Cory Chisel has ties to the Northland, he’s played at Fortune Bay and sings a folksy Americana style of music that is right up my alley, yet last night was the first time I’ve seen him (or really heard many of his songs). The Washington Auditorium at the local Ely school was a great venue for music – good sound, decent lighting and comfortable seats. The sold out crowd of 900 was lined up down the block to get in at 6:30 and definitely got their $30 worth in a show that lasted until just after 10 and came with a “special guest” in the form of nine-time Grammy winner Norah Jones.

Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons have opened for Jones in the past and it was a trip to have her singing backup, playing duets with the lovely Adriel Denae and opening the encore singing lead and playing acoustic guitar. My photos confirm she also sang and played keyboards throughout the opening set too – I think most people weren’t sure it was her until she was introduced later. Jones, 34, is the daughter of Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar and has a live voice that melts hearts.

I’m not really sure what the bill was on this Wild Rovers tour – the Candles played after the first break, SpaceWoman was listed on the poster, as was Denae, who played several songs she said would be released on her own. Seemed to me, though, that is was mostly the same people up on stage for all of the different sets. Chris Riemenschneider from the Strib had a review of their stop at the Entry the night before, which also included a visit from Gary Louris of the Jayhawks.

After some quick Googling, it looks like SpaceWoman is Pete Remm’s side band. He plays keyboards for Norah, while Josh Lattanzi plays bass and Greg Wieczorek plays drums for both Norah and The Candles. No wonder it seemed like all the same people…

It was great visiting with Brett Ross from WELY before the show, who got a shout-out from Cory and was asked to sing a line from his seat during one of the songs. I don’t have a set list (or know the songs well enough), but they did sing that same Grateful Dead cover that Chris mentioned in his review. Nice little merch booth outside the auditorium, along with a popcorn stand that played a bit part during the Candles set.