iris dement tour

Iris DeMent Verified

Concerts and tour dates, bandsintown merch.

Live Photos of Iris DeMent

Latest posts.

Fan Reviews

Fans Also Follow

About iris dement.

• Moscow concerts Moscow concerts Moscow concerts See all Moscow concerts ( Change location ) Today · Next 7 days · Next 30 days
• Most popular artists worldwide
• Trending artists worldwide

• Tourbox for artists

Search for events or artists

• Sign up Log in

• Get the app
• Moscow concerts
• Change location
• Popular Artists
• Live streams
• Deutsch Português
• Popular artists

Iris DeMent  

• On tour: yes
• Iris DeMent is not playing near you. View all concerts
• Moscow, Russian Federation Change location

35,934 fans get concert alerts for this artist.

Join Songkick to track Iris DeMent and get concert alerts when they play near you.

Nearest concert to you

Solid Sound Festival

Touring outside your city

Be the first to know when they tour near Moscow, Russian Federation

Join 35,934 fans getting concert alerts for this artist

Upcoming concerts (4)

Tower Theatre

Buskirk-Chumley Theater

Bijou Theatre

Similar artists with upcoming concerts

Tours most with, live reviews.

Iris Dement is as great a songwriter as she is a singer, and is on her way to becoming an even greater force for positive social change. She speaks up for what she believes in, in every way she can, but mostly through songs that can evoke the full range of emotion, from tears to laughter.

Both the woman and her songs are straightforward in a charming, humble way that leaves each member of the audience feeling as if they've experienced a personal connection to her. Middle-aged now, her stage costumes manage to be both sedate and outrageous, featuring understated colors like beige, black, and white, but in attention grabbing forms, like skin tight dresses and large chunky shoes.

The overall effect complements her songs perfectly. Those songs include audience favorites like "Easy's Gettin' Harder Every Day," "Mama Was Always Tellin' Her Truth," and "Hotter Than Mojave." She does numbers from the beginning of her career right up to the present, most presented in a bluesy, folksy, style that speaks straight to the heart of her listeners.

Her concerts can run from anywhere between ninety minutes and two full hours, and she will usually take the time to meet and greet her fans afterward, signing autographs. So it's a full night's entertainment, but you'll still be sorry to see it end.

Report as inappropriate

Iris was a great entertainer! She mixes humor and seriousness in her act with just the right balance. Her songwriting talent is evident in the lyrics of her songs and her almost too perfect exquisite voice just takes the whole experience to an ethereal level. Her piano playing varies by song and is at times exuberant, soulful, delicate, and percussive. All in all a wonderful mix of songs, stories, and banter with the audience.

Pieta Brown opened up the show and her songwriting, storytelling, guitar and vocals were soothingly relaxing, and gave me a feeling of being among the crowd I fit in with. She even had us singing along with her.

The venue is adequate and the audience was very accepting and enthusiastic.

I will consider seeing both of these fine artists again if an opportune moment comes along.

Lovely voice as always! Political temper tantrum over not having a criminal, wall-street-loving, career politician, rape supporting (husband) president was annoying to say the least. Trump is terrible I know ... but so was the alternative! But like I said no one has the Iris sound ... and it is lovely.

As seeing Iris in Concert was on my Bucket list since the eighties, I was so pleased to see her in person at this festival.

Expected to hear more of her recorded numbers, but her piano accompanient skill was more than enough to satisfy me.

Loved the show at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. First time I've seen Iris.....I will be back.

Great acoustics, and what a wonderful piano player

A great night out and a sensible price.

Haste ye back!!

Photos (14)

Posters (6)

Past concerts

Union Chapel

Royal Concert Hall.

Knocknarea Arena

View all past concerts

Iris DeMent tour dates and tickets 2024-2025 near you

Want to see Iris DeMent in concert? Find information on all of Iris DeMent’s upcoming concerts, tour dates and ticket information for 2024-2025.

Iris DeMent is not due to play near your location currently - but they are scheduled to play 4 concerts across 1 country in 2024-2025. View all concerts.

