A recording treasured by fans for almost three decades finally receives an official release as Gillian Welch and David Rawlings announce Boots No. 3: The Hickory Show, alongside their February 2027 Australian and New Zealand tour.
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings will officially release one of the most celebrated recordings from their early career when Boots No. 3: The Hickory Show arrives on 12 February 2027 through Acony Records. Recorded in North Carolina in September 1997, the performance has circulated among fans for years as an unofficial document of the duo at a defining point in their musical partnership.
The recording captures Welch and Rawlings just one year after the release of Welch’s debut album Revival and a year before Hell Among The Yearlings. It preserves a period when their musical relationship was still developing in public, with two guitars, two voices and an approach to acoustic performance that would become central to their identity.
The concert took place on 27 September 1997 at the Acoustic Stage in Hickory, North Carolina. Recorded by Bill Bost and David Rawlings in a 400-seat theatre, the performance documents the pair working through two sets, an intermission and several encores.
For listeners familiar with the unofficial recording, its significance has never been difficult to understand. The Hickory performance captures the beginnings of a musical partnership that would go on to establish Welch and Rawlings as two of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Americana and roots music.
The first tracks from the album have already been released, including Welch’s own “Tear My Stillhouse Down” and their interpretation of Townes Van Zandt’s “Pancho And Lefty”.
Welch says listening back to the 1997 performance reveals both the intensity and the limitations of their younger selves.
“Our singing and our playing on that recording is razor focused, whereas now, I hear a greater breadth of what we’ve done for years. It makes me a tiny bit wistful, I hear it and I’m like ‘oh, I remember that. That’s all we could do.’ But I love it, and we did it with every ounce of our being.”
Rawlings remembers the importance of the conditions surrounding a successful performance, particularly the relationship between the musicians, the room and the audience.
“It’s only at truly great shows that you’re relaxed enough, and that the sound is good enough, that you can actually be exploring stuff that you’re working on in real time in front of an audience.”
The performance of “Pancho And Lefty” particularly illustrates that willingness to explore unfamiliar territory. Welch recalls that they had not previously performed the song together and were effectively working out their interpretation in front of the audience.
“One of the most extraordinary things about the Hickory show, and it’s present in the version of ‘Pancho and Lefty,’ is, even though we play that song and we’ve never played it and we don’t know what we’re doing, I don’t really detect any fear.”
She describes the extended instrumental passages as part of the discovery process, adding that the recording captures a musical maturity that they have, in some respects, been rediscovering in later years.
Boots No. 3: The Hickory Show is presented across two volumes, with 23 performances documenting the breadth of the duo’s early repertoire. Alongside original songs that would become important parts of their catalogue are traditional material and interpretations of songs by other writers.
Among the highlights are “Orphan Girl”, “Caleb Meyer”, “Red Clay Halo”, “Acony Bell”, “My Morphine”, “By The Mark”, “Barroom Girls” and “One More Dollar”. The set also includes “Tennessee Stud”, “Ben Dewberry’s Final Run” and “White Freightliner Blues”.
The release continues the Boots archival series, which Welch and Rawlings established in 2016 to mark 20 years of working together. Previous volumes have explored recordings from their archives, including demos, alternate versions, outtakes and other material that provides a different perspective on their recorded history.
The Hickory recording is particularly significant because it was already familiar to generations of fans through unofficial circulation. Its official release gives the performance a permanent place in the duo’s discography.
The album announcement also coincides with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings preparing to return to Australia and New Zealand in February 2027 for a series of concerts under the banner An Evening With Gillian Welch & David Rawlings.
The Australian itinerary includes Perth, Tasmania and regional venues, before the tour moves across New Zealand. The Perth show on 9 February, the Queenstown performance on 13 February and the first Hobart show on 14 February are already sold out. A second Perth performance and an additional Hobart concert provide further opportunities to see the pair.
The tour offers Australian audiences another opportunity to experience the musical partnership that began in the 1990s and has continued to evolve across albums and live performances.
Nearly 30 years after the Hickory concert, the recording provides an unusually direct connection to the early development of Welch and Rawlings. Boots No. 3: The Hickory Show turns a piece of fan-traded history into an official release, preserving a night when the foundations of their enduring musical partnership were already firmly in place.
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – Boots No. 3: The Hickory Show
Release date: 12 February 2027
Label: Acony Records
Tracklisting
Volume 1
Tear My Stillhouse Down
Saginaw Way
Ben Dewberry’s Final Run
Barroom Girls
Wichita
Pancho And Lefty
One More Dollar
My Morphine
Red Clay Halo
Bright Morning Star
Leaving Train
Annabelle
Volume 2
Tennessee Stud
Paper Wings
By The Mark
Dusty Boxcar Wall
Only One And Only
Diamond Joe
Acony Bell
Caleb Meyer
Orphan Girl
Albuquerque
White Freightliner Blues
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – Australian And New Zealand Tour 2027
An Evening With Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
Monday 8 February 2027 – Regal Theatre, Perth, WA
Tuesday 9 February 2027 – Regal Theatre, Perth, WA – SOLD OUT
Thursday 11 February 2027 – Albert Hall, Launceston, TAS
Friday 12 February 2027 – Forth Pub, Forth, TAS
Saturday 13 February 2027 – The Paragon Theatre, Queenstown, TAS – SOLD OUT
Sunday 14 February 2027 – Odeon Theatre, Hobart, TAS – SOLD OUT
Monday 15 February 2027 – Odeon Theatre, Hobart, TAS
Wednesday 17 February 2027 – The Civic, Auckland, NZ
Thursday 18 February 2027 – BNZ Theatre, Hamilton, NZ
Friday 19 February 2027 – TSB Showplace, New Plymouth, NZ
Saturday 20 February 2027 – Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington, NZ
Tuesday 23 February 2027 – Christchurch Town Hall, Christchurch, NZ
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