A special program featuring the music of the late Justin Townes Earle was part of the Aug. 31 edition of The Devo Rock Show. Earle passed away on Aug. 20 of an apparent drug overdose according to reports by police in Nashville, Tenn.
Click here for an archive of the program.
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE
The son of musician Steve Earle, he grew up in South Nashville. His parents separated when he was a young child, partly due to Steve Earle’s drug use. This led to a tumultuous childhood with Justin battling drug addiction beginning in his teenage years. After dropping out of school, he worked for his father as a roadie and was later invited to perform onstage with Steve Earle’s band The Dukes.
After cutting his teeth with Nashville bands The Distributors and The Swindlers, Earle borrowed a $1,000 from a girlfriend to release his debut EP Yuma in 2007. This led to moderate success and got him into the Nashville singer/songwriter music scene. From 2008-19 he released eight more albums, including his most recent The Saint Of Lost Causes.
His music is described as a fusion of rock, blues, bluegrass and country. In 2009, he received an Americana Music Award for new and emerging artist of the year. His “family trilogy” albums from 2014-17 include Single Mothers (2014), Absent Fathers (2015) and Kids In The Street (2017).
Justin struggled with drug addiction his whole life and was in and out of rehabilitation facilities. He is survived by wife Jenn Marie Maynard and daughter Etta.