Another reminder that there's so much music out there and so little time. Sunday night we were among a sadly undersized crowd to witness a young man on the front edge of what should be a stellar career. His pedigree is enough to suffocate a lesser talent given that he's Steve Earle's son and the late Texas legend Townes Van Zandt was his godfather. So this wiry, way over six-foot-tall, twenty-something cowboy has something to prove and his 90-minute set at Barksdale's "Stretchin'" series offered all the proof any skeptic could want that Justin Townes Earle is the real deal.
Along with his sidekick Cory Yountes on mandolin and harmony vocals, Justin ran through a rich and varied set list of mostly original tunes that made me feel like I could've been in a time machine watching Hank Williams when he first started out of the gate. Fun, up tempo stuff like "Chitlin' Cookin' Time in Cheatham County" and achingly dark ballads like "Yuma" that told a haunting story of loneliness gone unchecked. Accompanying himself on guitar, occasional harmonica and a good helping of boot heel percussion, Earle the younger displayed a confidence and charisma that can't be faked and made believers of this appreciative audience, most of us hearing him for the first time. You can hear "Yuma" on his MySpace page, which is also the title of a six-song EP that he's selling until his full-length album "The Good Life" comes out on Bloodshot Records this coming spring. I for one, can't wait.
Thanks to BJ Kocen for sticking his neck out for the sake of good music and creating another wonderful listening space in town. And to Susan Greenbaum for her sweet opening set. I love surprises and Sunday provided a really good one.
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