Gillian Welch and David Rawlings returned to the Tiny Desk fifteen years after their last visit, presenting their timeless music with the same core elements: two guitars, two voices, and thirty-plus years of stunning performance chemistry. Facing each other across the Desk, the duo immediately established an auditory illusion with the ballad “Empty Trainload of Sky,” where their guitars chugged and vocal harmonies swirled surrealistic imagery over a classic American musical canvas. The set included the track “Lawman,” a song whose themes of corrupt politics feel equally relevant whether set a century ago or yesterday, and “Hashtag,” a brilliant tribute to the late Guy Clark that manages to be both tragicomic and deeply existential. These songs, all from last year’s album ‘Woodland’, endure change with grace by leaning into small, intimate moments. Welch and Rawlings closed powerfully with “Revelator,” a mystic brew of personal history and apocalyptic prophecy from their significant 2001 leveling-up, letting their simmering harmonies bloom and wither before bursting through Rawlings’ reflective, ravaging guitar solos, ensuring the profound feeling reverberated long after the final chord faded.
SET LIST
- “Empty Trainload of Sky”
- “Lawman”
- “Hashtag”
- “Revelator”