Lyle Lovett

GRAMMY® Award winning musician, singer, and songwriter Lyle Lovett returns to Shelburne Museum on August 1 for a highly-anticipated performance with his Large Band 

STORY BY DR. JOSHUA SHERMAN 

I first interviewed Lyle Lovett in early 2024, prior to his concert at The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, MA. Over the last 18 months or so, he and I have become good friends. 

Photo by Michael Wilson

When people ask me about him, I always comment, “He is both interesting and interested.” It’s a rare combination—not just in celebrities—but in all people. 

Before he won the hearts of countless fans and listeners with his music, Lyle started out as a journalism major at Texas A&M University. His curious mind is obvious and apparent both onstage and offstage. The four-time GRAMMY®-winning singer, songwriter, and guitarist is passionate about many things: his family, photography, horses, motorcycles, boots—the list goes on and on. 

I recently visited with Lyle in Concord, NH, when he played The Capitol Center for The Arts. He invited his old pal, Burlington-based producer, performer, and writer, Jim Rooney, to the stage. It was a magical night of old friends playing great music together. 

Lyle is no stranger to Vermont, having played countless concerts here since the 1980s. He first performed in the Green Mountain State at Stowe as Bonnie Raitt’s opening act, and has performed at multiple Vermont venues in the years that followed, including The Flynn Center and Memorial Auditorium in Burlington, and Shelburne Museum. He will return to Shelburne on August 1, 2025, accompanied by his Large Band. Here are some excerpts from a recent conversation I shared with Lyle about his love for music, life, and Vermont: 

Sherman: Lyle, I know you’ve played Shelburne before. 

Lovett: Last time we played there, it was beautiful. It was perfect weather with a beautiful sunset, and there were 3,500 people in that field there next to the museum. I’m hoping for good weather this year, and I’m looking forward to it. Over my years of touring, I’ve learned just how important being outdoors is for people in that part of the country, because the seasons are so much more distinct. In Texas, we kind of have three quarters of a year of summer, and a quarter of a year of fall. But up there, it seems to be even more meaningful to be outside on a beautiful summer’s evening. I’d love to take all the credit for having 3,500 people at the Shelburne Museum, but I think it’s partly due to the beautiful evening and people just wanting to be outside and do whatever’s happening in town that day.

Sherman: When you play an outdoor concert in the summer—do you change your set list to create a “summer night” vibe, or do you tend to play the same songs, regardless?

Lovett: I definitely think about it, and I might lean the set a little more toward up-tempo songs with an overall upbeat vibe. But, at the same time, I have to be aware that people come to hear me expecting certain songs. The people that come to my shows are, in general, accepting of what I do. So, it doesn’t change drastically. I change my set a little bit from night to night anyway. Just being outdoors doesn’t necessarily change the whole set, and I don’t think about it too much ahead of time. I do pay attention to the room, as I do in every show in any venue, indoor or outdoor. One of the great joys of performing live is being able to feel the audience and get a sense of where they want the show to go—or what they’ll allow. That’s one of the greatest things about live performance. It’s not just reproducing music live—we’re living in the moment in a 360-degree way. The audience is live for us. It’s not just us performing for them. The audience becomes part of the moment, and it’s important to feel that and take it in. Over time, I think any performer develops a sense for reading the room. You get a feel: “This crowd seems to want this,” or, “Tonight, I’m going to go in this direction.” And that’s the beauty of it. You can turn on a dime and do what feels right in the moment. That’s something I value so much about the great veterans I work with—the iconic musicians I’m fortunate to have in my band. They’re listening to me. And with just a simple verbal cue—or even something subtle, like where I move my capo on the neck of my guitar, they know I’m not going into the next song on the set list— I’m going somewhere else. They’re on their toes, ready to follow wherever I go. It’s a real luxury to have that kind of relationship with your band: One where spontaneity is always possible. In some situations, you just can’t do that. If there’s a rigid set list, the musicians don’t know the full repertoire, or the front-of-house mixer is expecting something exact, it limits you. But with my guys, I can go wherever the audience takes me.

