steers the musical direction with subtle authority, his cymbals creating a washed, phased shimmer that lifts the entire performance skyward.
The patient force of the ensemble allows Williams' songwriting to shine, particularly when she nods to fellow musical legend Patti Smith with the declaration that "people have the power."
Songwriting That Captures Life's Details
The most compelling moments emerge when Williams' writing focuses on intimate, everyday details. Right in Time transforms ordinary domestic scenes – a boiling kettle, jewellery being removed – into charged emotional moments. Williams acknowledges this quality with a smile, noting that "some of my songs are a little suggestive."
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road demonstrates her ability to evoke memory through sensory details like smell and radio sounds, its deceptive simplicity delivering emotional impact. Later in the set, You Can't Rule Me reaches a powerful peak, pushing delta boogie into exhilarating double-time.
Protest Songs for Contemporary Concerns
The concert features several new protest songs addressing economic strain, racial injustice, and power dynamics in modern society. While there's a thematic consistency to these tracks, Williams persuasively argues that these issues remain "at the forefront" of contemporary concerns, and that everyone needs both artistic expression and relief from these pressures.
Crowd Connection and Memorable Moments
A cover of Neil Young's Rockin' in the Free World transforms the venue into a joyous, bellowed singalong that unites performers and audience. Williams, clearly delighted by the response, momentarily confuses her location before recovering with characteristic charm: "It's great to be in Dublin … oh wait – Belfast. Will you forgive me?"
The roaring approval from the Belfast crowd confirms their appreciation for an artist who continues to evolve and inspire, proving that creative vitality knows no age limits.