Next 3 concerts:

• Oklahoma City, OK, US
• North Adams, MA, US
• Bloomington, IN, US

Next concert:

Popularity ranking:

• James McMurtry (9219)
• Iris DeMent (9220)
• Stellan Skarsgård (9221)

Concerts played in 2024:

Touring history

Most played:

• SF Bay Area (17)
• Chicago (16)
• Twin Cities (14)
• Washington (12)
• New York (NYC) (11)

Appears most with:

• Ana Egge (44)
• Pieta Brown (40)
• John Prine (22)
• Jason Wilber (17)
• Loudon Wainwright III (9)

Distance travelled:

Similar artists

• Most popular charts
• API information
• Brand guidelines
• Community guidelines
• Terms of use
• Privacy policy
• Cookies settings
• Cookies policy

Get your tour dates seen everywhere.

• But we really hope you love us.

Header Main

• Artist of the Month
• Good Country
• BGS Presents
• Ed's Picks
• Happy Weekend

With Honesty and Openness, Iris DeMent Keeps ‘Workin’ on a World’

Rattled by the 2016 election and its aftermath, singer-songwriter Iris DeMent did what folk singers are supposed to do: She picked up her pen. But it took until February 2023 for Workin’ on a World, her seventh album, to reach listeners — and it might not have happened at all if her stepdaughter Pieta Brown hadn’t intervened. Brown (whose father is DeMent’s husband, Greg Brown), had cowritten “I Won’t Ask You Why” and “The Sacred Now” with DeMent and knew several tracks had been recorded before the project hit a pandemic-induced pause. When Brown inquired about the album’s status, DeMent confessed she’d stalled out and given up.

Brown asked to hear what DeMent and co-producers Richard Bennett and Jim Rooney had recorded, then declared an album did, indeed, exist, and helped shepherd it to completion. Then she joined DeMent on tour, opening a series of dates that included a March stop in Austin at which DeMent introduced her new work to a sold-out audience — who were particularly amused when she sang “Goin’ Down to Sing in Texas,” an oh-so-sharp skewering of open-carry laws, male privilege, one-percenters, racism and “war criminals who get to walk around free/like that president who lied about WMD.” (The Chicks, who famously called out that president, earn her thanks).

DeMent boldly speaks her mind throughout Workin’ on a World, mixing indictments of oppression, greed and the cult of personality with praise for righteous “Warriors of Love.” She also ruminates on love and loss, and addresses God frequently — not surprising for the youngest of a 14-child family raised in the Pentecostal church. But instead of drearily lamenting a world in turmoil or patly claiming prayer is the answer, she strives to induce hope. When she sings “workin’ on a world I may never see,” she’s reminding activists to keep fighting for future generations.

Back home in Iowa several days after her performance, DeMent discussed the facets of a career that took flight 31 years ago with her debut album, Infamous Angel. Two Grammy nominations, one Americana Music Association Trailblazer Award and dozens of collaborations later, she still likes to let the mystery be, so to speak, when it comes to certain aspects of her songwriting process. But when it comes to inspirations and emotions, she spoke just as she does in her songs — with honesty and openness.

BGS: You’ve said this album came about because you wanted to cut yourself a path through the wilderness of despair. Was there any other sense of mission involved?

DeMent: Initially, it was just a level of despair that was not sustainable, and I had to apply myself to something constructive. Beyond that, it was like, I want to fix things. I care about people here; I care about my children, I care about your children, I care about the world. So I want to see it be improved. And I can’t think of a more useful way to spend my time. The best way I know how to do it is to write songs. Because I know from my own experience, songs can energize me and give me hope and confidence to go do my job. I feel like the best thing I can do is contribute to other people — whatever their job is, some inspiring music can help ’em get it done, as we know.

I went through a phase; I did a lot of political, local things — which is incredibly important, don’t get me wrong. But I can’t do both; I noticed that. They’re two different sides of the brain. And I was either doing the phone banks and all that business, or I was gonna be a writer/singer. At some point, that became clear to me. A few people helped me figure that out: “Iris, that’s your gift, stop underrating it and go.” So I just went back into the songs, and as a result, there’s this record. It would not have happened otherwise. I decided to go back to believing in the value of singing some songs.

