Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris

Country legends Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell will kick off this season’s “American Song” series at California State University, Northridge’s Valley Performing Arts Center on Friday, Sept. 27.

The concert, the duo’s only Los Angeles-area appearance, will feature selections from their critically acclaimed new album, “Old Yellow Moon.” The show is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Valley Performing Arts Center on the south end of the campus 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge.

NPR Music called “Old Yellow Moon” “…classic in every sense of musical accomplishment: from their gorgeous singing and inspiring studio performances to their excellent choice of material… It hearkens back to classic recordings like Harris’ ‘Elite Hotel’ and Crowell’s ‘Diamonds and Dirt,’ and brings the best out of two veterans.”

Produced by Brian Ahern, who has worked with Johnny Cash, George Jones and Roy Orbison, “Old Yellow Moon” is the first official collaboration from the duo since Crowell joined Harris’ Hot Band as guitarist and harmony singer in 1975. In addition to Harris and Crowell, the album features world-renowned musicians, including Stuart Duncan, Vince Gill and Bill Payne, as well as members of the original Hot Band. “Old Yellow Moon” spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Americana album chart.

A 12-time Grammy-winner and Billboard Century Award-recipient, Harris has worked as a singer and songwriter for 40 years. She has recorded more than 25 albums and has lent her talents to countless fellow artists’ recordings. In recognition of her remarkable career, Harris was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008. She has released five albums on the Nonesuch label, the most recent of which was 2011’s “Hard Bargain.”

Crowell is a multi-Grammy Award winner whose songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Norah Jones, Etta James and Grateful Dead, among others. His 1988 breakthrough, “Diamonds and Dirt,” generated five No. 1 singles and a Grammy Award for the song “After All This Time.” His critically acclaimed works “The Houston Kid,” “Fate’s Right Hand,” “The Outsider” and “Sex and Gasoline” were followed by the 2010 release of his memoir, “Chinaberry Sidewalks.”

Other artists performing in this season’s “American Song” series are Bernadette Peters on Oct. 19, Turtle Island Quarter with Nellie McKay on Nov. 7, Brian Stokes Mitchell on Dec. 7 and Chita Rivera on Jan. 25.

To view the Valley Performing Arts Center’s complete season or to find out about tickets for a show, visit the center’s website, http://www.valleyperformingartscenter.org/.

Arts and Culture, Music, Valley Performing Arts Center