Colvin & Earle

Two gifted singers and songwriters unite in this project that brings together friends and peers <a href="spotify:artist:0K7VN4aHxHcEb7PqkfoIVA">Shawn Colvin</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2UBTfUoLI07iRqGeUrwhZh">Steve Earle</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:2UBTfUoLI07iRqGeUrwhZh">Earle</a> was born in 1955 and grew up in Texas, where he fell under the influence of the Lone Star State's stellar songwriting community, particularly <a href="spotify:artist:3ZWab2LEVkNKiBPIClTwof">Townes Van Zandt</a>. By 1986, after several years of trying to prove himself in Nashville, <a href="spotify:artist:2UBTfUoLI07iRqGeUrwhZh">Earle</a> enjoyed critical and commercial success with his first full-length album, Guitar Town. Despite personal and professional setbacks, over the next three decades <a href="spotify:artist:2UBTfUoLI07iRqGeUrwhZh">Earle</a> would mature into one of the best-respected artists in the Americana music community.

Meanwhile, <a href="spotify:artist:0K7VN4aHxHcEb7PqkfoIVA">Colvin</a> was born in South Dakota in 1965, and after spells in hard rock and retro-country bands, she moved to New York City and started making a name for herself as a singer/songwriter. After singing backup on <a href="spotify:artist:3X0tJzVYoWlfjLYI0Ridsw">Suzanne Vega</a>'s hit "Luka," <a href="spotify:artist:0K7VN4aHxHcEb7PqkfoIVA">Colvin</a> scored a record deal, and her debut album, 1989's Steady On, earned her a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. Scoring hits with the songs "I Don't Know Why" and "Sunny Came Home," <a href="spotify:artist:0K7VN4aHxHcEb7PqkfoIVA">Colvin</a> earned commercial success and critical acclaim.

In 1987, <a href="spotify:artist:0K7VN4aHxHcEb7PqkfoIVA">Colvin</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2UBTfUoLI07iRqGeUrwhZh">Earle</a> were booked to play a show together in Northampton, Massachusetts, which was the first time the two crossed paths. The two became friendly, and on her 1994 album Cover Girl, <a href="spotify:artist:0K7VN4aHxHcEb7PqkfoIVA">Colvin</a> did a fine version of <a href="spotify:artist:2UBTfUoLI07iRqGeUrwhZh">Earle</a>'s "Someday." <a href="spotify:artist:0K7VN4aHxHcEb7PqkfoIVA">Colvin</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2UBTfUoLI07iRqGeUrwhZh">Earle</a> would occasionally pop up at one another's shows in the years that followed, and in 2014 they staged a co-headlining concert tour. <a href="spotify:artist:2UBTfUoLI07iRqGeUrwhZh">Earle</a> was so pleased with how the shows went that he suggested he and <a href="spotify:artist:0K7VN4aHxHcEb7PqkfoIVA">Colvin</a> should record an album together. <a href="spotify:artist:0K7VN4aHxHcEb7PqkfoIVA">Colvin</a> agreed, and with <a href="spotify:artist:6RwBVkrxTbbtS4bwxYQXcp">Buddy Miller</a> producing the sessions, the pair recorded Colvin & Earle in less than two weeks. The album was released by Fantasy Records in June 2016, with <a href="spotify:artist:0K7VN4aHxHcEb7PqkfoIVA">Colvin</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2UBTfUoLI07iRqGeUrwhZh">Earle</a> supporting the release with another joint concert tour. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi