Watch Dwight Yoakam’s Ferocious ‘Gone’ on ‘Colbert’

It was guitars and Colbert last night for Dwight Yoakam, who brought some down-home twang to the Late Show. Yoakam and his crack band performed a bluegrass version of “Gone (That’ll Be Me)” from his latest album Swimmin’ Pools, Movie Stars – a collection of reimagined songs from his 30-year catalog.

Dressed to the nines in a long black trench coat with his trademark denim jacket just visible at the collar, Yoakam yodels and hollers his way through the lover’s lament, which originally appeared on his 1995 album Gone. Mandolin player Adam Steffey and fiddler Stuart Duncan – both of whom appear on Swimmin’ Pools – offer some barn-burning solos, while Yoakam keeps rhythm on acoustic guitar.

Yoakam’s Late Show performance comes on the heels of his and Chris Stapleton’s standout CMA Awards collaboration, a performance of Ray Charles’ and Willie Nelson’s 1984 tune “Seven Spanish Angels.” Last month, Yoakam appeared on a studio recording of Brandy Clark’s “Hold My Hand” from 12 Stories, which the pair first performed as a duet at the 2015 Grammys.

Yoakam is currently headlining a North American tour, with his next gig set for December 7th at the Fox Tucscon Theatre in Tucson, Arizona.