Somebody obviously thought it a good idea that Emmylou Harris play her last ever Scottish show in a soulless sports hall in the east end of Glasgow. Built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the feel of the Emirates Arena on a chilly January night was less Sweet Home Alabama, more Home Counties Ikea.

As well as kicking off this year’s Celtic Connections, the city’s annual festival of roots music, Harris was also kickstarting her farewell tour of Europe. She plays her final UK shows in May, including one at the Royal Albert Hall, which seems a more fitting setting for a regal adieu than a pimped-up cycling track. Presumably, the choice of venue was a numbers game. Whatever the reason, it was a poor one.

There will be good reasons why Harris is stepping off the road, but waning powers isn’t one of them

Not that Harris seemed to mind. One got the sense that you could drop her into a war zone and she and her band, the Red Dirt Boys, would still muster up a performance filled with grace and poise.

She maintained a vibrant, energetic presence throughout a set that acknowledged her unique, somewhat ambivalent position in the country music pantheon. She might be more or less the same age........

© The Spectator