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Grace Pettis leaves the concert crowd in Dallas with an evening they won't forget

Among many memorable songs, her song about a high school friend who told her he was gay was easily the most memorable

There comes a moment during the best concerts when the person on stage sings a song that defines the evening. I remember the first time I heard James Taylor sing "Fire and Rain" during a concert. It was that kind of moment, just as it was the first time I heard Jackson Browne sing "For a Dancer" onstage.

That kind of moment occurred Friday night, when Grace Pettis appeared at Uncle Calvin's Coffeehouse for the 10th time. Now 30, Pettis was releasing her new EP with Calloway Ritch, who is one talented guitarist. The two struck a perfect chemistry.

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In Jewish culture, 18 has long been viewed as corresponding to the Hebrew word "chai," meaning alive. And that's what the 18 songs performed so well by Pettis and Ritch made you feel — alive.

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I'm assuming Pettis was, like most of us, 18 when she graduated from high school in Alabama, but now, she has so much more wisdom. And one song in particular demonstrated her wisdom, her kindness, her tolerance, her maturity, her love of being alive more than any other.

During her short time as a professional, she has developed a wonderful presence on stage, meaning her remarks between songs are almost as interesting as the songs themselves. She is sharp and witty and sensitive to a fault, no more so than she was in telling the story behind "Landon," the ninth song on her previous record, A Little Noise.

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The narration before "Landon" began with Pettis, in effect, asking for forgiveness — in the fellowship hall of Northpark Presbyterian Church, no less, where Uncle Calvin's makes its home. Landon, she said, was a high school classmate, who chose to come out to Pettis, whom he apparently believed was his closest friend.

Calloway Ritch and Grace Pettis perform at Uncle Calvin's Coffeehouse in Dallas on Aug. 24,...
Calloway Ritch and Grace Pettis perform at Uncle Calvin's Coffeehouse in Dallas on Aug. 24, 2018. They were performing songs from their new EP, Blue Star in a Red Sky.(Ira Hantz / Uncle Calvin's Coffeehouse)

More than a decade later, she told the near-capacity crowd, she did not respond in the loving way she should have. And the song, which like the best songs opens a vein of emotion, tells us that, harshly and judgmentally, she even called the poor kid a "sinner." So, for the most part, "Landon" is an apology, one that millions of Americans ought to hear. She laments the fact that "you buried your heart inside your chest. And you hid it from the ones that loved you best."

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When she finished "Landon," she reached out to her estranged friend and let him hear it first. Had he not liked the song, she would have thrown it in the trash, she says, and never let anyone else know it existed. But, she says, he liked the song.

"From the day we met," the song begins, "I was never the same."

Landon, she writes, was:

Favorite child of a single mother

Loved you more than a boyfriend, more than a brother

The way you drove yourself to church every Sunday

We swore we'd make it out of this town someday

Then I called you a sinner

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Ain't no sin bigger

And there ain't one damn thing wrong with you

Landon chose to come to terms with being gay while navigating the difficult terrain of being a teenager in rural Alabama. And, yes, it must have been crushing at the time not to have his best friend's full support. Pettis says as much in the song:

I know I can't make amends

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But believe me, I'm still your friend

I know I owe you the truth

I miss you so much, Landon

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Like the best songwriters, Pettis has a big heart, which she shared on so many songs, such as "As Good As It Gets," one of many that let Ritch show off his terrific guitar play. She sang about her Alabama homeland and about Austin, where she lives now, surrounded by tacos for breakfast and dozens of other talented musicians, Ritch being one.

The great Ruthie Foster is another, and wisely, Foster has chosen to record Pettis' "Good Sailor," which carries the line: "Smooth seas never made a good sailor."

Landon is one such sailor, and kudos to Pettis for honoring his voyage as a good sailor. Because it sure did lead to a good song.