On January 4, on what would’ve been Justin Townes Earle’s 40th birthday, the late singer-songwriter will be honored with a tribute concert at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, called A Celebration Of Justin Townes Earle.
Steve Earle & The Dukes are playing, and so are Jason Isbell, Amanda Shires, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, Ben Nichols, Buddy Miller, Dustin Welch, Elizabeth Cook, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Joe Pug, Jon Langford, Lilly Hiatt, Mike Ness and Jonny Two Bags, Old Crow Medicine Show, Scotty Melton, Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart, and Willy and Cody Braun.
All artists will be performing songs from Justin’s catalog. Tickets, ranging from $45-$85, will go on sale this Friday, and proceeds from the show will go to benefit Justin’s four-year-old daughter, Etta St. James Earle, and her trust. Everyone in attendance will be required to show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination.
The elder Earle is also in the middle of planning his seventh annual John Henry’s Friends Benefit Concert at New York City’s Town Hall on December 13. Rosanne Cash and Bruce Springsteen are among the artists who will join the show.
Earle himself will headline the event with his band the Dukes, and Cash and Springsteen join a bill that also features Willie Nile, the Mastersons, and Matt Savage. Proceeds will go to the Keswell School in New York, which describes its mission as “to ensure that children on the autism spectrum experience school as joyous and enriching.”
Earle’s own son, John Henry, attends the facility, which educates children with autism aged 3 to 21. You can make a donation here to the non-profit organization.
“The John Henry’s Friends concerts are obviously a labor of love for myself as well as an expression of the generosity of all the performers who have suited up and showed up over the years,” says the Americana hero. “I’m especially grateful for this year’s new friends, my neighbor Willie Nile, my old friend Rosanne Cash and my hero Bruce Springsteen.”
Visit the Ryman Auditorium’s official website for more information.
