‘”Since I’ve been here last,” Mindy Smith told the audience during her recent performance at Jammin’ Java, “I have a new album. She added, “I know it’s about time,” referring to the passing of a dozen years since her last, self-titled record and the release of Quiet Town earlier this year. While it’s been a long time, Smith certainly proved it’s been worth the wait, as the songs are as good as any she’s recorded.

Introducing the title track at Jammin’ Java on Nov. 30, Smith reflected on the changes that have come to her adopted hometown of Nashville since she moved there. A native of Long Island, Mindy left New York in the early ’90s after her adoptive mother, Sharron, passed away from cancer, moving with her father to Knoxville. In 1998, she went to Nashville to pursue her music career. She was fortunate, she said, to get to see some of the last vestiges of the old Nashville, when there were studios everywhere, so much so that “you tripped over them.” “So many of them,” she said, “have been replaced by condos,” and she also talked about how the city has been a destination for partying.

Before she got to the new material, Smith began her first set with “Long Island Shores,” after which she apologized, “Sorry daddy.” Her father was in the audience, along with some of her siblings; between sets, I spotted a touching moment as they took a photo together next to the stage. Mindy asked the audience, “How do you feel some mixtures of old songs and new songs?” The audience applauded, and she said, “Great, because that’s what I’m going to do,” and continued with “Out Loud.”

After “Quiet Town,” she introduced “Every Once In A While,” saying “Sometimes you’ve got to fool yourself into moving forward.” Before “Peace Eludes Me,” she talked about how, when you’re adopted, “Part of you thinks somebody didn’t want you.” Her biological mother passed just 18 months after Smith met her, which inspired “Something to Write In Stone.” She continued with “What Went Wrong,” and finished the first set by dedicating “I Always Will” to her new baby niece.

Stream “Quiet Town” by Mindy Smith on YouTube:

After a brief intermission, Smith came back for a second set. When she got to Nashville, she said, she learned it was common for songwriters to work together. She had the opportunity to pair up with the legendary John Scott Sherill, who has been working in Nashville since the early ’80s, penning songs for numerous artists like “Wild and Blue,” a hit for John Anderson. Together, Smith and Sherill wrote “If I Didn’t Know Any Better,” which was recorded by Alison Krauss after, Mindy said, “only a little stalking.”

Moving on, Smith did something she hasn’t done before in her shows, asking what songs the audience wanted to hear. Someone asked for “Hurricane,” a song I relate to, as it’s about what sounds, to me, like having ADHD and having a really hard time keeping things organized and tidy. It’s something Smith said struggled with as a kid, and still does as an adult. Fortunately, the people in her life seem to be pretty supportive of her, unlike my father, who fits the description Lucinda Williams gives of her father screaming at her to clean up in “Car Wheels on a Grave Road.” Before she played the song, Mindy expressed some concern she wouldn’t be able to make it through it, and implored the audience to “pray for me.”

There was less banter as the second set moved on, through new songs like “The Bad Guy” and “I’d Rather Be a Bridge,” “Angel Doves,” and “Shine A Light,” which Smith noted is one of her more hopeful songs. She mentioned her tendency for things “to get dark,” which probably explains why I love her;  as my last girlfriend once said, “Mark, you listen to the saddest shit.” Mindy wrapped up the set with “Fighting For It All” and “Jericho,” which she wrote with Matraca Berg.

Smith’s encore celebrated the season. Holiday songs, she said “are the gift that keep on giving,” nearly two decades after she released My Holiday. She played three of those songs: “Snowed In,” “Follow the Shepherd,” and “Santa Will Find You,” which would be terrifying if done in the style of Tom Waits. She finished with what might be her most beloved song, “Come to Jesus,” inviting the audience to sing along.

I’ve always loved Mindy Smith’s music, and it was great to hear her play new songs for the first time. If you’re a fan of folk/Americana and you haven’t checked out Quiet Town, it’s absolutely worth a listen.