Emmylou Harris may have been born in Birmingham, Ala., but D.C.-area fans consider this her home.

Fair enough. After all, Harris was born into a military family and spent plenty of time in this area, living in Woodbridge during her teen years and in Maryland some years later.

"I'm an incurable optimist. I think the world and humankind is incredibly resilient. We've been through worse. Because history is so long, we survived the bubonic plague -- we will pull out of this," she told Fish Griwkowsky of Postmedia News. "Why not believe that? Why give up hope? Why not have hope? There's always music. And people are pretty extraordinary. We're probably at our best when times are worst."

There's little doubt that the 12-time Grammy Award-winning Harris has done her part by creating joy with music. And watch for her to give another outstanding performance Wednesday as she teams with two-time Grammy winner John Prine.

Harris has a long history of extraordinary performances and collaborations with other artists. Rodney Crowell and Ricky Skaggs, both of whom were in her Hot Band, are among the household-name musicians who have collaborated with Harris through the years on her pop-meets-country-meets-folk sound.

Gram Parsons, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, and Daniel Lanois are among her inspirations and friends. Consider "Darlin' Kate," a song Harris wrote for her 2011 album, "Hard Bargain," that was inspired by Kate McGarrigle, who died of cancer.

"Oh gosh, I just miss her company, you know? She was just one of the most delightful people, the most interesting people," Harris said. "She and Anna and I had a great time together."

So great, in fact, that it inspired Harris, who usually interprets the songs of Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews and others, to write the song herself, a process that she doesn't usually embrace.

"The writing process, it's like I'd have to be pulled kicking and screaming into it," she said. "But the idea of just spending time with those two would make me overcome my fear of writing so I could go up and hang with them."

Whether she's playing her own music or interpreting the songs of others, Harris is always a welcome addition to the stages in what many consider her hometown.