Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt

My favorite part of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass every year is the songwriter showcase, where they stick four musicians on stage who take turns talking about and playing their songs. Now, there are plenty of other forums for this kind of showcase, but the thing about HSD's version is that there's always something weird about the mix of artists, like "Isn't it kind of crazy to put these people on stage together?" But then it turns out to be genius. That's how I feel about teaming Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt up for this acoustic show. They're two Americana artists who have taken very different musical paths, yet there's an undeniable similarity in the uniqueness of their vision, and their unwavering ability to be true to it as musical trends shift around them. And let's be honest, they're both a little bit off their rocker, in the best possible way. Will Hiatt get Lovett to join him on an acoustic Ramones cover? Will Lovett reveal he secretly wishes he'd written "Perfectly Good Guitar?"

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Seasoned singer-songwriters Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt have been performing together for decades, complementing one another's emotional ponderings and lyrical sensibilities each step of the way. Their chemistry has only bloomed over the years with the reverence they hold for each other's rich and honest sound. In this Bing Concert Hall performance, they team up again for a genre-bending delight, fusing sounds of country, swing, jazz, folk, and gospel.