Singer-songwriters Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt return to Carmel.

Lyle Lovett was still in college when he first heard John Hiatt perform. Hiatt’s band backed guitar guru Ry Cooder during a show in 1981 at the Paramount Theatre in Austin. Lovett was impressed that Hiatt, a young up-and-comer he had never heard of, could handle anything the seasoned pro Cooder tossed his way, whether it was an unorthodox time signature or a multi-layered bluegrass jam that slipped into something with more of an international flavor. And he did it with panache in front of a live audience.

It wouldn’t be until 1989 that Lovett and Hiatt first shared a stage together, but since then, it’s been a fairly regular occurrence that never gets old for the audiences watching – or the two singer-songwriters.

“It’s just him and me, onstage together, and we sit there and take turns playing,” Lovett told music critic Alexander Varty a couple weeks ago. “It’s not a structured show; I mean, we’re just sort of in the moment. John usually plays the first song, and my first song, then, is influenced by his selection.

“From the very beginning of the show, there’s an uncharted quality about it. Over the years, we’ve gotten to know several of each other’s songs well enough to be able to join in, but I don’t know, from night to night, what he’s going to play. That’s how it goes, and it’s great fun.”

Between Hiatt and Lovett, there’s an endless supply of acoustic singer-songwriter Americana fueled by country blues roots and most importantly, stories.

The array of fervent personalities immortalized in the stories lining the songs spanning Hiatt’s 20-plus records have been covered by dozens of stellar musicians over the years, from Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton to Iggy Pop and B.B. King to Willie Nelson and Jewel.

Bonnie Raitt’s rendition of “Thing Called Love” jumped to No. 11 on the U.S. charts following its release on Raitt’s 1989 Nick of Time.

Hiatt’s rockabilly throwback “Tennessee Plates” was appropriately used on the Thelma and Louise soundtrack.

“Since I left California baby, things have gotten worse, seems the land of opportunity for me is just a curse/ Tell that judge in Bakersfield that my trial will have to wait, down here they’re lookin’ for a Cadillac with Tennessee plates.”

The story in “Tennessee Plates” flows with a fabric of dark humor that softens the harsh punchline: “Well this ain’t no hotel I’m writin’ you from, it’s the Tennessee prison up at Brushy Mountain/ Where yours sincerely is doin’ five to eight, stampin’ out my time makin’ Tennessee plates.”

Meanwhile, Grammy Award-winning comrade Lyle Lovett is known for making records that tell stories while simultaneously breaking country music tradition, employing whatever type of musical style he believes works best.

From jazz and gospel to blues and folk, the Texas native’s music covers as much territory as his home state.

Lovett’s bittersweet ballad “The Road to Ensenada” – also the name of his sixth record, which scored a Best Country Album Grammy in 1997 – is a surreal odyssey into forbidden love and loss.

The lyrics are simple but poignant: “The sisters at the borderline, they’re holding out their hands/ They’re begging me for something Lord, but I don’t understand,” Lovett croons. “So it’s adios to Alvero, tell him to stay between the lines/ And if he sees that Gabriella girl, tell her I’ll look her up next time.”

Sincerity courses through Lovett’s voice naturally. There’s rarely any trace of irony or sarcasm, which makes his more tongue-in-cheek numbers, like “She’s No Lady,” much stronger.

“The preacher asked her and she said, ‘I do.’ The preacher asked me and she said, ‘Yes, he does too.’ And the preacher said, ‘I pronounce you 99 to life: Son, she’s no lady, she’s your wife.’”

Lovett also has a penchant for being unapologetic. “Creeps Like Me” paints a landscape that looks like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre if it had been directed by John Waters. The protagonist leers at his grandmother’s gold tooth, which she gives him before she dies – oh, the protagonist also keeps his Uncle Leon locked in his closet for unknown reasons.

“Look around and you will see, this world is full of creeps like me/ You look surprised, you shouldn’t be/ This world is full of creeps like me.”

The title of Lovett’s Texas swing waltz, “I Married Her Just Because She Looks Like You,” sounds like it could be the punchline of a joke. But the joke is that most listeners can relate to some facet of the tune.

“And for every time you knocked me down, she reaches out to help me/ And for every time you cursed me, she says, ‘Darling I love you.’”

Nearly two decades after their on-stage debut, An Acoustic Evening with Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt arrives at Carmel’s Sunset Center Saturday for an intimate and engaging two-plus hours. Concertgoers can expect the type of anecdotes, songs, back-and-forth banter and those unforgettable sorts of stories that helped establish both as singer-songwriter legends.

AN ACOUSTIC EVENING WITH LYLE LOVETT AND JOHN HIATT 8pm Saturday, March 11. Sunset Center, San Carlos at Ninth, Carmel. $80; $137. 620-2048, sunsetcenter.org