Loretta Lynn hasn't quit working, and her fans haven't quit loving her

You might think a country music legend like Loretta Lynn has earned the right to expect continued success — or at least rest on her laurels — but there's nary a trace of "star" entitlement in her voice. Talking to her is like a phone call from your favorite aunt. She's brimming with great stories about the latest happenings or joy and delight over a pleasant memory, as when she talks about the reception she received from audiences after the release of her 2004 Grammy-winning album Van Lear Rose.

"All these rock people came out to see me, and they were nice people," Lynn says. "They came to see the girl that Jack White cut the album on, and they loved it. They loved it!

"We've been selling out everywhere we go for the last 10 years, and I really haven't come out with much new," she continues. "I work these little auditoriums; usually it's 2,500 to 3,000. I fill 'em up and they're standing outside trying to get in. It's weird because we have to turn them away. We had 5,000 the other night. There were people as far as I could see."

When Lynn talks about her music, she always speaks of her "work," whether writing songs, recording in the studio or playing live. It's clear that work is something she takes pride in, something that builds a legacy. At 82, Lynn is still working more than 50 dates a year, spending more than 100 days on the road. Although she hasn't released a full-length album in 10 years, that's about to change thanks to a new five-album deal with Sony Legacy.

"Me and Shawn Camp have been writing some songs together," Lynn says. "He's a good little writer, and I've been busy recording. I cut 90-some songs. I did all my biggest ones over again, and I cut some old-timey story songs like Mommy taught me when I was in Kentucky. Like this guy that got mad at his girlfriend because she got in a bad way with him — you know, pregnant. Well, he killed her and threw her in the bottom of the Ohio River. Tied a railroad steel around her neck! When somebody would do something like that, people would write about it."

The charm and accessibility that Lynn infuses into telling the story of a traditional folk ballad — as if the events just unfolded last week — have always been a part of her music. That sense of simply "telling the truth" became the heart and soul of her greatest songs, from the fallen-woman heartbreak of her first hit, "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl," to masterpieces of musical autobiography like "Coal Miner's Daughter" and "Van Lear Rose." It even permeates her controversial-at-the-time hits like "Rated 'X' " and "The Pill." In the tumultuous early '70s, these songs may have seemed like feisty political proclamations, but for Lynn, they were simply statements of truth.

"There wasn't a song that I wrote that wasn't mostly true," Lynn says. "Like 'Fist City,' I wrote that about an old gal that was trying to take [my husband] Doolittle away from me. I figured we all went through the same thing. Women would go out and get the records and play them for their husband and say, 'Here's what I'm going through.' I wrote about the truth. They went to No. 1, so I figured somebody was doing it."

Lynn will be receiving special recognition for her songwriting on Sept. 17 when she performs at the Americana Music Association's 13th Annual Honors and Awards and receives the AMA's Lifetime Achievement Award for her songwriting. She'll also return to Nashville on Oct. 10-11 for her first-ever headlining appearances at the Ryman Auditorium. Although she's honored, ultimately her greatest satisfaction continues to be found in her work.

"I think there were girl singers out there that could out-sing me," she says, "but they didn't want to work for it. I'm glad that I had to work for it, and I did work hard. If it would've come easy, I wouldn't have been as happy. I'm glad that I went for years without a band. I'm glad that I had to ride in the back of a car from one place to the other. If I had to sleep, I slept sitting up. I'm glad I had to work hard to do it. Them that runs out and gets a bus after one record, they'll never stay. It'll be one or two songs and that'll be over, and I'm glad it ain't me."

Lynn pauses before capping off her moment of reflection.

"Now I can do what I want to do."

She laughs, and you know exactly what she wants: to keep right on working.

DON'T MISS

Sept. 22: Lorde at the Grand Ole Opry House

This show in this venue is about as odd as a down-tempo song by a New Zealand teenager, inspired by a photo of George Brett, seemingly taking over the world. But here we are, and here she is, and we'll never be royals (royals). Considering this show is in Nashville, might we expect the impromptu buddy duo Lorde & Taylor to make its stage debut? One can hope. STEVE HARUCH

Sept. 23: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at Bridgestone Arena

At Bonnaroo 2013, their uncharacteristically OK set came to life only during the songs from the Mojo LP, their most recent record at the time. It's a great sign, then, that the band is touring behind its strongest record in many years — Hypnotic Eye, a muscular throwback to '60s garage and psych rock — and those songs should provide seamless bridges among 40 years of enduring arena-rock anthems. Oh, and look, they've got a local act opening: Steve Winwood. JIM RIDLEY

Oct. 4: Jerry Lee Lewis at the Ryman

In 2011, then-75-year-old Jerry Lee Lewis played Third Man Records, plowing through classics like "I Wish I Was Eighteen Again," "Sweet Little Sixteen," "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great Balls of Fire." By all accounts, it was a pretty special appearance, with a backup band that featured the legendary likes of Steve Cropper, Kenny Lovelace and Jim Keltner, not to mention in-demand Nashville resident "Little" Jack Lawrence. This October the Killer will return to Nashville for a stop on his 80th Birthday Tour, and he'll play the Ryman, where he made his Grand Ole Opry debut in 1973. D. PATRICK RODGERS

Oct. 7: Sam Smith at the Ryman

Fresh-faced Brit crooner Sam Smith is the Rick Astley of our time, and that's not a bad thing. At a time when even Taylor Swift going pop means singing over synthetic dance beats and stage productions that are like Vegas-style chorus lines, the butter-voiced 22-year-old Smith's quick ascension to pop-star status is a breath of fresh air. Why? Because he forgoes bells and whistles in favor of simply just singing timeless, familiar-sounding neo-soul jams. Smith's hit "Stay With Me" sounds like Luther Vandross singing Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" with beats by Portishead. Again, not a bad thing. ADAM GOLD

