When Justin Townes Earle left us on August twentieth, 2020, he left behind a musical legacy whose impression properly surpassed his output of eight studio albums over ten years, or just being one more well-known son of a well known performer. The songs of Justin Townes Earle have been the opening salvo and direct inspiration for the revolutionary strides which have been made in unbiased nation and roots music over the previous few years within the wake of his passing.
Along with his aching, painful supply of poetically elegant songs ripped straight out of his personal biography and smeared with tears and the residues of habit, Justin Townes Earle embodied every little thing you needed from the tragic troubadour holding on simply sufficient to carry out for you—all of it punctuated with the plucky, nearly violent approach he pulled on the decrease strings of an acoustic guitar extra akin to the clawhammer model inflicted on a banjo than the strums or fingerpicks accustomed to a six string.
Justin Townes Earle lived what he sang, and sang what he lived. Now his quick, however propulsive and influential life shall be chronicled in a licensed biography known as What Do You Do When You’re Lonesome. Written by journalist Jonathan Bernstein who acquired the total cooperation of the Justin Townes Earle property and Earle’s widow Jenn Marie, the 368-page biography shall be launched on January thirteenth, 2026.
The e-book is claimed to chronicle Justin Townes Earle’s interval of long-term sobriety, alongside together with his moments of relapse that in the end led to his overdose demise. It additionally tells the backstories behind a few of Earle’s most landmark songs like “Mama’s Eyes” and “White Gardenias,” together with perception into the “shadow world of the uncared for youngsters of Nashville legends who wrestle with the legacies of their hard-living, road-weary, usually absent mother and father.”
Justin Townes Earle was in fact the son of alt-country legend Steve Earle, however Justin would go on to forge a legacy that continues to dwell on regardless of the well-known final identify. And just like the tragic story of Luke Bell who the music neighborhood additionally misplaced in 2022, the teachings from the Justin Townes Earle story are ones your entire music neighborhood must study from and reckon with, ensuring artists susceptible to psychological well being points and habit are cared for.
What Do You Do When You’re Lonesome: The Approved Biography of Justin Townes Earle is now obtainable for pre-order.
