Last year, Kelly Willis celebrated the 25th anniversary of her LP What I Deserve, a pivotal album in the songwriter’s career that saw her break from 1990s Nashville expectations and reset her own ambitions. Willis finds herself in the midst of a similarly redefining creative resurgence now, and her birthday celebration serves as a moment to take stock of her recent post-divorce outlook that has sparked a new era for the artist – one defined by an easy humor and powerful independence. BettySoo joins as special guest behind her new album If You Never Go Away. – Doug Freeman