Shawn Mullins returns to Bend

Published 1:21 am Sunday, February 28, 2016

Shawn Mullins will once again sing a “Lullaby” or two at the Tower Theatre on Sunday.

Yes, that is the song that put the Atlanta folk-rocker on the map back in 1998, capturing the radio-listening audience’s imagination with its stream-of-consciousness, faux-Jack Nicholson verses and sudden falsetto choruses.

And you’d be forgiven for thinking that’s where the story ends, only Bendites know better (or should know better, considering how many times the singer has played the Tower before). Mullins has cranked out five albums of country-folk-rock anthems since his late ’90s heyday. Last year’s “My Stupid Heart” was his first set in five years, and found the introspective folkie toeing the line between deeply personal ballads (“Go and Fall”) and of-the-moment social consciousness (“Ferguson”).

And if you’re really missing “Lullaby,” check out the album’s second cut, “It All Comes Down to Love,” which melds the smoky vocal Mullins employed on his biggest hit to equally uplifting lyrics. Or just head to the Tower, where he’ll probably play that, and a whole lot more.

Shawn Mullins; 7 p.m. Sunday; $21, $32, $43; Tower Theatre, 835 NW Wall St., Bend; www.towertheatre.org or 541-317-0700. —Brian McElhiney

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