Justin’s music has been our go-to soundtrack for bad break-ups and regrettable drunken evening remorse for quite a long time. His genre of music can be traced back to the origin and heart of the Blues. Not that twangy-ba-dump-dwang stuff we’ve dubbed as Blues, but the soulful anthem of a man who has seen some shit in his days. JTE played The Fox Theatre with American Aquarium and it was a night filled with swaying parents and a rather “sophisticated” crowd for a show held in the heart of a rowdy college town.

American  Aquarium hails from Raleigh, North Carolina and has all the southern-boy-charm one girl can handle. We’re sure a part of them brakes inside each time a woman is forced to walk across a puddle without the safety of their worn jean jacket under toe. Their music is equally as soulful and bluesy as Justin Townes Earle’s and we can understand why the two are on tour together. American Aquarium’s music is slightly more rugged and feral than JTE’s and provokes a sense a nostalgia for an open road. We bought their record and tee shirt and haven’t taken it off since Saturday...something we’re not too proud about.

JTE started off the night with a giggle as he played a good two-thirds of a song in the wrong key and was politely informed by the bassist that he was in fact off. After starting over with a huge applause and confidence booster from the crowd, the night was off to a perfect start. He played a lot of tracks from his latest record, Single Mothers and some off of his older albums, yet, he stated multiple times that he’s probably be forgetting some of the lyrics. (He doesn’t like to listen to any of his old albums so he doesn’t repeat the same song, which we respect). The crowd was older than we expected, it’s like all of the sophisticates and scholars came out of their in-home libraries for the evening to pay tribute to Justin's music. The night was amazing, just what we needed on this sleepy fall day. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to his latest album, we suggest you do it now. It is streaming on Spotify and available for purchase on iTunes.