Oct. 9: Ludacris, Iggy Azalea & Jeremih at Vanderbilt's Commodore Quake

Insofar as such things can be official, Iggy Azalea's "Fancy" is the official song of summer 2014, and that sounds about right. Let's see here: massive drought, beheaded journalists, Ferguson, Gaza, Syria, Ukraine — yeah, we got the song of summer we deserve. Come for Luda and Jeremih, stay for the Aussie who once rapped that she was a "runaway slave master." Or don't. STEVE HARUCH

Oct. 16: Paul McCartney at Bridgestone Arena

Originally scheduled for June 25, this October makeup show was booked in the wake of a mystery virus that forced Sir Paul to cancel several dates in Japan, Korea and the U.S. It seems he's feeling better, though, as since then he's been spotted dancing onstage with Jamie Foxx at a benefit concert in the Hamptons and, rumor has it, maybe even working on a collaboration with Kanye West. All that aside, Macca's most recent performances in Tennessee — at Bonnaroo in 2013 and at Bridgestone back in 2010 — were life-changing affairs, replete with hit after hit and tear-jerking dedications to the dearly departed George and John. D. PATRICK RODGERS

Oct. 21: Julian Casablancas at Marathon Music Works

Genuine rock stars are in short supply these days. Luckily, the world's still got Strokes singer Julian Casablancas — America's answer to Liam Gallagher, a coolly aloof frontman who exudes charisma and iconic rock 'n' roll chic simply by standing at center stage looking cool, singing with a cavalier rasp to match. Fans expecting a run through old Strokes favorites are in for a surprise: The first tune to emerge from Casablancas' forthcoming solo effort, Tyranny, is an 11-minute, baroque-poppy noise-rock experiment, and recent set lists have included a cover of Daft Punk's "Instant Crush." ADAM GOLD

Oct. 24-26: JEFF the Brotherhood at The End

If ever there was a righteous homecoming three-night stand in late October (aside from Jason Isbell's), this is it. Homegrown fraternal psychedelic sludge-pop duo JEFF the Brotherhood — now outfitted with a bassist and an additional guitarist — will release their covers EP Dig the Classics via Warner Bros. on Sept. 30, and the track list is pretty killer: Pixies' "Gouge Away," My Bloody Valentine's "Come in Alone," Beck's "Totally Confused" and more. The last time JEFF played Nashville, it was at The East Room under the assumed name Dr. Pepper Blues Band. This time, there will be no pulled punches, no holds barred, no fake names. Just three nights of crowd surfing and shredding. D. PATRICK RODGERS

Oct. 24-26: Jason Isbell at the Ryman

If ever there was a righteous homecoming three-night stand in late October (aside from JEFF the Brotherhood's), this is it. Still chugging along on the success of last year's critically acclaimed Southeastern, former Drive-By Trucker and current media darling Jason Isbell will bring his confessional, heavy-hearted songs of love and recovery to the Mother Church of Country Music for a whole damn weekend, and he's bringing some serious talent with him. Opening the Oct. 24 show will be Isbell's wife Amanda Shires; providing support Oct. 25 will be Alabama soul-shouters St. Paul and the Broken Bones; and filling out the undercard Oct. 26 will be killer on-the-rise country songster Sturgill Simpson. D. PATRICK RODGERS

Nov. 4: The New Pornographers at Cannery Ballroom

Know the band in Phantom of the Paradise that morphs from Sha Na Na into The Beach Boys into Alice Cooper? On the Pornographers' effervescent new Brill Bruisers, the progression runs from ABBA to ELO to The Magnetic Fields as pop genius A.C. Newman sends up a constellation of audio skyrockets. The show will feature Fond Object co-founder, The Ettes frontwoman and occasional Scene contributor Coco Hames subbing for Neko Case — both songstresses sang with the NPs on Letterman last week, but it looks like we'll probably only get one of them when the band comes to Music City. With The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. JIM RIDLEY

Nov. 8-9: Vijay Iyer: Music of Transformation at OZ

Vijay Iyer's latest album, Mutations, lands somewhere between jazz and avant-classical. By their very nature, the 10 movements of "sculpted improvisations," as Iyer calls them, are unpredictable and shape-shifting, so any performance is a singular event. Also on the program: Rites of Holi, a film by Prashant Bhargava for which Iyer composed the music, taking Stravinsky's Rite of Spring to completely new places. STEVE HARUCH

Nov. 14: Sinéad O'Connor at City Winery

In some ways, Sinéad O'Connor is no longer the barefoot, shaved-head firebrand who tore up the Saturday Night Live stage (and a photo of Pope John Paul II) years ago. But this much is clear on her latest, I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss: The flames may not lash out as far as they once did, but the fire still burns. STEVE HARUCH

Nov. 27: Dave Davies at City Winery

If Ray Davies was The Kinks' head, his estranged younger brother and bandmate, guitarist Dave, was its heart. "Love Me Till the Sun Shines," "Death of a Clown," "This Man He Weeps Tonight," "Mindless Child of Motherhood" — Dave Davies wrote and sang some of the finest Kinks songs. He was also the band's most immediately distinctive singer, his voice a high-pitched, speaker-slicing howl rivaling the guitar distortion he helped invent. After recovering from a 2006 stroke, Davies returned to stage and studio in 2013 for his first solo album (I Will Be Me) and shows in years. ADAM GOLD