‘Shaping It All Into A Ball’: Sammy Brue’s tribute to Justin Townes Earle
REVIEW | MUSIC
Sammy Brue at album release concert at the State Room on Sat., Jan. 31. Michael Barclay (Brother Chunky Images)
“Will the circle be unbroken?
By and by Lord, by and by”
It is said that Jesus walked on water and later turned water into wine.
Miracles, it has also been said, are rare these days.
We might be looking in the wrong places.
On a recent Saturday night at the State Room, under their hallowed disco ball, Ogden’s young troubadour Sammy Brue performed an impressive miracle of his own, conjuring the ghost of Justin Townes Earle, resurrecting songs and reanimating lyrics left behind in Earle’s private journals. Brue not only raised the dead, but he fed an eager audience, transforming Earle’s lifeless letters into music that would make heaven sing, turn the word to flesh.
This incarnation – Brue’s latest album – is named simply “The Journals,” and represents a joint effort between Sammy and his late muse, the son of music legend Steve Earle. These songs are a testament to Brue’s deep affection for Justin Townes Earle, tempered by the young artist’s sensitivity and restraint as a songwriter.
However, this album is no fanboy’s gushy tribute. Earle’s widow, Jenn Marie Earle, provided Brue with the journals, trusting him to tread softly through her late husband’s private musings. Brue, an accomplished songwriter in his own right, has poured over the journals with its unfinished lyrics, odd drawings, and existential musings, “shaping them,” in his words, “into a ball.” Brue fuses the arc of Earle’s larger catalog of music with his own creative intuition as an acolyte, disciple, and artist. Brue’s songs beat to the pulse of Earle’s originals.
Of course, welcoming spirits is not unheard of in these parts. With the Salt Lake Temple still closed for seismic renovations and other updates, it makes sense that if Justin Townes Earle wanted to offer a supernatural encore, he would choose the historic State Room. This stage, where so many legends have sung their songs and where a not-quite-legal Sammy Brue once waited for his lanky hero outside, is sacred ground. And while I have no evidence that any of us saw Justin Townes Earle on stage Saturday night, we all certainly heard his voice and felt his presence.
The Brue/Earle friendship – musical and existential – transcended the boundaries of space and time. Sammy Brue has absorbed something deeper from his relationship with Justin Townes Earle, beyond the pork pie hat, the glasses, and the wry smile. Not a transfiguration, but perhaps simply the magic of an artist growing into the shape of the thing he loves. Either way, Sammy owned the stage that night, reveling in the audience’s warm reception, assured that Justin would have been pleased. Sammy simply said thank you.
Will the circle be unbroken? Indeed it will.
Thank you, Sammy Brue.