Shania Twain sounded so good Saturday night at the Stagecoach country music festival that I briefly wondered if she’d been replaced by a robot.
Her perfect pitch wasn’t the only thing that raised that possibility.
Headlining the annual three-night event at Indio’s Empire Polo Club, Twain — whose performance was softening the ground before the release later this year of her first album in more than a decade — sang with incredible precision as she moved through the tightly crafted hits that made her one of the most successful pop stars on the planet in the 1990s and early 2000s.
“Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?,” “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” “I’m Gonna Getcha Good!”: Each was a masterful display of vocal control, with Twain navigating tricky intervals like someone sheltered in a private recording studio rather than standing on a dusty field whipped by desert winds.
Yet all the power she was bringing to the music — including a bouncy new tune, “Life’s About to Get Good” — kept blowing away between songs as she addressed the crowd in a weirdly stilted manner that suggested she’d never interfaced with another human.
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Jenn Nguyen and Amahl Harris, both of Santa Barbara, pose in front of a giant covered wagon and La Grande XL Ferris wheel on the third day of the Stagecoach country music festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif., on April 30, 2017.
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Maureen Albrecht of Ventura sits on her 1955 International Lo-Boy tractor amid her and her husband’s collection of 18 vintage tractors on display on the third day of the Stagecoach country music festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif.
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Wesley Harris, a rider from the Rickshaw Squad of San Diego, in the RV Resort at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Danya Lynd and her daughter Lillian Lynd, 6, of Beaumont arrive at the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
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Andre Batistich of Dana Point shows his country spirit in the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
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Caitlyn Kelley, left, and Ashlee Herr of Huntington Beach at the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
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Nick Dodd of Mission Viejo shows his country attitude in the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
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Hopp Dodd of Mission Viejo hangs out in the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
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Sharon Lee of Costa Mesa poses in the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
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Lindsey Dalporto of Reno shows off her cap on her friend’s trailer-rooftop dance floor in the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
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Travis Hearn of Long Beach is all smiles with his beers and big-wheel trike at the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
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Brittany Roderick of Hermosa Beach shows off her hat on a trailer-rooftop dance floor in the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
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Rusty Wink of Leucadia shows off his hand-made copper and brass belt buckle.
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Lindsey Von Kaenel of Los Angeles raises a cup on her friend’s trailer-rooftop dance floor.
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Kyle Evans of Long Beach shows off his hat and American flag bow tie at Stagecoach.
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With country music blasting from speakers, Tim Dodd of Visalia does a wheelie in the RV Resort at Stagecoach.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) “This is the party of the year for me,” she said with laughable emptiness at one point, the words seemingly determined by an algorithm. “I really feel very welcome.”
Later in the show, before “You’re Still the One,” she described her signature ballad as “a community spirit song” but made the community in question sound like a server farm.
And anyway that interpretation is exactly wrong: The reason “You’re Still the One” will live forever — why, indeed, it survived the breakup of Twain’s marriage to her former creative partner, Robert John “Mutt” Lange — is because it shrinks the world to the tiny space between two people. It’s a song that convinces you (if only for three minutes) that community is irrelevant.
I can understand Twain’s desire to reframe “You’re Still the One” as something else, of course. She’s said that her painful divorce is partly why it’s taken her so long to follow up her last album, 2002’s excellent “Up!”
Who’d want to remind herself every night of a broken promise? But the singer’s cheerful optimism wasn’t persuasive; it felt untested by any use in the real world.
That disconnected vibe was especially vexing because in other ways Stagecoach demonstrated Twain’s importance to the current country scene.
Earlier Saturday, Maren Morris played an impressive set that confidently blended traditional country sounds with slicker textures from pop and R&B — a once-heterodox gesture Twain helped normalize with her zillion-selling “Come On Over” album.
Elle King, known to many for her modern-rock hit “Ex’s & Oh’s,” similarly benefited from that evolution when she dropped in to sing “Different for Girls” with Dierks Bentley during his headlining performance on Friday night.
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Headliner Kenny Chesney performs on the final day of the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Headliner Kenny Chesney performs on the final day of the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Headliner Kenny Chesney greets fans as guitarist Kenny Greenberg, second from left, and guitarist Jon Conley, right, perform.
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Kenny Chesney
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Guitarist Kenny Greenberg performs with headliner Kenny Chesney.
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Two men sleep on hay bales in the empty Mustang Stage as Stagecoach draws to an end on the final day of the Stagecoach country music festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif.
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Kendra Ullman and Jordan Bohine embrace at dusk as Travis Tritt plays a love song on the Palomino Stage.
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Fans cheer at dusk as Travis Tritt performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Travis Tritt performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Travis Tritt performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Fans cheer as they listen to Tyler Farr.
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Tyler Farr
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Fans cheer as Tyler Farr performs on the Mane Stage.