Did you originally have a target date for an album, or were you just kind of hoping to do something and then Pieta said, “Here it is”?

I think when I was a lot younger and just coming out of the chute, I probably had targets then, because there’s kind of that thing when you’re young; you’ve got to get your ball rolling. I certainly felt that. I had a really intense sense of momentum and urgency, and I don’t think you’ve got to be a songwriter to have that; it’s a time in life thing, in my opinion. And I’m glad to have had that. It was its own, exciting, awesome, wonderful time. But that started shifting, and rather than fight with that, I accepted it. And I’m really glad I did, because I feel like my music’s gotten better; my singing has gotten better.

I feel like allowing myself to relax a little bit, to trust that the songs will evolve as they need to as long as I keep showing up often enough, in my opinion, has worked. A lot of people who talk to me are really focused on these gap periods and all, which to me are not gap periods. It’s the time it took, plain and simple. There’s a lot of records out there; there’s a lot of music. I’m not interested in taking up somebody’s heart and mind space unless I really feel like I have something to say that warrants that.

If I were thinking in terms of a career, I’d have put out a lot more records. Because I’ll build up an audience, then I won’t put out a record for six years. A handful of people stay with me and a lot of others drift off somewhere else. That’s how that works. If I’d even put out a mediocre record here and there, I think I would have kept a lot of folks. People, if they don’t hear from you, they forget about you, by and large. But I’ve been really fortunate that I’ve had enough people who haven’t that I can still go out and play.

I posted a picture from your show on social media, and so many people responded, it was an obvious indicator that they have not forgotten you. Your sold-out show was another. That must be heartening.

Oh, sure. When you feel like you’ve got something to say that you believe somebody needs to hear, it’s a wonderful feeling when that actually happens. I’ll admit it’d be discouraging if I went out there and the rooms were half full. That said, that has never stopped me before, and never will. I’ve always thought that way. I used to get this vision when I started out; I’d conjure up a desperate person, and I have a model in my mind of who this desperate person is, which I won’t get into. But I conjure a picture of them. They walk in, they sit on the back seat, and I’m singing to that person. Nobody knows them. Nobody knows their name. They’re gonna wander out that door, but they’re gonna take something from that room that they needed, and it’s my job to give it to ’em. Yeah, my feelings and my ego and all that stuff come into play, but I’ve gotten really good at overriding all that and thinking of the mission that I’m on and the job that I have to do that isn’t about numbers. It’s about hearts; individuals. I gotta go there with ’em and let the rest go. That rest of it is just not my business.

The list of albums and tracks you’ve contributed to is really astonishing, but you’re probably best known for your duets with John Prine. How did those tend to come about?

John wrote liner notes on my first record. I became acquainted with him through Jim Rooney, who was friends with John, long before I met John. And then when my first record came out, John asked me to go out and open for him, which, of course, I gladly did. Right up till the end, I would always do a couple of shows a year with him, at least. Did quite a lot of shows throughout the years prior to that. And one thing led to another. We got to record those duets together. I just loved John like crazy, and I think he loved me. Singing with him was its own unique thing that’ll never happen again, and I’ll miss that forever.

You cite quite a list of heroes on this album. Did you have to leave many out?

Always. There’s always people. “Warriors of Love,” I could have made it 10 verses long.

How did you choose?

Oh, I couldn’t even begin to explain that. It’s just, you’re sitting there trying to get somewhere and your gut says, “I think this is the direction to go.” Obviously, the people I chose are more universally known. And that helps because you don’t have to write, “here’s the history of this person,” so you can bring people up to speed. Most people are far less familiar with (pro-Palestinian activist) Rachel Corrie than (U.S. Sen.) John Lewis or Dr. King, so that was a little bit of a stretch. But I think I gave enough details to make that picture fairly clear. And there’s lots of information out there if people want to gather it.

