If you go
› What: Dave Rawlings Machine› Where: Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St.› When: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17› Admission: $25, $35› Phone: 423-757-5580› Online: tivolichattanooga.com
Songwriting is hardly a science, most artists will tell you. Sometimes the songs seem to fall out of the sky or appear like a gift from some unseen deity. Other times, they can take weeks, months or years to grow from kernel of an idea or a word or a phrase or a simple note into a complete piece.
And sometimes what is needed is for another writer to complete the thought or the idea. David Rawlings is no stranger to songwriting. In fact, he’s considered one of the best in the business right now.
For a lot of his work, he writes with longtime partner Gillian Welch, also known as a very good writer. Rawlings, who will appear Wednesday night, Jan. 17, at the Tivoli Theatre with Welch, said the two bring different things to the table and complement each other well.
“It’s like doing a really complicated jigsaw puzzle where half of the pieces are invisible to you and the other half are invisible to the other person,” he said.