Photos by Andy Argyrakis

The artist side of JD Souther started alongside Glenn Frey in Longbranch/Pennywhistle, who helped lay the groundwork for the entire country-rock movement, continued in the Souther–Hillman–Furay Band with Chris Hillman (The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers) and Richie Furay (Buffalo Springfield, Poco), plus sparked a solo career that continues to this day.

However, the Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee is arguably even more known behind the scenes, helping write several Eagles and Linda Ronstadt smashes, while also having tracks cut by the Roy Orbison, Don Henley, George Strait, Trisha Yearwood, Bonnie Raitt, Brooks & Dunn and “Her Town Too” duet partner James Taylor.

The allure of catching both categories in concert drew a near capacity crowd to the City Winery, which is amongst the purest rooms around when it comes to acoustics, making it an ideal environment for Souther to deliver about 90 unplugged minutes with many musings in between.

“I’ll Be Here At Closing Time,” “Simple Man, Simple Dream” and SHF’s “Pretty Goodbyes” laid the groundwork for the increasingly familiar “You’re Only Lonely” and “New Kid In Town,” the latter being a chart-topper off the classic “Hotel California” collection.

Souther reminisced about Ronstadt recording no less than ten of his tunes prior to “Faithless Love,” then remarked how the Frey co-write “Last In Love,” from the 1970s, didn’t actually gain serious steam until the ‘90s when it was covered by George Strait.

The headliner traded his guitar for the grand piano come “I’ll Take Care Of You” and “Jesus In 3/4 Time,” eventually returning to his usual position to juggle fan favorites “Little Victories” and “White Rhythm And Blues,” by request, with the ubiquitous “Best Of My Love” and “Heartache Tonight” as the entire City Winery clapped and sang the choruses.

Granted, those were merely a sampling out of Souther’s extensive songbook, and while he didn’t get to say Henley’s “The Heart Of The Matter” or every Eagles collaboration, that’s all the more reason to keep tabs on his schedule and be ready for another spontaneous overview from an immensely talented troubadour.

For additional information on the JD Souther, visit JDSouther.net.

Upcoming concert highlights at City Winery include Vinyasa & Vino (Jul. 20); Damon Williams (Jul. 20); The Big Wu (Jul. 21); Matt Bellassai (Jul. 22); Bubbles & Beauties Drag Brunch (Jul. 23); Howie Day (Jul. 23); Liv Warfield (Jul. 24); Zainab Johnson (Jul. 25); Grace Kelly (Jul. 26); Reverend Horton Heat (Jul. 27); “An Then We Had Sex Podcast” (Jul. 28); Apollo Showtime (Jul. 29); Beatles Brunch (Jul. 30); Sevyn Streeter (Jul. 30); Candiace (Jul. 31); Paul Thorn (Aug. 1); Chantae Cann (Aug. 2); Notorious B.I.G. Tribute (Aug. 3); Suzy Bogguss (Aug. 4); Tiera O’Leary (Aug. 5); Brunch & Beats (Aug. 6) and Sons Of The Never Wrong (Aug. 6). For additional details, visit CityWinery.com/Chicago.

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