Justin Townes Earle made his Opry Debut May 2, 2008. (Left to right: Pete Fisher, VP and GM, Grand Ole Opry, Vince Gill, Cory Yount, Justin Townes Earle, Josh Hedley and George Hamilton IV.) Photo by Billy Kingsley. Courtesy of the © Grand Ole Opry, 2008

Justin Townes Earle was honored to make his Grand Ole Opry debut Friday, May 2nd. His performance was quite well received and will soon be streaming in the WSM archives at http://www.wsmonline.com/onair/archives.shtml.

With Justin Townes Earle’s pedigree comes mixed blessings. As the son of legendary singer/songwriter Steve Earle, high expectations are the name of the game; but he’s shown that he is up to the task, crafting stark portraits with elements of acoustic blues and folk. After a misspent youth in bluegrass / ragtime combo The Swindlers and the louder, more rocking The Distributors, the 25-year-old cleaned up his act, dropped his self-destructive habits and began to focus on songcraft. With inspirations as diverse as Townes Van Zandt (he was named in honor of the elder Earle’s hero), The Replacements, Ray Charles and The Pogues, Justin forged his own brand of American roots music.

The Good Life is produced by RS Field, who has made his mark on critically acclaimed albums by Billy Joe Shaver, Sonny Landreth, Webb Wilder and Buddy Guy. Recording is underway at House of David studios, the legendary room that has hosted sessions with George Jones, Yo La Tengo, Elvis Presley, Neil Young and countless others. Joining Earle in the studio are a cast of all-star players including longtime cohort Cory Yountes (Bobby Bare, Jr) on banjo and mandolin, pedal steel player master Pete Finney (Dixie Chicks, Patty Loveless), bassist Bryn Davies (Patty Griffin, Guy Clark), drummer Bryan Owings (Buddy Miller, Shelby Lynne), keyboardist Skylar Wilson and fiddle player Josh Hedley.

Earle kicked off his North American touring with a plethora of critically acclaimed shows in Austin at SXSW, earning kudos from outlets like Austin Chronicle, Time Out Chicago, CMT.com and others for his spot-on, warm performances of the songs on “The Good Life”. He is scheduled to appear on NPR’s Morning Edition in April, while continuing his non-stop road work.

Justin Townes Earle on tour
Jun 2 — One Longfellow Square - Portland, ME
Jun 3 — The Iron Horse - Northampton, MA
Jun 4 — Joe’s Pub - New York, NY
Jun 5 — Ashland Coffee & Tea - Richmond, VA
Jun 6 — The Birchmere - Alexandria, VA
Jun 7 — The Showroom - Spartansburg, SC
Jun 12 — Knucklehead’s - Kansas City, MO
Jun 13 — Blue Door - Oklahoma City, OK
Jun 14 — The Loft - Dallas, TX
Jun 15 — Stubb’s - Austin, TX
Jun 16 — Warehouse - Houston, TX
Jun 18 — Hi-Tone - Memphis, TN
Jun 19 — Workplay Theater - Birmingham, AL
Jun 20 — World Grotto - Knoxville, TN
Jun 21 — Smith’s Olde Bar - Atlanta, GA
Jun 22 — 3rd and Lindsley - Nashville, TN
Jun 25 — The Strutting Duck - Auburn, AL
Jun 26 — The Hummingbird - Macon, GA
Jun 27 — Arrowmount School of Arts and Crafts - Gatlinburg, TN

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