With “The Cherry Orchard,” you’re continuing the Russian literature connection you made on your last album (2015’s The Trackless Woods, on which she set poet Anna Akhmatova’s translated words to music; the song is inspired by Anton Chekhov’s play). You’ve got a Russian-born daughter, and you seem relatively steeped in that culture. What drew you to it?

Our daughter was 5½ when we adopted her from Siberia. She’s almost 24 now. So we had a little Russian speaker in our house. There was a lot of mystery there; she had a lot of qualities that were clearly unique to her culture. I can still see them today. So I wanted to understand as much as I could, which is still very minimal; I’m not going to pretend. But I wanted to find a way into that world to the degree that I could. So that’s what I did. I did those Anna Akhmatova poems and took a couple of Russian literature classes. And I found that I love the Russian writers. I must have some sort of natural affinity for the world that made my daughter.

Have you ever seen Chekhov’s plays performed?

I saw Uncle Vanya in Chicago. I cried through the whole damned thing. My husband and my daughter were by my side; they were just looking at me, like, “Is Mom having a breakdown?” I had the same reaction to The Cherry Orchard . I was in my class, this university class with, like, 12 people; I could hardly sit in my chair. There’s just something about the merging of intense elements in so much of Russian life and literature that something in me relates to. I actually had a lot of that in my own family history. Intense drama, poverty, violence, you name it, the whole male-female dynamic, the hierarchies. There’s something in it that is very familiar to me. I’ve just connected with a lot of that literature. Like, just in my body, I mean.

At your show, Pieta said the songs on this album feel really important, and she’s right. They do. You tackle some big topics, and you’re not afraid to name names and focus on divisive issues. I loved hearing you sing “Goin’ Down to Sing in Texas” in Texas, but putting a song like that out in today’s world, do you worry about blowback?

No, I worry about what would happen if I stay quiet. I worry about what will happen if I don’t speak up about these things. I’ve crossed over to that. When I was younger and wrote about the Vietnam War on “Wasteland of the Free,” I wasn’t worried. But then I became the target of a fair amount of hatefulness, to put it mildly, and that was surprising to me. But I’ve got my eyes pretty wide open about what’s going on here now.

No, I don’t feel worried about that. I feel worried about the people who will be hurt if I stay silent. My takeaway from my upbringing and the teachings of Jesus … you’re supposed to care about something bigger than you and invest yourself in it. I wouldn’t go so far as to say, “Oh, I don’t have fear.” Of course I do. But I do feel like that’s what we’re called to do. There’s a power and a confidence and a peace that can come with that as well. I feel that.

Photo Credit: Dasha Brown

Suggested Reads

Sitewide Footer Banner

Want in on the newest musical releases, in depth artist features, can’t miss shows, and more sign up now to receive bgs to your inbox., we respect your privacy., privacy overview.

Narrows Center

• Ticketing Home
• Your Account
• Upcoming Events - Purchase Tickets
• Ticket Information
• Past Performances
• Current & Upcoming Exhibitions
• Gallery Information
• Past Exhibitions
• Rental Info
• Become A Friend
• Art Community

Iris DeMent

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

Music Interviews

Folk veteran iris dement shows us the 'world' she's been workin' on.

Clay Masters

Cheryl Corley

Iris DeMent. Dasha Brown/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Iris DeMent.

"I really believe that I have been given an ability to deliver my songs," says the folk and country singer-songwriter Iris DeMent from her home in Iowa City, Iowa. "Not everybody's going to get them, but there's people that get them – and they need them." For over 30 years Dement has been one of the most distinctive and spiritually searching voices in roots music, work that has netted her a couple of Grammy nominations, though never quite making her a household name. Her newest album, Workin' on a World , is out today.

DeMent, born in Arkansas and the youngest of 14 kids, says she mostly grew up in the church, where she learned to ask a lot of questions about their faith by watching her mom – a questioning nature that shows up in her songs all the way back to her 1992 debut, Infamous Angel .

"Everybody is wondering what, and where they all came from / everybody is worried about where they're all gonna go when the whole thing's done," she sings on "Let the Mystery Be," "but no one knows for certain and so it's all the same to me / I think I'll just let the mystery be."

