Lucinda Williams

Lucinda Williams Instagram – Some point ‘n shoot snaps of @lucinda_williams performing her “book show” at the Sydney Opera House back on 31/08/25.
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This was a warm, dimly lit séance of stories and songs. Lucinda spent most of the show seated at the front of the stage in raconteur mode, her indelible Southern drawl, sardonic wit and worldly, seen-it-all attitude curled around the regal Opera House Concert Hall like cigarette smoke in an old school dive bar.
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The stories came easy, Lucinda sure can talk! The tales were often tender, yet laced with a Southern gothic gallows humour. What I appreciated most was that the stories and songs drew from her own life, not the usual “…and that reminds me of the time I met [insert celebrity]” kind of schtick. Instead, she dedicated songs to family members and loved ones. Many of the songs were accompanied by a slideshow of the faces and places that inspired them. They felt like ghosts flickering in and out of time. It gave the show a visual accompaniment that made it both grander and somehow more intimate, like a window into Lucinda’s memory.
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The night ran well over two hours as Lucinda’s yarns took twists, turns, and sojourns. It was charming and she seemed to enjoy reminiscing. The audience held on every word. A few tunes were cut from the setlist, but it felt like she could’ve gone on another hour and nobody would’ve moved.
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Sure, I missed some of the louder, looser rock numbers, but this was the perfect setup for songs like “Dust” and “Ghosts of Highway 20”, two of her darkest and most brooding songs (and two of my favourites). Having seen Lucinda several times over the years, I gotta say this format suits her in 2025.
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Setlist:
Blind Pearly Brown
Freight Train (Elizabeth Cotten)
It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry (Bob Dylan)
Jambalaya (On the Bayou) (Hank Williams)
Happy Woman Blues
Crescent City
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
Bus to Baton Rouge
Little Angel, Little Brother
Pineola
Lake Charles
Drunken Angel
Fruits of My Labor
Heaven Blues
Dust
Ghosts of Highway 20
Where the Song Will Find Me
Get Right With God
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#LucindaWilliams #SydneyOperaHouse
#AltCountry #SingerSongwriter | Posted on 04/Nov/2025 06:06:15