photos by Ryan Barkan

Steve Earle kicked off his summer tour on June 9th in Seattle and played the Crystal Ballroom in Portland one night later. The pictures in this post are from that show.

It's Steve's first full band tour in many years. That band, "the Dukes (and Duchesses)", includes his wife Allison Moorer who he sings duets with and who plays some of her own material half way through the long show.

"The show comes to an end after about two-and-a-half hours, until the artists return for the first of two encores. Earle and the Dukes (and Duchesses) open the first encore with the title track of the newly released album and novel, "I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive," a cover of the last song released by Hank Williams before he died.

The first encore ends with Earle's popular "Guitar Town," which re-energizes the crowd and sparks a second encore. Once Earle and crew return to the stage again, he slowly picks his guitar while praising President Obama, chastising republican Supreme Court justices and saying "I ain't no Democrat y'all. I'm well to the left of that."

This leads into the singalong "Come back Woody Guthrie" tune before three more songs close out the set.

Three hours after taking the stage to start the concert, the 56-year-old Steve Earle is still full of passion for singing and performing. It's clear he belongs above the crowd, not with them." [Oregon Music News]

No opener. That's likely how it will be when the tour finally gets to NYC in September. Tickets are still on sale for the shows at Music Hall of Williamsburg and Town Hall.

Since we last spoke Steve has also added a bunch of dates. All of them with more pictures from Oregon, below...

Continue reading "Steve Earle now on tour (updated dates), played Crystal Ballroom in Portland (pics)"

Willamette Week's Musicfest NW announces this year's festival line-up which will be held at various venues around the Portland, OR metropolitan area on September 16, 17, 18 & 19. On the heels of the most successful MFNW to date, MFNW 2009 launches with nothing but the hope of a bigger and better festival. MFNW's ultimate aim is to provide Portland with a unique and special musical experience that features all types of acts including nationally renowned artists while still honoring and supporting the special musical scene of the Northwest.

Four-day passes to the fest are on sale now.

The lineup so far, including the newly-reunited Sunny Day Real Estate, is below...

Continue reading "Musicfest NW in Portland, OR (Sept 16-19) - lineup"