The Mavericks returned once again to the Ryman Auditorium on Friday and Saturday nights, this time without their leader. Raul Malo, battling late-stage cancer and rushed to the hospital just prior to these multi-artist shows celebrating his life and music, couldn’t be there as planned. Yet the room felt unmistakably full of his generous spirit. What unfolded was not just a concert, but a family gathering, a celebration, and a reminder of how deeply one man’s voice can shape a community.
I was there for Saturday night’s event. Soul roots man Seth Walker (a close friend of Malo’s who’d been singing to him by his bedside just hours before) broke the ice for the night with “Back In Your Ars Again” with the full Mavs treatment - massive horn parts and the first of many blazing guitar solos by Eddie Perez.
From there, the night felt like a parade of gratitude and gifts from some of the finest artists in roots music: Jim Lauderdale, James Otto, Wendy Moten, Mandy Barnett, Emily West, Maggie Rose, Patty Griffin, Marty Stuart, and more. They stepped forward one by one to interpret a piece of Raul’s legacy in song.
My biggest surprise? A young artist who’s worked with Raul named Hector Tellez Jr. He walked onstage with a swagger that instantly owned the room. At maybe 25 years old, he looked every bit the emerging star —confident, fully present — and he brought the crowd to its feet within seconds.
I also have to single out Emily West. She is a top-notch vocalist, but there was something so deep in her interpretation of this song that I'm having difficulty finding words to describe it. She had that "sforzando" thing that classic country singers like Raul and Patsy Cline would do, meaning a sudden and forceful emphasis, the kind that takes your breath away.
The guests continued to arrive. Every note was flawless and loaded with respect. Not a single voice cracked. The horns wept. The rhythms cooked. And more than 2,000 superfans sang nearly every word along with the artists — a choir Raul himself had spent decades training.
The Mavericks closed the night joined by the entire cast for “Dance the Night Away,” treating the Ryman to a joyful, roof-lifting finale. When it's all said and done, that's all that Raul and the Mavericks ever asked of us.
Raul wasn’t physically in the building, but every performer sang as if they were singing directly to him, or as if he were singing indirectly through them. By the end of the night, it was clear: he’s more than a frontman. He’s a bridge-builder, a culture-bearer, and one of American music’s great interpreters.