Steve Earle & the Dukes

Protégé of legendary songwriters Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, Steve Earle is one of today's master musical storytellers, whose songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Travis Tritt, The Pretenders, Joan Baez and countless others. Throughout his more than 30-year career, Mr. Earle has mined the veins of American roots music: country rock and roll, folk and rockabilly. His debut record, Guitar Town, shot to No. 1 on the country charts, and his Grammy Award-winning albums include The Revolution Starts…Now, Washington Square Serenade and Townes. He is host of “The Steve Earle Show: Hardcore Troubadour” on Sirius XM Radio.

His debut novel, I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive, was published in 2011, and a second novel and a memoir are forthcoming. Mr. Earle is also recognized as an actor from his roles on HBO's “The Wire” and “Treme,” both created by David Simon.

http://www.steveearle.com/

The Mastersons

Don't bother asking The Mastersons where they're from. Brooklyn, Austin, Los Angeles, Terlingua; they've called each home in just the last few years alone. If you really want to get to know this husband-and-wife duo, the better question to ask is where they're going.
For the last seven years, The Mastersons have kept up a supremely inexorable touring schedule, performing as both the openers for Steve Earle and as members of his band, The Dukes, in addition to playing their own relentless slate of headline shows and festivals. Written in a slew of different cities around the world, the band's new album, Transient Lullaby, is a late-night collection of subtle, evocative performances that showcase the itinerant couple at their absolute finest. Musically, the album is rich with intoxicating harmonies that float above Eleanor Whitmore's stirring string arrangements and Chris Masterson's adroit guitar work, but it's the deeply personal songwriting that always manages to steal the show. Full of characters facing down difficulty and darkness with all the grit and humility they can muster, Transient Lullaby is an unfiltered and timeless portrait of all the joy and pain love can bring, though it's not without its political moments, too.

http://www.themastersonsmusic.com