From the moment Nanci Griffith stepped on to the stage at the Barbican on Friday night and sang a shimmering version of The Speed Of The Sound of Loneliness “written by my good friend John Prine”, she held the audience in the palm of her hands.

Nanci’s sharp sensibilities and troubled life (illness, divorce and death of loved ones) have imbued her own songs, and her interpretation of the songs of others, with a depth of experience and emotion that most of her country music peers can only dream about.

Her rich voice, an instrument of infinite clarity and beauty, is the perfect complement.

Each song is put into context with an engaging explanation. Hell No (I’ Not Alright), one of that stand-out tracks from her superb new album Intersection, is a lament for the disintegration of the American dream, while the timeless Across the Great Divide was dedicated to the Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin who was killed in Syria “for trying to tell the truth”.

Meanwhile, Bethlehem Steel tackled the demise of the steel industry in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, powerfully referencing Robert de Niro and The Deer Hunter.

If this is beginning to sound like a depressing evening, it wasn’t.

Tequila After Midnight was a tremendously upbeat drinking song, which could have been written by Gram Parsons, whilst The Loving Kind was a majestic tribute to the first mixed-race marriage in the United States in 1958.

Simple Life was an emotional celebration of mothers everywhere and From a Distance is, of course, a wise message of hope. All were performed impeccably by Nanci and her excellent backing band.

It has been 19 long years since she last came to North Yorkshire – and I trust the reaction she received at the Barbican will persuade her to return rather sooner next time.