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Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller at Clowes Hall

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• Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller

Buddy Miller is highly esteemed in country music as a guitarist and producer. (Photo provided by High Road Touring)

In addition to her solo work, Emmylou Harris is known for more than three decades of collaboration. (Photo provided by Sacks & Co.)

Patty Griffin's current CD is a Grammy nominee in contemporary folk music. (Photo provided by Vector Management)

Shawn Colvin describes herself as a "pretty chatty person" who's become accustomed to talking to audiences. (Photo provided by Vector Management)

Shawn Colvin expects fun-for-all show

A casual mood is expected to permeate Clowes Hall tonight, when folk-country talents Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller swap songs.

All four musicians will be onstage throughout the evening for a tour that carries the title "Three Girls and Their Buddy." This billing appears to be more inventive than the modest "Songwriters" tag that accompanied Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, Joe Ely and Guy Clark when they performed last January at Clowes.

However, the two tours share a connecting thread of Vector Management, the Nashville, Tenn.-based company that oversees the careers of Harris, Lovett, Hiatt, Griffin, Colvin and Miller.

Colvin, a three-time Grammy Award- winner who grew up in Carbondale, Ill., says she likes the idea of sharing the concert spotlight.

"It's fun for the artist and it's fun for the audience," Colvin says.

Colvin, known to mainstream listeners for 1997 hit single "Sunny Came Home," lives in Austin, Texas. Her latest album, "These Four Walls," was released in 2006.

The "Three Girls and Their Buddy" tour began Saturday in Tennessee.

In a recent interview, Colvin predicted the show would offer impromptu chances for duet, trio and quartet performances.

Have you played shows like this before?

Yeah, I have. I was on a tour three or four years ago with Patty Griffin, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Dar Williams that had the same format.

What do you like about this format?

It's collaboration at its best. It's a nice change from being responsible for the whole show. I love to sing with people, I love to play guitar with people and be an accompanist. All three of these people are such outstanding singers and musicians. It's enriching and it teaches you something.

If I asked for thumbnail thoughts on your three counterparts, what would you say about Emmylou?

Icon.

What would you say about Patty?

Genius.

And Buddy?

Triple threat. He's one of the best guitarists ever. He's one of the best singers ever. He's a songwriter. Buddy is just made of music.

When you performed on a bill with John Hiatt in Indianapolis in 2005, you told such great stories between songs. I attended one of your shows in the 1990s, but I don't remember you speaking as much. Has this been something that's evolved during your career?

Yes. When I first started writing my own songs and doing the kind of gigs where I wasn't performing cover songs in bars, I didn't have that knack. I didn't know what to say.

But I'm a pretty chatty person in general. I love stories. People seem to enjoy it, and it's a nice contrast to playing serious, sensitive songs. I just can't pull that persona off for an hour-and-a- half. I like having a rapport with the audience. I let my personality go, and I get to know them a little bit.

I'm always interested in reasons songwriters have for selecting other people's songs to perform. During the past year, you've played a rendition of "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley. What led to that decision?

I just thought that lyrically it was one of the greatest songs I had heard in a long time. I guess it's no secret that I've suffered from depression, although I've been treating it for a long time and it's not a huge problem. But it's an illness. (Gnarls Barkley vocalist Cee-Lo Green's) initial description of losing his mind resonated with me. He wrote really introspective and emotionally intelligent lyrics. I'll learn a lot of songs when I love them, but that doesn't mean they're going to work. But I found a way to make this one work.

More about girls and Buddy

Emmylou Harris

One of the great collaborators of modern music, Emmylou Harris has worked with Gram Parsons, Mark Knopfler, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young and Bob Dylan.

"It sure hasn't been a lonely road," Harris says in notes promoting "Songbird," a four-CD, one-DVD career anthology released last year.

The expansive collection stretches from 1970 to 2006, featuring the artist's personal favorites plus contributions to tribute projects and soundtracks.

Along the way, the Alabama native's tender singing style has reaped 12 Grammy Awards.

Patty Griffin

A critical darling throughout her 11-year recording career, Patty Griffin was named Americana Artist of the Year in 2007.

Her current album, "Children Running Through," is nominated in the contemporary folk category at the upcoming Grammy Awards, which will be presented Feb. 11 in Los Angeles.

The Dixie Chicks, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson have recorded songs written by Griffin.

Buddy Miller

The lone male performer on the "Three Girls and Their Buddy" caravan, Buddy Miller is known for his guitar prowess and production skills.

R&B vocalist Solomon Burke, for instance, is a current Grammy nominee for his "Nashville" album, which Miller produced at his home studio.

Miller's most recent solo recording, 2004's "Universal United House of Prayer," included a haunting nine-minute rendition of Bob Dylan's "With God on Our Side."

Three Girls and Their Buddy

Featuring: Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller.
When: 8 p.m. today.
Where: Clowes Hall, 4600 Sunset Ave.
Tickets: $49.50, $39.50. For more information, call (317) 239-5151 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.