DeMent is as authentic as they come, says country music historian and Hall-of-Famer Marty Stuart . "You can listen to most artists and tell who inspired them or where they tipped off from," he says. "There are very few artists that are so original that that is almost nonexistent. What I hear, when I hear Iris, is just a total original."

Stuart produced a song that's been an introduction for many to DeMent's work, a quirky duet from the late '90s that she sang with her longtime collaborator, the late, legendary John Prine . DeMent remembers when Prine faxed her the lyrics to the now-famed song, "In Spite of Ourselves."

"I saw the words and ... I came out of the Pentecostal church and I was like, 'I can't do this.' I mean, like, my heart started racing. I can't do this."

Here's what Iris wound up singing:

"He ain't got laid in a month of Sundays, I caught him once and he was sniffin' my undies / He ain't too sharp but he gets things done / drinks his beer like it's oxygen / He's my baby and I'm his honey / I'm never gonna let him go..."

DeMent says, with a smile, that – not atypical for a clutch of Prine lyrics – "of course, everybody loved it."

Prine died after contracting COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic, joining a growing group of figures in DeMent's life that are no longer physically here but who still show up in the music.

"John was so present when he was here. Like a few other people I know ... my mom [is] in that category ... they were so here ," DeMent says. "I don't want to be all spooky about it, but I feel like I carry him and that's just a wonderful feeling."

#NowPlaying

Iris dement, 'workin' on a world'.

You can hear those presences guiding her within the songs of Workin' on a World , all written at home, in Iowa City – the title track, which begins the record, was penned right after the 2016 election.

"I got so down in trouble, I nearly lost my head / I started waking every morning filled with sadness, fear and dread," she sings. "I sing that song and I get fortified," DeMent says. "I feel like a part of this human family that's been here a really long time and some number of us is going on, and I've got work to do."

For Iris DeMent, Music Is The Calling That Forces Her Into The Spotlight

Fellow songwriter Ana Egge was excited when DeMent showed her these new songs last year. She says they speak to the influence DeMent has on musicians like her.

"I remember one time, she said, 'Ana, do you think anybody ever asked Johnny Cash who Johnny Cash should be?' " Egge says. "She said, 'I don't think so.' She said 'Be who you are, figure that out, and keep figuring that out.' "

DeMent says that, even at 62, she keeps figuring it out.

"For some weird reason, the kind of culture we live in makes it even more difficult to remember what we know," Dement says. "I think I write in a way that's what I'm trying to do for myself, and I use them for myself in that same way and then I send them (my songs) out into the world."

• Iris DeMent

The Triple Door

• Upcoming Shows
• Your Account
• Mainstage Calendar
• MQ Stage Calendar
• Private Events

Calendar View Gift Card Purchase Newsletter Sign Up FAQs (866) 973-9612 216 Union Street Seattle, WA 98101

Iris Dement

The Triple Door 

216 union street - seattle, wa 98101  tickets: online or (866) 973-9612 .

Monday :: 4pm - 10pm on show nights   Tue/Wed/Thu :: 4pm - 10pm   Fri/Sat :: 4pm - 12am   Sun :: 4pm - 10pm  Box Office Hours :: Show Days :: 4pm - 9pm    Happy Hour :: 7 Days a week :: 4pm - 6pm    Telephone :: 7 Days a week from 7am to 8pm    Mainstage hours vary based on showtimes

Iris Dement

Celebrated international singer Iris DeMent's musical style includes elements of folk, country and gospel. She has been nominated for a Grammy Award more...

Follow Iris Dement on Ents24 to receive updates on any new tour dates the moment they are announced...

• Be the first to know about new tour dates
• Alerts are free and always will be
• We hate spam and will never share your email address with anyone else
• More than a million fans already rely on Ents24 to follow their favourite artists and venues

Past Events

Here are the most recent UK tour dates we had listed for Iris Dement. Were you there?

