PORTLAND - Four-time Grammy winner Lyle Lovett and His Band will perform in concert Thursday, June 26, at Merrill Auditorium.

Reserved seats are $60.50 and $65.50. Tickets may be purchased at PortTix, the Merrill Auditorium box office, at 20 Myrtle St. from noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; by calling 842-0800; and online at www.porttix.com.

For the last few years, Lovett has been alternating tours with his own band with songwriter circles when he performs with John Hiatt and fellow Texans Guy Clark and Joe Ely. "It's always fun and inspiring to get to hang out with people you respect and admire, as I do these three," Lovett said in a prepared statement. "Sometimes touring can be an isolating experience. Being able to talk after a show, as we're rolling down the road, is a similar experience to going out to the local breakfast joint after a gig in the early days."

Over the course of his career, Lovett has won four Grammys, including Best Country Album, Best Country Duo/Group with Vocal and Best Country Male vocal. He is one of the few artists who emerged out of Nashville's whirlwind of experimentation in the mid-1980s to have an enduring, significant and boldly original career. After releasing three critically acclaimed albums, he moved away from country to explore broader styles.

Gold-certified "Joshua Judges Ruth," his most successful album to date, is steeped in gospel and R&B. "I Love Everybody" features songs he wrote as early as the 1970s, while 1996's gold-certified and Grammy-winning "The Road to Ensenada" returned him to a mix of western swing, honky tonk, country and folk.

The 1998 two-disc CD "Step Inside this House" is a tribute to Lovett's early Texas songwriting influences. It was followed up with his first live album, "Live in Texas," in 1999. The following year, Lovett released the film soundtrack to Robert Altman's "Dr. T. & The Women."