LIVE REVIEW: Joan Osborne in Natick, MA (12.05.25)
On a cold December night, a mostly older white crowd filled The Center for the Arts, Natick (TCAN) to see Joan Osborne perform a show focused on her recently released Dylanology album. Her tour is billed: Joan Osborne Sings the Songs of Bob Dylan. Osborne bounded onstage to loud applause and opened the 90 minute set with two from the album: “She Belongs to Me” and a rousing “Highway 61 Revisited.”
She explained that the show was celebrating the music of Bob Dylan and that some of the songs she’d perform (accompanied by her two man band consisting of a keyboardist and guitarist) were Dylan songs they’d never recorded like one of her favorites: “Shooting Star” which she sang with low gravely vocals. Before the cool “Love Sick,” Osborne said: “You cannot download it, you can’t stream it. You’ve got to hear it right now with us.” As they launched into a grooving, bluesy version of “Rainy Day Women #12 and #35,” the 63-year-old singer/songwriter explained: “Some of these we do in a straightforward way, some we take liberties with.” She’s obviously a massive fan whose music has been inspired and influenced by Dylan. She included a Dylan song (“Man in the Long Black Coat”) on her debut album, Relish. Her version attracted Dylan’s attention and the two ended up recording “Chimes of Freedom” for a television show soundtrack. What makes this latest project special is that Osborne adds her own creative flair to her interpretations of Dylan songs.
Osborne blends blues, rock, folk and jazz. Her voice sounded strong and clear and she exuded comfort and confidence. It’s a lovely treat to see artists in such an intimate setting. TCAN is a 270 seat venue. Many bands and singers from the 90s perform there. I’ve seen Soul Asylum, Cowboy Junkies and The Smithereens there in the past few years.
Years ago, Osborne did a residency at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City where she lived. Since she’s not a cabaret singer she decided it would be a good time to do a project focusing on one singer and their catalog of work. I recognized some of the songs from the album but am not that familiar with Dylan.
Partway into the set, Osborne played songs from her own catalog, including the strong, inspirational “Nobody Owns You” which she wrote for her then teenage daughter. Osborne said “despite as far as we’ve come in supporting women they still live in these toxic environments where everyone has to like them and they have to act a certain way. Then they’re vulnerable to being manipulated.”
It’s the 30th anniversary of Osborne’s Grammy-nominated 1995 album Relish. She’s re-arranged all the songs and re-recorded the album. It’ll be released as Relish: Re-imagined. She recorded it with a jazz band so that’ll add a unique element to the songs. She played a slower, tighter “Right Hand Man” and a sultry version of Dylan’s “Man in the Long Black Coat,” during which she played a brush on the snare drum. For many songs she used the snare drum for emphasis or she played tambourine. On several songs she played guitar.
“I am very aware what a privilege it is to do music as your livelihood,” Osborne said, adding how much she appreciates the fans. The show ended with a super slow, stripped-down, gentle version of her Grammy-nominated hit song “One of Us.”
Featured image by: Laura Crosta
