5 highlights from the return of Marty Stuart's Late Night Jam

Where in Nashville can you hear first-class blues, country, bluegrass, soul and surf rock under the same roof in one night?

Marty Stuart's Late Night Jam, of course.

Stuart and his effortlessly elastic band the Fabulous Superlatives returned Wednesday to the Ryman Auditorium for the 19th Late Night Jam concert, an unofficial CMA Fest week tradition that took a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19. The sold-out show raised money for Stuart's to-be-opened Congress of Country Music, a museum, theater and educational space planned in his hometown, Philadelphia, Mississippi.

"It was a strange feeling for the past two years when the first Wednesday night in June rolled 'round and we didn't have the Late Night Jam," Stuart said when he kicked off the show. "But we are rested. And we are ready."

With Emmylou Harris, Billy Strings, Marcus King and Connie Smith on the bill, Wednesday night's Jam continued a tradition of teaming living legends with rising Nashville talent. Read on for five highlights from the three-hour show.

Lainey Wilson sings Hank Williams

As Lainey Wilson stood on the Ryman stage and held a guitar once strummed by Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, she warned onlookers that she might faint.

"This is one of the biggest moments of my life so far," Wilson said. "I'm not even gonna lie."

Instead, she sang her heart out.

Playing the famed 1939 Martin guitar — one in a handful of artifacts Stuart shared on stage from his 20,000-peice collection — Wilson sang a chilling rendition of Williams' tune "Lost Highway," a showcase of deep country roots from one of the format's rising new stars.

A new generation of guitar wizardry

One young guitar wizard wasn't enough for this year's Jam. With Marcus King and Billy Strings, Stuart enlisted a pair of lightning rod players who both push forward and pay homage to each's respective sound.

King, a 26-year-old South Carolina player schooled in soul music and blues-rock, sang a warming rendition of his 2020 song "Wildflowers & Wine" (at Stuart's request) and joined the Superlatives for a crowd pleasing cover of Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor."

Later in the show, Strings — a 29-year-old bluegrass torchbearer — shared licks with Stuart as they taught a quick course in traditional country and bluegrass, covering 1940s song "Freight Train Boogie" and bluegrass classic "Long Journey Home," among others.

And prior to King and Strings, Stuart introduced his audience to Jontavious Willis, a 26-year-old acoustic bluesman from Georgia who made his Ryman debut with an ovation-earning appearance.

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Storytime with Connie Smith

Country Music Hall of Famer Connie Smith returned to the Jam to song and share a few stories with the night's host (and her husband, Stuart).

The pair dedicated a duet of 1966 song "The Fugitive" to late friend Merle Haggard, but not before sharing a few stories about Haggard — including one of the last conversations each had with the late storyteller.

"The phone rang less than a week before he passed away and it was Merle, and I think he was calling to say 'goodbye,'" Stuart said. "One of our gags was he would say, 'Wrote a new song.' I'd say, 'Oh, what is it, Hag?' This time, he said, 'Wrote a new song. ... it's called My Last Escape.' It got real quiet on my end of the phone."

Smith added: "Marty talked to him a little while and he turned the phone to me ... I told him I loved him and he told me he loved me, all that. He said, 'I was talkin' to Willie Nelson not here long ago. And I asked him: Willie, what do you think of Marty Stuart?' And Willie said, 'Well, he got Connie Smith, didn't he?"

A new song with Emmylou Harris

Stuart and songwriting legend Emmylou Harris debuted a pensive new duet while playing guitars once owned by Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family, respectively.

The song? They called it "Three Chords and The Truth," a nod to Harlan Howard's definition of country music.

Closing with the Quarantine Kids

Stuart described his final guest of the night as one he immediately fell in love with — on YouTube. While mining a seemingly endless video funnel of videos during the pandemic, he discovered Colt Clark and the Quarantine Kids, a ripping family band that may be old enough to drive if you add the ages of the siblings together (and subtract the frontman-dad, of course).

The group joined Stuart and the Superlatives for a few freewheelin' covers, including a romp of late-era Beatles favorite "Get Back."

"This is a dream come true for us," Clark said on stage. "My goodness."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Marty Stuart's Late Night Jam returns with Billy Strings, Lainey Wilson