"Born in Nashville, Earle had been making music since he was a kid and earning plenty of comparisons to his father, country rabble-rouser Steve Earle, along the way. Determined to bust out of his father's shadow, he saw a musical breakthrough with 2010's Harlem River Blues, which set dark urban legends full of suicide, subways, and addiction to old-time gospel, folk, and country-blues music."
"There are some really sweet stories from his first year in Portland-of him driving around with a friend, putting his house together with [wife] Jenn Marie, and picking up equipment or furniture that they found on Craigslist. He was having these conversations with his friend, Andy Moore, about fatherhood and what that could mean for him, and he was actually in a really pretty solid place. I think the city at first was a really kind of calming, positive influence on him."
Justin Townes Earle was born in Nashville and made music since childhood, often compared to his father, Steve Earle. He achieved a musical breakthrough with 2010's Harlem River Blues, blending old-time gospel, folk, and country‑blues with dark urban narratives of suicide, subways, and addiction, helping shape the Americana genre. By 2016 Earle had struggled with alcohol, drugs, fights, and longstanding addiction, but he moved to Portland seeking sobriety, marriage, and fatherhood. Early life in Portland felt calming and domestic as he and wife Jenn Marie built a home and discussed fatherhood, but the birth of his daughter and a new domestic life did not fully overcome his many demons.
Read at Portland Mercury
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]