Amanda Shires on Keeping the Late Bobbie Nelson’s Legacy Alive With Their Joint Album, ‘Loving You’: ‘Her Story Still Needs to Be Out There’
variety.comChris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic When Bobbie Nelson, longtime pianist for her brother, Willie Nelson, died in March 2022 at age 91, she left behind a recently completed posthumous album, recorded collaboratively with singer Amanda Shires.
That record, “Loving You,” is finally seeing the light of day and shedding additional daylight on Nelson’s supreme talent as a player, which wasn’t always the main point of focus in the Nelsons’ family band, for obvious reasons.
As a happy byproduct, this beautiful labor of love also casting sunshine on Shires’ skills as a vocal interpreter, as they both take on Willie songs, standards (“Over the Rainbow” and “Summertime,” the latter with a guest vocal from Bobbie’s brother) and other shared favorites.
Having just put in an appearance with the supergroup the Highwomen at the Gorge as part of an extended Brandi Carlile weekend, Shires is off to Europe for a summer tour, then recording her next solo album in Nashville in August, which will follow up 2022’s acclaimed “Take It Like a Man.” When that comes out next year, Shires may benefit from the increased visibility she has as the result of being the costar of the HBO documentary “Jason Isbell: Running With Our Eyes Closed,” alongside Isbell, her husband and sometimes band partner.
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