the james and justin show
Who said there is nothing to do in Lexington on a Monday night? Not the good folks at the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, that’s for sure. They’ve got a beaut of a show on tap to tape tonight at the Kentucky Theatre: a double Americana bill featuring singer/songwriters James McMurtry (above) and Justin Townes Earle.
McMcMurty has long displayed a great flair for the narrative. And why not? He’s the son of celebrated Western novelist and screenwriter Larry McMurtry. But over the past two decades, James has issued one extraordinary set of worldly themed rural life snapshots after another. The political slant of his music has become increasingly pointed, as well.
A regular visitor to Lexington over the years (he’s played The Dame, High on Rose and Lynagh’s Music Club several times), tonight marks his first local performance since the release of what just might stand as his finest album, Just Us Kids. Rather than repeating myself ad nauseum, I’ll refer you to the critic’s pick 15 entry of The Musical Box for a full review. Let’s just say the record is a gem, one of the best so far in 2008, for sure. And that only ups the anticipation of tonight’s show, which will likely be devoted to the new songs.
Earle (left), of course, is the son of Americana “hard core troubadour” Steve Earle. But a listen to The Good Life, the younger Earle’s debut album on the indie insurgent country label Bloodshot, reflects a life less amplified. There’s no Lone Star drawl to Justin’s singing, no brazen electric overtures, just a deep folky tenor with a flair for stark, conversational tales (like Lone Pine Hill and Far Away in Another Town, which recalls the late Townes Van Zandt, who Earle is partially named for), a hearty groove (the neo-Jamaican South Georgia Sugar Babe) and traditional country elegance (the Ernest Tubb-flavored Ain’t Glad I’m Leaving).
If you miss Earle this time around, be patient. He will be back for a full set this fall at the Christ the King Okotoberfest. Keep Sept. 20 open.
James McMurtry and Justin Townes Earle perform at 7 tonight for the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour at the Kentucky Theatre, 214 E. Main. Tickets are $10. For reservations, call (859) 252-8888.
I am a native Kentuckian and freelance journalist who has been writing about contemporary music for the Lexington Herald-Leader since 1980. I have not a lick of honest musical talent myself, just a pair of appreciative ears for jazz, folk, blues, bluegrass, Americana, soul, Celtic, Cajun, chamber, worldbeat, nearly every form of rock 'n' roll imaginable and, when pressed, the occasional tango and polka.