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Fans cheer as Tyler Farr performs at sunset on the Mane Stage.
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Tyler Farr, left, and drummer Mark Poiesz perform on the Mane Stage.
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Christopher Garmer poses with his son wearing a John Deere hat, Sean Garmer, 2, of Lakeside, on a John Deere 520 vintage tractor, which is one of 18 on display.
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Los Lobos performs on the Palomino Stage on the final day of Stagecoach.
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Cowboy Junkies lead singer vocalist Margo Timmins performs on the Mustang Stage.
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A view from the La Grande XL ferris wheel of the RV resort.
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Rusty Wink of Leucadia, left, and Kyle Evans of Long Beach sport country-western outfits while riding a two-person bicycle in the RV Resort on the second day of the Stagecoach country music festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif., on April 29, 2017.
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Partiers hang out in a portable hot tub in the RV Resort on the second day of the Stagecoach country music festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif.
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Kiefer Sutherland performs on the Palomino Stage on the third day of the Stagecoach country music festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif.
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The Hillbenders present the Who’s “Tommyy: A Bluegrass Opry” on the Mustang Stage at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Luke Combs performs on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach.
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Dancers from the Cal Poly Country Line Dancers Club and Cal Poly Square Dancers perform at the HonkyTonk at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Wynonna & the Big Noise performs on the Palomino Stage at Stagecoach.
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Qunicy Jones and Lauren Anderson of Los Angeles dance while the Steep Canyon Rangers perform on the Mustang Stage.
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The Steep Canyon Rangers perform on the Mustang Stage.
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Jordan Horrillo and Kait Gruber of Sunnyvale dance while the Steep Canyon Rangers perform on the Mustang Stage.
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The crowd cheers as Wynonna & the Big Noise performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Fans cheer Saturday’s headlining act, Shania Twain, on the Mane Stage on the second day of the Stagecoach country music festival in Indio.
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Saturday headliner Shania Twain performs on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach.
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Fans cheer Shania Twain, performing on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach.
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Shania Twain, performs on the Mane Stage.
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Shania Twain on the Mane Stage.
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Country legend Willie Nelson tips his hat to the crowd as he takes the Palomino Stage on his 84th birthday, which he spent playing at Stagecoach.
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Willie Nelson performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Neil Young makes a surprise appearance as he plays harmonica with Mickey Raphael, second from left, during Willie Nelson’s finale. At left is Jamey Johnson, from right are Margo Price and John Doe.
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Neil Young makes a surprise appearance as he plays harmonica with Mickey Raphael in an exchange, third from left, during Willie Nelson’s finale. From left are Lucas Nelson and Jamey Johnson; from right are Margo Price and John Doe.
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Stagecoach performers join Willie Nelson’s finale on his 84th birthday.
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Willie Nelson performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Margo Price performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Robert Ellis performs on the Mustang Stage on the second day of the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Maren Morris performs on the Mane Stage.
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Tommy James and the Shondells perform on the Palomino Stage.
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Tommy James and the Shondells at Stagecoach.
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Fans sing along to Tommy James and the Shondells.
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Nikki Lane performs on the Mustang Stage.
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Nikki Lane performs on the Mustang Stage.
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“Cowboy” Eddie Long plays the steel guitar during Jamey Johnson’s performance on the Palomino Stage.
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Jamey Johnson performs on the Palomino Stage.
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A fan watches Jamey Johnson’s performance from another’s shoulders at the Palomino Stage.
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Fans cheer as Willie Nelson and Family perform during the second day of the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Fans cheer as Randy Houser takes the Mane Stage on the first day of the Stagecoach country music festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio.
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Fans cheer as Randy Houser performs on the Mane Stage on the first day of Stagecoach.
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The bassist of the Randy Houser band, Tripper Ryder, greets fans at dusk on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach.
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Fans cheer as Randy Houser performs at dusk on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach.
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Fans cheer as Randy Houser performs at dusk on the first day at Stagecoach.
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Drummer Kevin Murphy performs with Randy Houser at Stagecoach.
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38 Special vocalist and guitarist Don Barnes, left, and guitarist Danny Chauncey perform on the Palomino Stage at Stagecoach.
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Fans cheer as 38 Special performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Randy Houser performs on the Mane Stage.
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Fans sing along as Dierks Bentley performs on the Mane Stage.
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Friday’s headlining performer, Dierks Bentley, performs “Different for Girls” featuring Elle King on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach.
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Dierks Bentley sings “Different for Girls” with Elle King on the Mane Stage.
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Dierks Bentley encourages the crowd to sing along during his performance at Stagecoach.
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Dierks Bentley, center, performs on the first day of Stagecoach.
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Dierks Bentley lets the audience in on his Stagecoach performance.
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Dierks Bentley performs on the Mane Stage.