• Nov 01 2023 London, Union Chapel Iris Dement
• Oct 31 2023 Glasgow, Royal Concert Hall Iris Dement
• Jul 27 2018 Perth Theatre & Concert Hall Rodney Crowell, Iris Dement
• Jul 23 2011 Perth Theatre & Concert Hall Iris Dement, Dean Owens
• Jul 22 2011 Perth Theatre & Concert Hall Blind Boys Of Alabama, Iris Dement

Fans who like Iris Dement also like

Mary Gauthier

• Statistics Stats
• You are here:
• September 11, 2010 Setlist

Iris Setlist at Tochka, Moscow, Russia

• Edit setlist songs
• Edit venue & date
• Edit set times
• Add to festival
• Report setlist

Tour: Blacklight Tour Tour statistics Add setlist

• Disintegrate Play Video
• The Marianas Depths Play Video
• Lands of Fire Play Video
• Appetite Play Video
• Sorrow Expert Play Video
• Sentimental Scar Play Video
• Closer to Real Play Video
• Fighter Play Video
• It Generates Play Video
• Red Right Return Play Video
• Cruel Silence Play Video
• New Invaders Play Video
• Nobody Wins Play Video
• Annie, Would I Lie to You Play Video
• Panic Rev Play Video

Edits and Comments

4 activities (last edit by borkborkbork , 11 Aug 2017, 00:25 Etc/UTC )

Songs on Albums

• Closer to Real
• Cruel Silence
• Disintegrate
• Red Right Return
• The Marianas Depths
• It Generates
• Lands of Fire
• Sentimental Scar
• Sorrow Expert
• New Invaders
• Nobody Wins
• Annie, Would I Lie to You

Complete Album stats

More from this Artist

• More Setlists
• Artist Statistics
• Add setlist

Festival Time!

Hey, this setlist was played at a festival:

Synthember Wave II setlists

Iris Gig Timeline

• Sep 06 2010 Kir Hamburg, Germany Add time Add time
• Sep 09 2010 Saint Oberhausen, Germany Add time Add time
• Sep 11 2010 Synthember Wave II This Setlist Moscow, Russia Add time Add time
• Sep 12 2010 News Pub Volgograd, Russia Add time Add time
• Mar 31 2011 Ground Zero Minneapolis, MN, USA Add time Add time

3 people were there

Share or embed this setlist.

Use this setlist for your event review and get all updates automatically!

<div style="text-align: center;" class="setlistImage"><a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/iris/2010/tochka-moscow-russia-3de1147.html" title="Iris Setlist Synthember Wave II 2010, Blacklight Tour" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=3de1147" alt="Iris Setlist Synthember Wave II 2010, Blacklight Tour" style="border: 0;" /></a> <div><a href="https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=3de1147&amp;step=song">Edit this setlist</a> | <a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/iris-63d6eeef.html">More Iris setlists</a></div></div>

Last.fm Event Review

[url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/iris/2010/tochka-moscow-russia-3de1147.html][img]https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=3de1147[/img][/url] [url=https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=3de1147&amp;step=song]Edit this setlist[/url] | [url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/iris-63d6eeef.html]More Iris setlists[/url]

Tour Update

Marquee memories: jesse mccartney.

• Jesse McCartney
• Apr 10, 2024
• Apr 9, 2024
• Apr 8, 2024
• Apr 7, 2024
• Apr 6, 2024
• Apr 5, 2024
• FAQ | Help | About
• Terms of Service
• Ad Choices | Privacy Policy
• Feature requests
• Songtexte.com

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to footer

828-257-4530       My Account      

Wortham Center for the Performing Arts

MaxxMusic presents

Iris dement.

With opening guest Ben K. Lochen

April 13, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.

On her transcendent new record, Workin’ On A World, Iris DeMent faces the modern world — as it is right now — with its climate catastrophe, pandemic illness, and epidemic of violence and social injustice — and not only asks us how we can keep working towards a better world, but implores us to love each other, despite our very different ways of seeing. Her songs are her way of healing our broken inner and outer spaces.

