Justin Townes Earle

A couple weeks ago, we were discussing the absence of traditional-sounding country music on the radio. And while it might be true that "country-pop" has replaced true country in the mainstream, some artists are still clinging to a more traditional sound.

On Tuesday March 2nd, Justin Townes Earle will be playing at the Mohawk Place in Buffalo. His father is country musician Steve Earle, and he is named after Townes Van Zandt, so it's safe to say he knows a little bit about country music. He has released three albums since 2007, and was named Emerging Artist of the Year for 2009 by the Americana Music Association.

Having seen Justin Townes Earle perform once before, I can say that he is definitely worth checking out. As I said, he will be playing one of Buffalo's best and most important venues, Mohawk Place. But even if you can't check out his show, I would highly recommend listening to one of his albums. I don't listen to a ton of country music, but I definitely feel that Justin Townes Earle is one of the better new artists in the genre.