Justin Townes Earle
Sunday January 23
The Black Box, 8.00pm
THIS SHOW IS SOLD OUT
“I had the idea for a while of being some kind of poet, and then I
discovered Nirvana and found songs could be like poetry” JTE
Justin Townes Earle is an anomaly. He’s tall as the day is long, all angles and elbows and a hard stare, both welcoming and deadly serious. Justin won the Best New and Emerging Artist at the 2009 Americana Music Awards. His record, Midnight at the Movies, was named one of the best of last year by Amazon and won a five star review in Rolling Stone. GQ Magazine named him one of the 25 best dressed men in the world in 2010. He also appeared on HBO’s Treme with his dad, troubadour Steve Earle, on whose Grammy Award winning Townes record Justin also guests.
Woody Guthrie once said, “Any fool can make something complicated.
It takes a genius to make it simple.” On Harlem River Blues, Justin
chose the simple route. The record’s not a wall of sound produced to
the rafters. It’s rockin’ and reelin’ at times, sweet and slow at others—
and it’s great.
Compared to the much-lauded Midnight at the Movies,
Harlem River Blues is more mature and increasingly nuanced, while
still embracing the raw voice and clean sound of previous standout
tracks like Mama’s Eyes. Miss this show at your peril.