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Cole Swindell encouarges the crowd during his performance on the Mane Stage at Stagecoach 2017.
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Cole Swindell performs on the Mane Stage.
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The Blasters guitarist Keith Wyatt, left, and vocalist and guitarist Phil Alvin perform on the Palomino Stage.
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The Blasters vocalist and guitarist Phil Alvin performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Fans cheer in the front row as Dylan Scott performs during Day One at Stagecoach.
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Dierks Bentley flips a bottle at his bar while hanging out in his trailer before headlining Friday night at Stagecoach.
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The Zombies perform on the Palomino Stage.
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Maddie Marlow of Maddie & Tae performs on the Mane Stage.
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Fans cheer as the Zombies perform on the Palomino Stage.
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Son Volt members, from left, Jay Farrar (vocal, guitar, harmonica), Chris Frame (guitar), Mark Spencer (keyboard, steel guitar) and Andrew Duplantis (bass, backing vocal) perform on the Mustang Stage.
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Bob and Bernadette Kennedy, of Valley Center, dance as Son Volt performs on the Mustang Stage.
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Jerry Lee Lewis, 81, performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Jerry Lee Lewis, 81, performs on the Palomino Stage.
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Rhiannon Giddens performs on the Mustang Stage.
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Jeff Riback of San Diego listens to the music while kicking back in a lawn chair near the Mane Stage.
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Elle King performs on the Palomino Stage on Friday.
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Dylan Scott performs on the Mane Stage on Friday.
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The three-day Stagecoach country music festival begins at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, on April 28, 2017, as fans run to stake out spots on the lawn.
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A woman falls as crowds rush past the gates to secure the best seats as the first day of the three-day Stagecoach country music festival begins. She recovered quickly and headed to find a good seat.
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Crowds rush past the gates to secure the best seats as the first of the three-day Stagecoach country music festival begins at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio on April 28, 2017.
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Dancers crowd the Go Country 105 stage at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Allison Batteate, left, and Sharon Castello, both of Livermore, crochet as they camp lakeside in a 1960 Corvette trailer at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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The sun sets behind the mountains as a group of friends play a drinking game outside their trailer in the RV Resort at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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The sun sets behind the mountains as a camper climbs onto his RV roof for a better view in the RV Resort at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Caitlyn Kelley, left, and Ashlee Herr, both of Huntington Beach, pose with a cowboy silhouette in the RV Resort at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Ian Ray of Anaheim Hills and Allison Kingsley of Newport Beach dance on a makeshift dance floor made of plywood in the RV Resort at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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A couple parade around the RV Resort at sunset at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Trevor Johnson of San Diego throws a lasso around beer boxes made into the shape of a bull atop a pickup in the RV Resort at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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Travis Miller of Pedicab people movers of Orlando, Fla., gives Donelle Nubia of Long Beach a ride to her RV with her belongings.
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Line dancers crowd the Go Country 105 stage at the Stagecoach country music festival.
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A swarm of bees focus on a lemonade stand on the first day of the three-day Stagecoach country music festival.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Morris and King were part of a larger female presence at this year’s festival that also included two singers whose proudly old-fashioned styles — Margo Price’s rough-and-tumble honky tonk and Nikki Lane’s ringing country-rock — take less direct inspiration from Twain.
Yet there’s no doubting Twain’s role in extending the womanly self-determination that’s resurged in country music recently following the decline of so-called bro country.
“It’s kind of a real female moment,” she observed before she brought out Kelsea Ballerini, another young country star deeply attuned to pop, to do “Any Man of Mine.” Twain went on to say that she was seeing signs of “female assertion,” then added in a kind of don’t-worry tone that men like it.
“They find it sexy,” she said.
Ballerini’s appearance was a clear indication that Twain, 51, wants her new music to reach listeners beyond her now-middle-aged demographic. So was a cameo by Nick Jonas, who turned up for an unannounced duet on Twain’s “Party for Two.”
But the chemistry in their performance was purely transactional; Twain spoke glowingly of Jonas before and after the song but in the most generic terms imaginable — “handsome,” “talented” and so forth — as if she’d merely selected him from a database, unconcerned with how they’d actually look together onstage before an audience.
Twain ended the show with a typically assured rendition of “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!,” her exuberant late-’90s smash about going totally, thoroughly, unapologetically crazy.
Before she started the song, though, she told the crowd how much playing Stagecoach had meant to her — and how she planned to celebrate backstage.
Potato chips, she said. A huge bag. Dill-pickle flavored.
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Twitter: @mikaelwood
MORE STAGECOACH COVERAGE:
Maren Morris looking ahead to her next album, ‘I don’t want to make “Hero 2”’
‘I’m not shying away from anything,’ Rhiannon Giddens says of her music
Dierks Bentley recalls when ‘Taylor Swift opened for me’
