Music

See Justin Townes Earle make his late night debut

by Tyler Munro

Justin Townes Earle had one hell of a 2010. In May, he made his acting debut alongside his dad—country rocker all around badass Steve Earle—in an episode of HBO’s Tremé. On September 13^th he released Harlem River Blues to strong reviews. Three days later, he was arrested for battery, public drunkenness and for resisting arrest. This is around the time he tweeted a picture of a bloodied naked man-ass. Not surprisingly, the not-yet-30 folk rocker checked himself into rehab a few days later, postponing the rest of his tour.

Luckily, Earle seems to have started the new year off right, making his television debut last night on the Late Show with David Letterman with a strong performance of the title track off last year’s Harlem River Blues. Surprisingly it’s one of the only performances that rendered the usually interminable Paul Shaffer almost unnoticeable. Maybe Letterman should make him a regular?

Watch Justin Townes Earle make his network debut below, and if you dig the track, Earle’s made it available for free download. Sort of. If you want to download “Harlem River Blues” you’ll have to ‘unlock’ the download by using either the Twitter or Facebook buttons on his site. A cheap advertising ploy? Maybe, but rehab isn’t cheap.