1977, country singer Townes Van Zandt released catchy tune “Loretta”, a love story about a blonde barroom girl. The late artist is best well known for his hits such as “Waiting Around To Die” and “Pancho And Lefty”, but singer and songwriters Terry Allen and War On Drugs lead guitarist Kurt Vile paid tribute to track with their own cover.
According to Stereogum, Allen has recently been sharing the stage with Wilco and David Byrne. Allen, a big fan, and the Rolling Stone has gotten a chance to interview Allen along with Vile back in 2019. Now, Vile has finally gotten to collab with the singer on stage in Allen’s own hometown, Santa Fe! Instead of Vile’s rockin crew, the two performed the Vile’s 2018 track “Bassackwards”, right after they sang “Loretta”.
With Allen on the electric keyboard, Vile on the guitar, and even a ASL translator on stage, the gang perfectly replicated the Townes Van Zandt’s hit. In the original, Townes Van Zandt’s voice is soothing and smooth, perfectly aligning the guitar in the background. Compared to the original, Allen’s voice is raspier, but puts a new take to the classic. The duo adds a new instrument foreign to the original, a piano accordion. The instrument plays between verses, almost changing the entire genre of the song. And, despite it being a “slow” track, the audience applause in between verses hypes the cover even more.
Check out our other story regarding the rock band War On Drugs along with Phoebe Bridgers performing for The Rolling Stone’s show tomorrow, June 25th!
Photo Credit: Stephen Hoffmeister
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