If you weren’t willing to make the 200 miles drive to see Justin Townes Earle play beautiful downtown St. Augustine this past November, then you’re in luck.
The lanky, once-troubled, hard-picking 32-year-old son of Steve is coming back to the Tampa Bay area for a show at Crowbar on February 16. His last local appearance (we're not counting a 2013 set in Orlando) was at the very same room, four years ago in support of a 2010 LP, Harlem River Blues, and he arrives with a new-ish effort —Single Mothers— which is his first with Vagrant Records after ending a seven-year stint on famed Chicago roots imprint Bloodshot Records.
The album was released in September and is the companion release to another 10-track collection of songs, Absent Fathers (due January 13). The LPs were recorded together, and meant to be a double album, but Earle decided to release them separately so they could make their own statements and take on their own identities. Both were recorded with his four-piece touring band and have no overdubs, extra singers or additional players. In short, it’s stripped down contemporary Americana perfect for showcasing Earle’s brutally frank, sometimes off-putting songwriting.
Tickets are $20-$25, and former Naw’ins street busker turned Americana wonderboy Gill Landry will open. More information is available on Facebook. You can listen to “Call Ya Momma” from Absent Fathers below. Tickets to the February 16 show are available here.