When a musician strolls out onto a stage alone, it has to be one of the most vulnerable feelings. You are bearing your heart and soul to those sitting in front of you. Steve Earle has been doing this for 50 years. For some of those years, he fought addiction, arrest, and fighting for the songs he believes in.
Billed as Steve Earle: Fifty Years of Songs and Stories, Earle has been performing solo acoustic to rapt audiences, and the crowd at York, Pennsylvania’s Appell Center for Performing Arts was eager to hear this legend.
Starting the evening off was Pennsylvania-native Zandi Holup who captivated the crowd before Steve Earle took the stage.
As Steve Earle came to the mic, time seem to stand still. Spanning his entire musical career, Steve Earle regaled the crowd with stories from his life. Before every song, Steve marked where he was at that point in his life and career. From songs like “Devils Right Hand” and “Copperhead Road” (recently made Tennessee’s official state song), to “The Mountain” and “Transcendental Blues.” In one of the most memorable exchanges of the evening, he explained how after seeing Bruce Springsteen one night he was driven to go write a rock album like “Copperhead Road.”
Listen to “Copper Road (Acoustic) LIVE” via YouTube:
Steve Earle performed not only his own solo work, but he went into a number of older Steve Earle and The Dukes tunes. Near the end of his set he brought Zandi Holup back up to perform one of her own songs, “I’m Not Missing Anything But You.”
Steve Earle is one of the true Hardcore Troubadours left. He is an activist, a survivor, a poet and most of all a treasure that should be heard and seen. Go see this solo acoustic tour, spanning his 50 year career in music. Steve Earle continues his 50 Years of Songs and Stories Tour and it’s one not to miss. The man is a true legend!
The setlist included:
Tom Ames’ Prayer
Ben McCulloch
The Devil’s Right Hand
Guitar Town
My Old Friend the Blues
Someday
I Ain’t Ever Satisfied (Steve Earle & the Dukes)
No. 29 (Steve Earle & the Dukes)
Copperhead Road
Billy Austin (Steve Earle & the Dukes)
Goodbye
South Nashville Blues
CCKMP
Transcendental Blues
City of Immigrants
The Mountain (Steve Earle and The Del McCoury Band)
It’s About Blood (Steve Earle & the Dukes)
I’m Not Missing Anything But You (Zandi Holup)
Tell Moses (Colvin & Earle)
The Galway Girl
See more photos of Steve Earle performing at The Appell Center on May 31, 2025. All photos copyright Brandon Amos:
And here are photos of Zandi Holup opening the evening at The Appell Center
