Hiatt and Devoe return to Buskirk

Fans of John Hiatt are used to hearing his lyrics sung by other, more prominent artists.

Bob Dylan, B.B. King and even Mandy Moore are among the countless superstars who have covered Hiatt’s music.

A packed house was treated to a concert straight from the source Monday night at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre.

Suzette Weakley, organizer of the Bloomington Songwriter Showcase, testified to Hiatt’s influence.

“If you play in a rock-and-roll band, and you don’t know any John Hiatt songs, you end up learning them, because crowds want to hear them,” Weakley said.

An Indianapolis native, Hiatt has a history of warm receptions in Bloomington. In 2009, his double-bill with Lyle Lovett sold out at Buskirk-Chumley two months in advance.

“It’s just a perfect match,” Buskirk-Chumley Executive Director Danielle McClelland said. “He’s an Indiana guy in an Indiana venue.”

Associate Executive Director Maarten Bout echoed McClelland’s sentiments.

“John Hiatt is a native son of Indiana,” Bout said. “The people here feel like they own him somehow. They really identify with the music and the lyrics.”

Hiatt, whose musical style contains elements of rock, blues, country and folk, played a set that was well-received by an audience that grew up with his songs.

“I’ve been a John Hiatt fan for 25 years,” IU graduate Matt Stryker said. “I was working at Roscoe Records in DunnKirk Square in 1988 when I got the album ‘Slow Turning.’ Since then I’ve seen him four times and bought every album he’s put out.”

Indianapolis-based singer-songwriter Jennie Devoe opened for Hiatt. Devoe’s smooth, soulful rhapsodizing complemented Hiatt’s rasping Americana rock.

Hiatt is touring in support of his 21st studio album “Mystic Pinball.”