When she was a teenager in Old Town Maine, Patty Griffin found Rickie Lee Jones’s self-titled debut in a record store. She was intrigued by the gorgeous, “honey-blonde” girl on the cover; in those days, she said, sometimes you’d find an image of a beautiful woman who had nothing to do with an album on its cover. But it really was Rickie, and Patty fell in love with her music.
Recently, these two beloved and highly influential singer-songwriters shared the bill at the Strathmore.
Jones took the stage first on Oct. 24, performing a set that heavily featured songs from that auspicious debut: her biggest hit, “Chuck E’s in Love,” about her late friend and fellow musician Chuck E. Weiss; “Last Chance Texaco,” which she also used as the title of her excellent memoir; “Young Blood”; and “Weasel and the White Boys Cool,” which she started with.
Between songs, Rickie shared a story she’s never told before, about her first apartment in Los Angeles when she moved there after being kicked out of school at 17. She lived with another young woman and a Vietnam veteran whose time there had affected his mental health. He locked Jones in her bedroom and wouldn’t let her out until her other roommate’s father came and rescued her. While I hadn’t heard this story before, its flavor is typical of Rickie’s life and the often-down-and-out characters who populate her songs.
I’d never seen a musical arrangement quite like the one Rickie used. She played acoustic guitar and piano and was accompanied by accordion and (something like?) a xylophone. I’ve seen the former before, but in all the concerts I’ve been to, never the latter. It made for a unique, interesting, and compelling sound.
Rickie’s set went for about an hour, and it also included “It Must Be Love” and “Love Is Gonna Bring Us Back Alive.” She also covered the standard “Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo,” written by Bronislaw Kaper. As I was leaving Strathmore, I overheard someone mention she hadn’t performed more recent material; her last two records, Pieces of Treasure and Kicks were devoted to interpretations of jazz and pop-rock standards, respectively, and her last album of original songs, The Other Side of Desire, was released in 2015.
Watch Rickie Lee Jones perform “It Must Be Love” live at City Winery New York on YouTube:
After a 20-minute intermission, Patty Griffin and her band took the stage. Earlier this year, Griffin released her first album in six years, Crown of Roses. Her complicated relationship with her mother, for whom she served as caretaker in her final years, until her relatively recent passing, strongly influenced this album.
Patty played all but one of the album’s eight songs (the exception being “Way Up to the Sky”). Having my own complicated relationship with my mother (who will sometimes say things like, “You don’t remember what a difficult child you were”), these songs hit hard.
Watch the official lyric video for “Crown of Roses Uninterrupted” by Patty Griffin on YouTube:
In addition to the new songs, she did “Mother of God, “Gunpowder,” and “Shine a Different Way,” from her gospel album Downtown Church. Introducing “No Bad News,” she teased the audience, “Anything going on here in DC?” She added, “That’s all I’m going to say.”
While her relationship with her mother is the dominant theme that runs through Crown of Roses, the past several years have been tumultuous for Griffin, who ended her relationship with Robert Plant and had a bout with breast cancer. She even lost her voice for a time; on Friday night, she sounded great, with a bit of grain in her vocals now that lends her a certain authority.
Jones and Griffin have both created singular and powerful bodies of work. Their performances were powerful and moving.
Here are some photos of Rickie Lee Jones performing live at Strathmore on Oct. 24, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of James Todd Miller.
Here are some photos of Patty Griffin performing live at Strathmore on Oct. 24, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of James Todd Miller.