Sherman: What are some of your favorite memories from your previous visits to Vermont?

Lovett: The Flynn is the place I’ve played the most over the years. It’s a beautiful theatre. Over the years, I’ve made friends in Burlington. There used to be a great breakfast place there called the Oasis Diner. A wonderful family owned it. They’d always talk baseball—they were big Montreal Expos fans before they moved. And because of my interest in motorcycling, I stumbled onto a small family-owned business called Champlain Leather. They make beautiful custom leather jackets—riding jackets that are protective, but also stylish enough to wear anywhere. Everything’s handmade right there in their shop in Burlington. I’ve stayed in touch with them. I bought a motorcycle from the Harley shop in Burlington in 1994 and got to know the folks there. The mechanic who built that bike—after the shop closed, he went to work for the county, helping salt the roads and maintain them in the winter. A really wonderful guy. He passed away a few years ago.

Sherman: You’ve built a real connection to the area.

Lovett: Absolutely. And the bootmaker I told you about in Austin, Lee Miller—he’s from Burlington.

Sherman: Really?

Lovett: Yeah. His father lived in Burlington until he passed away just a few years ago. Lee grew up there and he always wanted to be a bootmaker. He ended up being Charlie Dunn’s last apprentice. Charlie was a legendary bootmaker in Austin. He used to take on apprentices, and Lee was his last. He eventually took over Charlie’s business after he passed away.

Sherman: The boots with the white stitching that say “Lyle Lovett” that I admired the other night—those were made by Lee?

Lovett: Yep. Lee Miller of Texas Traditions. That mirror-image name motif was something Charlie Dunn had invented. He made a pair for himself with the same pattern. What’s great about tops in boot design is that you can be as flamboyant and flashy as you want—but if you’re shy about showing them off, you just wear your pants over them. The tops become a great surprise. It’s a reveal when you take your boots off.

Sherman: [laughs] That’s fantastic.

Lovett: Jackson Browne once said to me—he was still inventing his next pair of boots in his mind, designing what he wanted them to be. He said, “The tops are important. There’s going to come a time when you’re just wearing your boots.”

Sherman: That’s very funny. And very Jackson Browne.

Lovett: Right? Always a step ahead. That’s why his songs are so good.

Sherman: I really enjoyed seeing you and Jim Rooney on stage in Concord. I was hoping you could share a bit about Jim Rooney, who lives in Burlington. How did you two first meet?

Lovett: That’s another reason I’m looking forward to being in Vermont—to see Rooney. He lives near Burlington these days, and I’m usually able to coax him and Carol away from the house to come to our shows. Whenever Rooney’s there, I always ask him to sit in. I met Jim Rooney in 1984 in Nashville. He was already iconic in my mind. He was a respected record producer with deep ties to the folk scene. He helped build Bearsville Studio in Woodstock. He had already lived so much musical history by the time I met him. I got to know him personally while working with him on The Road to Ensenada, and we became friends. He was so generous—he let me sleep on his couch. I had a second cousin and a friend in Nashville, so I tried to rotate where I stayed so I wasn’t a burden. But every second or third trip, I’d stay at Rooney’s. I loved hearing his stories—being Bill Keith’s roommate, his memories of the early folk scene. His book Bossmen—about Bill Monroe and Muddy Waters—is incredible. To be around someone with Jim Rooney’s mind and experience is a gift. He’s the kind of person who could’ve done anything with his life, and he chose music. You can see it when he’s on stage—he radiates warmth, genuine affection for people, and total authenticity. Those are all qualities I admire. He’s 87 now, and I feel so lucky to still be able to invite him up on stage—and I absolutely plan to do that this summer. 

For tickets to see Lyle Lovett 

on August 1, 2025 at 

Shelburne Museum: 

ShelburneMuseum.org