Ticket 2 Ride

October 30, 2025 at the Uptown Theatre in Kansas City.

Rickie Lee Jones came to town, opening for Patty Griffin. The two have been tour together for the past month. The theater wasn’t sold out but most of the seats I saw were taken. Kansas City proved to be a very enthusiastic crowd, whistling between songs and many people standing to clap.

Jones performed as part of a trio. She played guitar for most of her songs, but put it aside to just sing on several songs. Accompanying her was Ben Rosenblum on accordion, piano and background vocals; and Mike Dillon on drums, percussion and vibraphone. These three musicians generated a lot of sound, creating the effect of being in her living room to hear her perform.

At 70, Rickie Lee Jones still has the singing voice of her youth, easily reaching very high notes and sounding smooth and flexible. I always loved her voice in earlier years, which is why I love her album Pirates so much because the songs stretch her voice and she delivers, beautifully. Listening to her on this night, the songs she picked used all of her vocal tools. Her voice still soars. Unfortunately, she didn’t perform any songs from Pirates.

The setlist is very different from other concerts on the tour, each of has varied from night to night. This was the final concert of the Patty and Rickie Lee tour, so things seemed a bit looser than normal.

There aren’t a ton of recent videos of Rickie Lee Jones in concert. Some of these are from a few years ago, but you’ll get the idea on how she makes these songs very intimate for a live performance.

“Weasel and the White Boys Cool” from her debut album, Rickie Lee Jones (1979). Not one of my favorites, but the way she sang the song, very impressive.

“Love Is Gonna Bring Us Back Alive” from her 1989 album Flying Cowboys. A great opportunity for the audience to sing along.

“Sympathy for the Devil” of course The Rolling Stones classic. She has performed it three other times this year. I’ve never heard this song performed in such a haunting manner. She’s disassembled and rebuilt the song.

“It Must Be Love” from her 1984 album The Magazine. Great song, such feeling she puts into her music. I enjoyed this song the best of those she performed.

“Chuck E’s in Love” from Rickie Lee Jones. She had to perform this one. Her guitar work was exemplary, and her voice matched expectations from the record.

“Danny’s All‐Star Joint” from Rickie Lee Jones. Very jazzy, true to the original. Rickie Lee still has the vocal dexterity to scat.

“Cry Me a River” made famous by torch singer Julie London. She recorded it in 1955 on her debut album. The song was written by Arthur Hamilton for Ella Fitzgerald, but it’s London’s rendition that was included in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Jones has performed it six other times this year. Jones does a very amazing job, she can certainly be a torch singer when she wants to be.

“The Last Chance Texaco” from Rickie Lee Jones. Yet another selection from her first album. A very somber, melancholy song to end the night.

Final thoughts…

You didn’t have to be a Rickie Lee Jones fan to be impressed by her performance. You might not recognize the song, but her unique arrangements (of even her own songs) and warmth of delivery, was embracing. Her songs demanded her to use a variety of vocal techniques, from scatting to reaching high and sustained notes to delivering an emotional torch song to a low and rumbling stylized rendition of “Sympathy for the Devil.”

She’s a tad bit older and life worn than when she graced the cover of her debut album. All of us are. Yet, when she reaches for those high, sustained notes, her voice soars and it feels like no time has passed at all. That’s a very satisfying feeling.