Last night Tammy and I saw Steve Earle at the Dakota. Mazie and I saw him last year at the Dakota. I also saw Earle’s Copperhead Road 30th Anniversary show in 2018 and saw him at the Minnesota Zoo in 2017. I’m a fan of Steve Earle and love these solo acoustic shows.

He played for nearly two hours and covered a big part of his catalog. I loved his comment about writing “Tom Ames’ Prayer” when he was 20 and “God is God” in his 50s.

He shared one of his favorite quotes from Townes Van Zandt:

There are only two kinds of songs; there’s the blues, and there’s zip-a-dee-doo-dah.

He called out to his “teachers” with songs and stories: Townes Van Zandt, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Guy Clark.

It also happened that the show was on the 4 year anniversary of his son Justin Townes Earle death from fentanyl. This was the second time I’d heard him talk about the loss of his son. So very sad.

Shannon McNally

Shannon McNally opened the show with a solid set that I enjoyed a lot as well. She shared great stories of the road and her songs were inspiring.