While he's worn many hats in his creative career — novelist, actor, playwright and radio host — singer-songwriter Steve Earle is best known as a self-proclaimed "hardcore troubadour." In his sixth appearance on Mountain Stage, Earle brings songs from So You Wannabe an Outlaw? his latest collection of new material that features guest appearances by Willie Nelson and Miranda Lambert.
He dedicates "The Firebreak Line," a song not heard on the radio broadcast, to the men and women who battle fires throughout the country, often called "Hot Shots." Earle first recorded "The Mountain" on an album with the Del McCoury Band inspired by the coal-country of Appalachia. "This is a beautiful place where you live," he tells the audience in Charleston, W.Va, "And you have to take care of it."
Earle's first appearance on Mountain Stage was in 1996, on a show that also featured one of Earle's most influential mentors, Guy Clark. Introduced to Clark's music through Townes Van Zandtwhen a 17-year-old Earle moved to Nashville, Clark became one of his greatest teachers. Clark died in 2016, and "Goodbye Michelangelo" is Earle's tribute to his hero.
Along with his backing band The Dukes (Chris Masterson on lead guitar and vocals, Eleanor Whitmore on fiddle, mandolin and vocals, Kelley Looney on bass guitar, Brad Pemberton on drums and Ricky Ray Jackson on steel guitar) Earle closes with his best-known hit, 1988's "Copperhead Road."
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