Steve Earle & The Dukes 2021 Summer Tour Came to Knuckleheads Saloon
Country rock superstar Steve Earle & The Dukes brought the band’s summer concert tour to Knuckleheads Saloon in Kansas City, MO on June 11, 2021. The 3-time Grammy Award winner and recent Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee is out on the road in support of his new album “J.T.,” a tribute to his late son Justin Townes Earle with whom he regularly collaborated. Wielding his symbolic harmonica plus acoustic and electric guitars, he and the group ravished a sold out crowd with that unprecedented brand of outlaw music.
It was a street party style of an event as Steve Earle took to the open air outdoor stage much to his delight. The entire 2-hour set from start to finish felt like an encore. Every storytelling song, slow or upbeat and backed by those incredible and incessant rhythms, captivated everyone on hand. Each and every tune either made you feel like jumping on the dance floor or like you were living in a movie. On stage with him were Chris Masterson (guitar), Eleanor Whitmore (fiddle/piano), Ricky Ray Jackson (steel guitar), Brad Pemberton (drums) and Jeff Hill (bass).
The setlist featured songs from throughout Steve Earle’s career, as well as a number of them from that new record. Notably were his biggest hits, “Guitar Town” (1986) and “Copperhead Road” (1988)—staples for us Midwesterners. However, the performance was just filled with pure and raw lyrics and musicality from top to bottom. It was the type of show that other artists turn out to witness. Expect to see Steve Earle & The Dukes back at Knuckleheads Saloon again next summer. The two seem to go hand-in-hand, just the perfect artist-venue pairing if there ever was one.
