GIG OF THE WEEK

Photo by Ted Barron

May 2

STEVE EARLE @ NEIGHBORHOOD THEATRE, CHARLOTTE

Steve Earle boasts a near-mythic biography fitting a country singer from Texas. He’s written books and plays and done prison time. He’s been married seven times to six women. His son, Justin Townes Earle, is forging a promising musical career of his own. He’s an activist and a rabblerouser, a storyteller and a keen-eared songwriter. But one needn’t trawl through Earle’s catalog — which spans almost 20 albums, starting with 1986′s Guitar Town — to understand what makes Earle such a sharp and vital songwriter. Last year’s T Bone Burnett-produced I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive makes the case on its own. The man who once sang with The Pogues gives a Celtic lilt to “The Gulf of Mexico” and “Molly-O,” while the roots-rocking outlaw shoves a honky-tonk shuffle into “Waiting On The Sky To Fall.” He wrestles with religion on “God is God,” and ultimately embraces the mystery, concluding ”I believe in God/ And God ain’t us.” On “Every Part of Me,” Earle sings a tender, gorgeous song of romantic devotion. The latter two, both album standouts, share a certain sense of reflection and subtle, redemptive contentment in the present. They suggest Earle as a wise elder — one whose stories we’re glad to hear time and again. —Bryan C. Reed

CALENDAR

Festivals

• April 26-29: Merlefest (Doc Watson, Jim Lauderdale, Punch Brothers, more) @ Wilkes Community College, Wilkesboro
• April 28: Canaan Music Festival (Matrimony, Jill Andrews, more) @ Camp Canaan, Rock Hill

April 26

• Shuffle Magazine Music/Video Showcase (Indie Grits Festival) w/ Ahleuchatistas, The Unawares, Andy The Doorbum @ Conundrum, Columbia
• Whatever Brains (album release party) w/ Burglar Fucker @ Kings, Raleigh
• Music on the Porch w/ Heather McEntire, Shirlette Ammons and Maria Albani @ Love House and Hutchins Forum, Chapel Hill
• The Melvins w/ Unsane @ Amos’ Southend, Charlotte

April 27

• Lunch Break Against Amendment One w/ Stu McLamb, Justin Robinson & The Mary Annettes, Organos, more @ Carrboro Town Commons, Carrboro
• T0W3RS (EP release party) w/ Lonnie Walker @ Kings, Raleigh
• Loretta Lynn @ Newberry Opera House, Newberry, S.C.
• Weedeater w/ ASG, Cough @ Outer Banks Brewing Station, Kill Devil Hills
• Across Tundras w/ Nate Hall @ Lexington Ave. Brewery, Asheville
• Fork & Spoon Records Showcase (Indie Grits Festival) w/ Those Lavender Whales, Chemical Peel, Can’t Kids @ 5 Points Pub
• The Old Ceremony w/ John Dee Holeman @ Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro
• Lucero w/ J Roddy Walston & The Business @ The Orange Peel, Asheville
• Treasure Fest 2 Benefit (One Another, Pullman Strike, Moenda, more) @ The Milestone, Charlotte
• The Brand New Life @ The Green Bean, Greensboro
• The Restoration @ New Brookland Tavern, Columbia
• Onward Soldiers w/ Mount Moriah @ Soapbox, Wilmington

April 28

• Loretta Lynn @ Alabama Theatre, Myrtle Beach
• Weedeater w/ ASG, Cough @ Casbah, Durham
• Sleepy Sun w/ White Hills @ Kings, Raleigh
• Bear In Heaven @ Grey Eagle, Asheville
• Hammer No More The Fingers w/ Saint Solitude @ Lexington Ave. Brewery, Asheville
• Tim Barry w/ JKutchma @ Soapbox, Wilmington
• Alison Krauss & Union Station @ Township Auditorium, Columbia

April 29

• Last Year’s Men w/ Roomrunner, Zack Mexico @ Slim’s, Raleigh
• Punch Brothers @ Music Farm, Charleston
• The Beach Boys @ Raleigh Amphitheatre, Raleigh
• Elvis Costello & The Imposters @ DPAC, Durham
• The English Beat @ Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro
• Bear In Heaven @ Kings, Raleigh

April 30

• Roomrunner w/ Moenda @ Snug Harbor, Charlotte
• Dick Dale @ Jack of the Wood, Asheville
• J. Roddy Walston & The Business @ Kings, Raleigh

May 1

• Xiu Xiu @ Kings, Raleigh
• Burnt Books w/ Racebannon @ New Brookland Tavern, Columbia
• Franz Nicolay @ Motorco, Durham
• Wizard Rifle @ Slim’s, Raleigh

May 2

• Nick Lowe & His Band w/ Tift Merritt @ Fletcher Opera Theatre, Raleigh
• Feist @ The Orange Peel, Asheville