A LIFE WELL LIVED

Between morning writing sessions, rescue dogs, baseball games and a July 26 return to Ravinia, Emmylou Harris has discovered that life’s greatest rewards often come long after the spotlight.

The mornings of Emmylou Harris are spent in much the same way.

“I usually wake up on my own between 5:30 or 6,” says the 79-year-old singer-songwriter on a sweltering Thursday morning in Nashville. “Then I feed my dogs and my cats and then I get to work.”

And these days, she’s hard at work writing her memoir.

“I think I’m going to set the Guinness World Record for taking the longest time,” Harris says with a laugh. “I’m still not finished. I’m just still picking what I think people will think might be interesting.”

And while she could easily dictate the stories of her remarkable life into a voice recorder or type them into a laptop, she prefers to write every page by hand.

“I have what I call my writing room, and it’s where I can look out on all the foliage in my backyard, which is always nice,” says Harris, whose career has earned her 14 Grammy Awards and an induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. “Usually, one of my dogs comes up here and lies next to me while I’m doing it.”

It’s a dream scenario in the life of a legend who has shared stages with the likes of Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Roy Orbison, but now finds herself in that sweet spot of life where she is no longer chasing the next best thing.

“Well, you don’t really think about it too much,” Harris says when asked if she ever imagined her life looking like this. “But I will say that I’m very blessed. And I’m very content to be where I am.”

Where she is, in fact, is a beautiful place—as she now has earned the freedom to choose when and where she performs. So, when Graham Nash invited her to join him for a trio of shows in July, she didn’t think twice.

“We did two dates with him last year and I mean, his show is amazing,” says Harris, who will join Nash on the Ravinia Festival stage on July 26. “And what a fantastic band. It was just wonderful to be able to listen to those shows and be part of that evening with them.”

At this point of her career, Harris says she intentionally limits her time on the road.

“I actually have got kind of a routine where I ask to be booked for just one week in a month,” she says.

It’s a schedule that makes appearances at places like Ravinia all the more meaningful. Harris says she’s especially fond of outdoor venues where audiences can settle in for an evening of music.

“I love beautiful places where people can have an outside experience listening to music and share a meal or whatever,” she says.

It is in that beautiful space that Harris will come to celebrate a career spanning more than five decades, with songs such as “Blue Kentucky Girl,” “Boulder to Birmingham,” “Two More Bottles of Wine,” and “Red Dirt Girl” helping to define her as one of the greatest voices of our time.

Yet don’t expect Harris to unveil a new album anytime soon. After releasing more than 25 albums over the course of her career, she says she’s content letting that chapter stand on its own.

“No new music,” Harris says matter-of-factly. “I’ve got plenty of old music. I mean really, that’s in the past.”

There is no sadness in Harris’ voice when she talks about leaving her days of recording behind. If anything, her excitement grows when the conversation turns to Bonaparte’s Retreat. Founded in 2004 after the death of her beloved dog Bonaparte, the Nashville-area nonprofit rescues some of the shelter system’s most overlooked animals—senior dogs, larger breeds and those in need of extensive medical care—giving them a second chance at finding forever homes.

“It’s right here in my backyard,” she casually mentions. “It’s been a real passion in my life. We focus on dogs that tend to get left behind in the shelters—the older dogs and the dogs with medical issues.”

She lets out a laugh.

“We’re very small,” she says. “Tiny but mighty, I say.”

So, if things go according to plan, Harris will spend the rest of her days with her dogs and her never-ending memoir—and of course treating lucky fans across the country with the magic of her music.

Harris also plans to add some more simple pleasures into her life.

“Last night I joined a lot of my old Nash Rambler pals at a (Nashville) Sounds game, which is our AA team, because I’m a big baseball fan. Even at 100 degrees, it was a little bit cooler at 6:30 in the evening,” she says, then pauses.

“I hit the jackpot. When it comes to things that matter, I think I have.”