Steve Earle

Steve Earle is one of the most acclaimed singer-songwriters of his generation. A protégé of legendary songwriters Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, he quickly became a master storyteller in his own right, with his songs recorded by Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Joan Baez, Emmylou Harris, The Pretenders, and countless others.

In 1986, he released Guitar Town, which shot to No. 1 on the country charts and is now regarded as a classic of the Americana genre. Most recently, Earle’s 1988 hit “Copperhead Road” was made an official state song of Tennessee in 2023.

Subsequent releases, including The Revolution Starts…Now (2004), Washington Square Serenade (2007), and TOWNES (2009), received consecutive GRAMMY® Awards. Released in 2022, Jerry Jeff features Earle’s interpretations of songs written by one of his mentors, Jerry Jeff Walker.

Earle is also an accomplished author. He has published the novel I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011) and a collection of short stories, Dog House Roses (Houghton Mifflin, 2003). As a producer, he has worked with artists including Joan Baez (Day After Tomorrow) and Lucinda Williams (Car Wheels on a Gravel Road).

As an actor, Earle has appeared in several films and had recurring roles in the HBO series The Wire and Tremé. In 2009, he appeared in the off-Broadway play Samara, for which he also composed the score—described by The New York Times as “exquisitely subliminal.” He later wrote music for and appeared in Coal Country, earning a Drama Desk Award nomination.

Earle hosts the weekly show Hard Core Troubadour on SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country channel. In 2020, he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2023, he was honored by the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music.

His latest album, Alone Again (Live), was released on July 12, 2024. Most recently, Earle was invited to join the Grand Ole Opry and was officially inducted on September 17, 2025.