By: Rick Landers
Steve Earle – Photo: (c) Rick Landers 2022
Last night at Alexandria, Virginia’s legendary Birchmere Music Hall, Steve Earle and The Dukes rolled out an evening of country roots tangled with an eclectic mix of songs welded together by Earle’s vocals immersed in grit, beautifully crafted songwriting, and his amazing band whose melodic twists and turns, and hot licks “could suck the chrome off a trailer hitch”, in the purloined words of Willie Nelson.
Tour schedule is HERE
The Dukes are Steve’s personal wrecking crew made up of: guitarist Chris Masterson, fiddle player Eleanor Whitmore, drummer Brad Pemberton, bassist Jeff Hill, and pedal steel player Ricky Ray Jackson who counted coup with Earle. Each punched in on time and held their ground, and more, during the night, with Masterson taking center stage when the time was right to spin out some with his 335 and Fenders. Earle kept up, as he was handed some very trick Telecasters, a couple of tuxedo Martins, a bouzouki, and mandolins to underscore Chris’s licks, adding some rhythmic heft to this beast of a group.
Coming in early with some of the finest tight-knit harmonies I’ve heard since the Everly Brothers were The Whitmore Sisters, who I expect will be packing the houses of music around the country as featured artists for a long, long time. Like all musicians, Eleanor and Bonnie Whitmore lost some steam when COVID hit, but have recently jumped back on the train with a fury of excellent songs, along with Eleanor’s husband, Chris Masterson, a Los Angeles producer, brilliant guitarist and more, who, as producer, helped craft their 2022 debut album, Ghost Stories.
Chris Masterson and Steve Earle – Photo (c) Rick Landers 2022
The Whitmore’s kicked off the night full steam ahead stunning the audience with their exquisite vocal harmonies, showmanship and good natured banter, with Eleanor on fiddle, piano, tenor guitar and Mellotron, and Bonnie on guitar. Later on they’d both return to support Steve and crew, on their final songs of the evening. Notably, Eleanor is the fiddle player and backup vocalist with The Dukes.
Frankly, this was one of the finest performances I’ve been to in decades, and I’ve been to a ton of shows. Earle can croon with the best of troubadours and can crunch his way on his and other songs that beg for the rootsy grit vocals of his fellow legends and friends, like Townes Van Zandt, Jerry Jeff Walker, Levon Helm, Jerry Garcia, and other “outlaws” who use to tour the bars and juke joints; local haunts before their stars began to rise.
Steve Earle and the Dukes are on the road now with The Whitmore Sisters, and this is a combo-show you won’t wanna miss – seriously, no hype – THIS is the show to see!
Tour schedule is HERE
