Raul Malo could sing the phonebook and it would be worth hearing. That’s how good his voice is — he’s one of the best singers in popular music. The comparison has been made to the late Roy Orbison, and it’s not wrong — Raul is that good, and he recently showed off his incredible pipes in a solo set at The Birchmere.

Malo is best known as the lead singer and principle songwriter for the eclectic country band The Mavericks, who straddle the worlds of mainstream country, rock ‘n roll, and Latin music. At The Birchmere on March 30, he chose to begin his performance with a couple of songs in Spanish, explaining he was doing so because of something that happened at The Birchmere when they had just begun having socially distanced shows after the Covid lockdown.

He began that show, too, with a song in Spanish, and someone in the audience said, “If he plays another song in Spanish, I’m leaving.” Raul’s thought was, “If I’d known it was going to be that easy,” so he did another one, and just as promised, the guy got up and left.

There are a few things to be said about this. First, as I said at the beginning of this article, Raul could sing phonebook listings and it would still be incredible. Second, I’m not sure what these people expected when they bought a ticket to see him. His solo albums all include songs in Spanish, and The Mavericks have made an entire album called En Español. Any reasonable person familiar with his work would expect to hear some songs in Spanish. Raul’s ability to sing beautifully in both English and Spanish is part of what makes him such a special talent. 

There’s a political point to be made here, too. America’s diversity is one of the things that make it such an incredible country, and it’s why this country’s music is so special. That includes Latin music and all the ways it has become part of the great American quilt. While there’s this underlying political element to Raul’s music and performance, there are places where he tackles social more overtly, and with great emotion. “And We Danced” was inspired by events in Ukraine: He saw an interview with an elderly woman in a bombed-out city in Ukraine. She’d lost her husband, and she was surrounded by wreckage, but she declared, “Mr. Putin, I’m still dancing!” Raul said he thought that was an incredible statement of resistance. After that tune, he did another one about people working for justice.

Raul is a crooner, and sings a lot of what he calls “pretty songs.” He got a little tripped up on one of them, the ballad “Forever and Ever,” when a couple in the front of the room started fighting, throwing him off. “They say Saturday night’s a little different,” he told the audience. He was a little shaken, but someone offered him a drink, and he quickly recovered to sing “Lucky One.”

Watch Raul Malo perform “Lucky One” for Music Fog in Nashville on YouTube:

The set included a few Mavericks songs. They have a new album coming out on May 17, The Moon and Stars. Raul sang the title cut, which he wrote with Seth Walker, who opened the show.

Another new song, “The Years Will Not Be Kind,” was written with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame lyricist Bernie Taupin, Elton John’s longtime songwriting partner. As Raul explained, he had set aside the demo because at the time his voice wasn’t deep enough and because he didn’t think he had the gravitas of age necessary to deliver the song. He lost track of the demo, but it eventually turned up in a storage unit, along with a wealth of other material.

The set also included the band’s “Here Comes The Rain, ” “Every Little Thing About You,” “Back In Your Arms Again,” and “Come Unto Me.” Three very different covers made up the balance of the set: Rodney Crowell’s “Till I Gain Control Again,” Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon,” and Hoagy Carmichael’s standard “Stardust.” For roughly the second half of his, Raul was joined on the drum by his oldest son, Dino Malo.

Seth Walker kicked off the evening with a 30-minute set. The son of classical musicians and a native of the Tarheel State, Seth began playing the cello at a young age. He discovered the blues when he was attending Eastern Carolina University. His set included a cover of fellow North Carolinian James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain,” as well as “Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me” by Gladys Knight, who is his neighbor in Asheville. Seth was careful to mention he hasn’t actually met Gladys, who has a “big fence” up around her yard. He also mentioned that, when he and Raul stopped in a Starbucks earlier in the day, they somehow transliterated Raul as “Rowl.” Walker began with “Must Be In A Good Place Now,” followed by “Call My Name,” and closed with “More Days Like This.”

Here are some photos of Raul Malo performing at The Birchmere on March 30, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of James Todd Miller.

Here are some photos of Seth Walker opening Raul Malo at The Bichmere on March 30, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of James Todd Miller.