At the Chevalier Theatre in Medford on Friday, May 22, 2026, Lucinda Williams blended early hits, covers, and new topical protest material, delivering a set shaped by fighting spirit and anti-Trump lyrics despite a 2020 stroke.
The first songs in the room didn’t feel like nostalgia. When Lucinda Williams opened at the Chevalier Theatre in Medford with two cuts from “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road,” her four-piece band found a relaxed precision that made it clear the night wasn’t going to be about revisiting the past.
Two songs later. Williams introduced the title track to her new album “World’s Gone Wrong.” She did it with a directness that landed before the lyrics even had time to settle. She labeled the new material as topical protest songs. expressed surprise that anyone would have to ask what the lyrics were about. and wondered why people weren’t marching in the streets. She also joked that her “No Kings” invites must have gotten lost in the mail.
The crowd cheered approval right on cue. And once Williams got rolling, she didn’t drift away from her newest statements. Eight of the next nine songs came from either “World’s Gone Wrong” or her similarly motivated 2020 record “Good Souls Better Angels.”
Williams couldn’t play guitar live after a 2020 stroke. Still. she stood holding the mic stand with trademark stoicism. and her voice—audibly showing wear and tear at times—turned that hardship into part of the show. When it came to the older songs, the slight shakiness didn’t undo the mood so much as deepen it. Her delivery fit the downcast wisdom of “When the Way Gets Dark” and the righteously fed-up edge of “How Much Did You Get for Your Soul.”.
Between songs. she offered a few digs at the “president who wants to be king.” One of her moments came after “How Much Did You Get for Your Soul. ” when she told an anecdote about a reporter who sounded “intimidated” when asking if the song was about Trump. Williams then half-jokingly wondered if she would end up like Stephen Colbert.
Whatever might be sitting heavy on her mind—she pointed to heavy-handed suppression of dissent in this administration—it didn’t slow her down. Musically, though, the evening started at a slower pace, with melancholy ballads such as “Drunken Angel” and “Fruits of My Labor” placed up front.
Then the set shifted. Williams covered Bob Marley’s “So Much Trouble in the World. ” and the band laid down a tasteful. reverb-drenched groove that avoided the awkwardness that can come when white artists try to play reggae. After that. Memphis Minnie’s “You Can’t Rule Me” returned her group to a blues-rock comfort zone. where it mostly stayed for the rest of the night.
The guitars occasionally overpowered the vocals and hovered near bar-band cliché, but their steady vamping also sharpened the seething, almost mantra-like quality of “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” and “Foolishness.”
By the end, Williams and her band seemed to loosen up. They jammed through a faithful version of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and closed with “Joy.” The performance carried a different temperature than the “Joy” she used to transform into an eight-minute whirlwind of harsh screams and stinging guitar solos. Now, Williams redirected that anger. In the moment, it came out as a crowd-pleasing rocker rather than a personal eruption.
She still had one more protest song in her, though. During the encore. Williams returned with what might be her best protest track. “We’ve Come Too Far to Turn Around.” With its gospel-like melody. it addressed the atrocities in the nation’s past and present while still resolving to rise above—an emotional message that landed like something honed for a civil rights action in the 1960s.
Even after that, she didn’t rely on a conventional closer. Instead of wrapping with a guaranteed hit from the back catalog, she dug deeper. After an acoustic run that included a pedal steel-accented cover of Skip James’ “Hard Time Killin’ Floor Blues. ” she brought the night forward with Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World. ” which sent the crowd to its feet.
Her final message before leaving the stage was simple: “Music is a good weapon.”
Setlist for Lucinda Williams at Chevalier Theatre. Medford. Friday. May 22. 2026:
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road; Drunken Angel; People Talkin’; The World’s Gone Wrong; Low Life; Fruits of My Labor; When the Way Gets Dark; So Much Trouble in the World (Bob Marley & The Wailers cover); You Can’t Rule Me (Memphis Minnie cover); Freedom Speaks; Pray the Devil Back to Hell; How Much Did You Get for Your Soul; Out of Touch; While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Beatles cover); Foolishness; Joy; Encore: We’ve Come Too Far to Turn Around; Hard Time Killin’ Floor Blues (Skip James cover); Rockin’ in the Free World (Neil Young cover).
Lucinda Williams Medford Chevalier Theatre protest songs World’s Gone Wrong Good Souls Better Angels Car Wheels on a Gravel Road Stephen Colbert anti-Trump
Anti-Trump lyrics? So basically another show of yelling, got it.
Wait she had a stroke in 2020 and she’s still out here touring? Respect. Also the “No Kings” invites got lost in the mail?? that’s kinda hilarious but also like… what does that even mean lol.
I didn’t know Lucinda was doing protest songs like that. I saw someone on TikTok say she “can’t even play guitar” anymore so I assumed the whole thing would be sad and quiet, but apparently it wasn’t? I’m confused why people aren’t marching in the streets like she said… I mean we are? depending on what city
The article keeps saying “topical protest” and “anti-Trump” but then it also talks about Gravel Road and covers. Sounds like she did a mix of old stuff and whatever the news is today. Not sure how that works when you’re trying to focus on lyrics. Also Medford Chevalier Theatre is small, so idk how they’re doing “marching” energy in there. Stroke or not, holding the mic stand is basically the same as playing guitar… right?