The star-filled tribute concert to Justin Townes Earle, who died in August 2020 at the age of 38, has been put back by a full year. The show in honor of Steve Earle’s son had been due to take place tonight (4) at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.
The celebrated venue announced in a statement that “out of an abundance of caution,” it has postponed the show due to rising due to rising COVID-19 cases in the city. Purchased tickets are valid for the new date, and anyone seeking a refund may do so at the point of purchase within 90 days.
Celebration of a life
A Celebration of Justin Townes Earle had been set for what would have been the musician’s 40th birthday, but it will now take place at the Ryman on his 41st, January 4, 2023. Artists confirmed for the concert are Amanda Shires, Ben Nichols of Lucero, Buddy Miller, former bandmate Dustin Welch, Elizabeth Cook, Emmylou Harris, Jason Isbell, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Joe Pug, Jon Langford, Lilly Hiatt, Lucinda Williams, Mike Ness and Jonny Two Bags of Social Distortion, Old Crow Medicine Show, songwriting partner Scotty Melton, Stacey Earle (Justin’s aunt) and Mark Stuart, Steve Earle & the Dukes, and Willy and Cody Braun.
The show will feature material from Justin’s catalog, and will benefit a trust in the name of his four-year-old daughter, Etta St. James Earle. One hundred percent of the artist advances and royalties from Steve Earle’s tribute album J.T., released digitally in January 2021 and on CD and vinyl in March, are being donated to the same trust.
Associated Press said of the J.T. album that it “does what tribute albums are supposed to do. It elevates the work of the artist, reminds us of what great songs he created, and somehow begins the painful process of sorting through an unfathomable loss.” The younger Earle’s own last album The Saint of Lost Causes was released in May 2019.