Shawn Colvin Helps Bruce Hornsby Shine Through ‘Mandolin Rain’ In Hollywood

Legendary pianist and composer Bruce Hornsby has been making lemonades out of lemons after suffering from vocals issues that recently forced him to postpone and cancel several dates of his Spirit Trail 25th Anniversary Tour. Hornsby has been soldiering through and enlisted old pal Shawn Colvin to cover the choruses on “Mandolin Rain” and help sing “Lost Soul” last night during Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers‘ second consecutive concert at The Troubadour in Hollywood.

Shawn Colvin and Bruce Hornsby have a long history of performing and recording together that dates back to the time before the former achieved mainstream success and won a Grammy for 1997’s “Sunny Came Home.” Colvin contributed vocals to “Barren Ground,” “Stander On The Mountain,” “Lost Soul” and “Special Night,” each of which was featured on Bruce Hornsby & The Range’s 1990 studio album, Night On The Town. Bruce repaid the favor by joining Colvin at a 2001 Austin City Limits taping and several collaborations have gone down since.

Shawn Colvin emerged after the third song on Thursday at The Troubadour. Bruce Hornsby told the audience that he contacted Colvin upon learning she’d be at one of the concerts in Hollywood. “I texted her a couple of days ago and said, ‘hey, can you help me out here, I don’t have my whole voice.”

Hornsby went on to detail what he asked of Shawn. “Can you come sing the choruses, those high ass notes, on ‘Mandolin Rain’?” Thankfully Colvin was game and the pair delivered a stirring duet.

“Lucky Us,” Bruce concluded before starting the song. Watch the beginning of Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers’ “Mandolin Rain” performance with Shawn Colvin via the fan-shot video below:

Shawn Colvin stuck around to join Hornsby & Co. on “Lost Soul,” one of the songs she recorded with Bruce for Night On The Town. Bon Iver contributor CJ Camerieri came out late in the set to add his trumpet to “Where’s The Bat?” and “Talk Of The Town.”

Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers return to the stage on Sunday, August 4 in Flagstaff, Arizona. The current leg of the Spirit Trail 25th Anniversay Tour continues through a concert on August 17 in Portland, Oregon.