Twenty years ago, the jazz legend gave a stirring speech at Tulane University's commencement in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's devastation. Couched within the typical graduation exhortations, Marsalis served up a well-distilled couplet that serves our purposes here: "Don’t settle for style. Succeed in substance."

What does this have to do with the rapturous beauty of seeing Kathleen Edwards and her band play on a Sunday night in Indianapolis? Everything.

Ever since Failer confirmed her as a critical darling in 2003, Edwards has steadily built a catalog of one meaningful release after another. The ingredients are always the same. The lanes are well-established. That's not to say some bells and whistles haven't come and gone over the years (see 2011's Voyageur), but Edwards' musical mastery is so enchanting precisely because it's so familiar. It's straightforward yet substantive.

On a southward stretch through the Midwest of her spring tour, Edwards stopped for a couple of hours to play a career-spanning set at one of Indy's newer music venues, Turntable—a chance to display such substance.

From the opening notes of “Glenfern,” the audience was hers. “Empty Threat” followed, signaling that every era would be well represented, including her forthcoming album, Billionaire.

Surprisingly, it was the new material that resonated most. “Save Your Soul” had such immediate charm it felt like an old favorite. “Say Goodbye, Tell No One” rode an effortless groove anchored by drummer Peter von Althen, becoming one of the night’s highlights. “Little Red Ranger” served as a heartwarming nod to bassist Ryan Gavel.

Of course, familiar favorites like “Six O’Clock News,” “Back to Me,” and “Change the Sheets” drew ecstatic reactions. Tracks from Failer, Back to Me, Total Freedom, and Voyageur made for a rich and rewarding setlist—save for one fan who disrupted a quiet moment pleading for “Fool’s Ride.”

Covers of Jason Isbell's "Traveling Alone" and Bruce Springsteen's "Human Touch" added dimension to the night but Edwards' compositions were more than enough. When the work is this honest, you don't require anything else.