POP AND JAZZ REVIEWS : Nanci Griffith Pays Tribute to Songwriters

Nanci Griffith has come to be called the queen of contemporary folk music, and at the Wiltern Theatre on Friday she lived up to her role as that genre’s most visible and articulate advocate.

After a period of conflict with the music business and confusion about her musical identity, Griffith came up with the new “Other Voices, Other Rooms,” an album that brings everything back into focus by paying tribute to the songwriters--both old and new--who have influenced her.

Friday’s show benefited from the same sense of purpose. It drew largely from that album, and featured vocal contributions from two of its participants--veteran folksinger Carolyn Hester and newcomer Iris DeMent (who opened the evening with her own charmingly off-center set).

With seven musicians behind her, Griffith ranged from the traditional basics to the borders of country to pop-like arrangements that might be identified as “adult contemporary” by a radio programmer.

The variety of texture and tone contributed to the easy flow of the set. But no matter what the musical framing, the songs shared a common will to address life’s pleasures and pains with a combination of artistry and down-to-earth realism.

A lot happened between songs too. Whether calling attention to a virtue of the next tune, sharing an anecdote about the writer or a recording session, or tracing a complex lineage of friendship and influence in the folk community, Griffith emerged as a dignified, eloquent partisan, grounded in integrity and faith in the continuing vitality--the necessity, she’d probably say--of this music.