Carlene Carter concluded her first “Wonderful World of Women Who Write” series of in-the-round performances at Nashville’s Bluebird Café Tuesday night, with the casual atmosphere, off-kilter humor, surprise guests and memorable performances making for an enchanting pre-Halloween treat. Featuring Gretchen Peters and Matraca Berg, with additional unannounced performances by Terri Clark and Erin Enderlin, the two-hour show at Nashville’s iconic listening room was yet another reminder of the empowering role of women in country music…

…other highlights of the night included Peters’ “On a Bus to St. Cloud” — recorded by Trisha Yearwood in 1995 — her haunting “The Matador” and “Disappearing Act,” a track from her outstanding 2018 LP Dancing With the Beast and one that reduced Berg to tears. Peters explained that the song was inspired by her late mother, noting, “After she died, she started coming back and feeding me songs.”

To read this review in its entirety, visit Rolling Stone Country.