With an inimitable voice as John Prine described, “like you’ve heard, but not really,” and unforgettable melodies rooted in hymns, gospel, and old country music, she’s simply one of the finest singer-songwriters in America as well as one of our fiercest advocates for human rights. Her debut record Infamous Angel, which just celebrated its 30th anniversary, was recently named one of the “greatest country albums of all time” by Rolling Stone, and the two albums that followed, My Life and The Way I Should, were both nominated for GRAMMYs. From there, DeMent released three records on her own label, Flariella Records, the most recent of which, The Trackless Woods (2015), was hailed as “a quietly powerful triumph” by The Guardian. DeMent’s songs have also been featured in film (True Grit) and television (The Leftovers) and recorded by numerous artists. Fittingly, she received the Americana Music Trailblazer Award in 2017.

Workin’ On A World, her seventh album, started with the worry that woke DeMent up after the 2016 elections: how can we survive this? “Every day some new trauma was being added to the old ones that kept repeating themselves, and like everybody else, I was just trying to bear up under it all,” she recalls. She returned to a truth she had known since childhood: music is medicine. “My mom always had a way of finding the song that would prove equal to whatever situation we were facing. Throughout my life, songs have been lending me a hand. Writing songs, singing songs, putting them on records, has been a way for me to extend that hand to others.”

With grace, courage, and soul, Iris shares 13 anthems — love songs, really — to and for our broken inner and outer worlds. DeMent sets the stage for the album with the title track in which she moves from a sense of despair towards a place of promise. “Now I’m workin’ on a world I may never see / Joinin’ forces with the warriors of love / Who came before and will follow you and me.”

She summons various social justice warriors, both past and present, to deliver messages of optimism. “How Long” references Martin Luther King, while “Warriors of Love” includes John Lewis and Rachel Corrie. “Goin’ Down To Sing in Texas” is an ode not only to gun control, but also to the brave folks who speak out against tyranny and endure the consequences in an unjust world. “I kept hearing a lot of talk about the arc of history that Dr. King so famously said bends towards justice,” she recalls. “I was having my doubts. But, then it dawned on me, he never said the arc would magically bend itself. Songs, over the course of history, have proven to be pretty good arc benders.”

Bending inward, DeMent reaches agilely under the slippery surface of politics. She grapples with loss on the deeply honest “I Won’t Ask You Why,” while encouraging compassion over hate in the awe-inspiring “Say A Good Word.” Album closer

“Waycross, Georgia,” encompasses the end of the journey, thanking those along the way. As she approaches subjects of aging, loss, suicide, and service, an arc of compassion elevated to something far beyond words is transmitted. The delicate fierceness encompassed in the riveting power of her voice has somehow only grown over time.

Stalled partway through by the pandemic, the record took six years to make with the help of three friends and co-producers: Richard Bennett, Pieta Brown, and Jim Rooney. It was Pieta Brown who gave the record its final push. “Pieta asked me what had come of the recordings I’d done with Jim and Richard in 2019 and 2020. I told her I’d pretty much given up on trying to make a record. She asked would I mind if she had a listen. So, I had everything we’d done sent over to her, and not long after that I got a text, bouncing with exclamation marks: ‘You have a record and it’s called Workin’ On A World!’” With Bennett back in the studio with them, Brown and DeMent recorded several more songs and put the final touches on the record in Nashville in April of 2022.

The result is a hopeful album — shimmering with brilliant flashes of poignant humor and uplifting tenderness — that speaks the truth, “in the way that truth is always hopeful,” she explains. Reflecting on the lyrics of the song “The Sacred Now” (“see these walls/ let’s bring ‘em on down / it’s not a dream; it’s the sacred now”), DeMent is reminded of Jesus saying the Kingdom of God is within you and the Buddhist activist monk Thich Nhat Hanh saying the rose is in the compost; the compost is in the rose. On Workin’ On A World, Iris DeMent demonstrates that songs are the healing and the healing arises through song.

18 Biltmore Ave. Asheville, NC 28801 ( map )

828-257-4530 [email protected]

Monday: Closed

Tuesday-Friday: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and one hour before performances

Saturday & Sunday: Open one hour before performances; Closed if no performance

Subscribe to Wortham e-News