Steve Earle & The Dukes Live @ River Cree Casino Aug.12th 2022

When this Steve Earle show was first announced I had passed on going as tickets were over a hundred dollars which I thought was a bit ridiculous. And having seen him more then a few times, I decided I would skip this one. Well, I ended up going as my buddy Buzzard had an extra ticket and gave it to me. Thanks Buzzard! The show was on a Friday night, so what the hell, let's do this. This would be my 11th time seeing Steve Earle in concert. Opening the show was The Mastersons who are husband and wife duo of Chris Masterson and Eleanor Whitmore whom both play in Steve's band The Dukes. They're good but this would be the third time in a row of seeing Steve in concert with them opening. It's kind of getting old, I'd like to see a different opener for a change. We had a few beers in the casino while they were on.

After their set it was time for Steve Earle and The Dukes. This would be the first time I had seen The Dukes wihtout the original bass player Kelley Looney after his passing in 2019. Steve and The Dukes were on the road promoting Steve's latest album Jerry Jeff which is a tribute album to one of his heroes Jerry Jeff Walker. Steve and The Dukes were in fine form for this show opening with three songs from the album, so all Jerry Jeff Walker songs starting with "Gettin' By", "Mr. Bojangles" and "Hill Country Rain". I also recall Steve playing "Guitar Town" early in the set which really got the crowd up and singing and dancing. Another song in which I was very happy to hear live was "Ben McCulloch". Then there was also "I Ain't Ever Satisfied" and "Galway Girl". In the middle of the set was "Copperhead Road", a song that everyone is familiar with, nice to see him play that in the middle of the set and not the encore. "Transcendental Blues" was another favorite of mine. I was very happy with his song choices for the night. The last two songs of the night were both cover songs, them being "Casey Jones" the Grateful Dead song and then ending the night with The Band's song "Rag Mama Rag". Loved how Steve Earle and The Dukes belted these out. I was just surprised that Steve would do these cover songs when he has so many of his own songs that he could have played, kinda weird. Nonetheless this was an amazing show. Good times!!! Steve Earle & The Dukes at River Cree Casino.