CMT Blog: Archive

Justin Townes Earle has been named one of GQ's 25 most stylish men in the world, and he showed up to the Mercy Lounge Wednesday night (Jan. 27) outfitted by Billy Reid, but his true style is in the music. Whether that music happens to be his own or a reinterpretation of a classic, he does it with equal amounts of grace. After stellar opening acts by Caitlin Rose and Dawn Landes, Earle kept one of the bigger Mercy crowds I've seen cheering with songs from his breakthrough album, Midnight at the Movies, but when he brought Landes back out for a duet on a Dolly Parton tune, I almost lost it. Their version of "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" was almost painfully sweet and sad, and the contrasting voices just begged us to listen closer. So, I've been playing the track ever since and it still catches my attention -- which is just what a timeless style should do.