Phew! It’s been a while since our last One Track at a Time. SXSW 2008 has been dominating HearYa recently, and rightly so. Therefore, in honor of SXSW and our upcoming Bloodshot Records day party, this OTaaT will give you yet another reason to check it out. In addition to Session alum Ha Ha Tonka, one of my new favorite artists will be there: Justin Townes Earle.

We posted “Ghost of Virginia,” a great folk country tune, back in November and again a week ago when announcing the bloodshot lineup, but I can’t get one of Earle’s other songs out of my head - “Hard Livin’.” I literally wake up in the morning singing “Well, roses are red / tulips are little, babe / why do you gotta always speak in riddles.” Hard Livin’ is a spry upbeat piano ditty that is more bluegrass than country. While a fiddle takes the song to new heights as it spirals upwards over jazzy finger picked guitar chords, the strongest part of the song is Earle’s amazingly convincing vocals, digging in and waning at just the right moments.

His EP, Yuma, is already out and contains the previously posted “Ghost of Virginia” and the new full length, The Good Life is out March 25th. If your not able to catch him at SXSW, he will be on tour everywhere in the lower 48 following several Austin dates. So to all those people in Nebraska, here’s your chance.

MySpace | Bloodshot Records

Justin Townes Earle - Hard Livin’

Justin Townes Earle - The Ghost of Virginia