Steve Earle and Reckless Kelly will perform Saturday, July 26.

After 30 years of wicked, twisted roads, broken strings and busted up songs, it’s no wonder Texas band Reckless Kelly’s songs swaddle your ears and mind like a well-worn coat snuggles you against life’s bitter winds. And while they travelled parallel paths that sometimes crossed (like on a Warren Zevon tribute album in 2004), it’s a bit of a wonder that Reckless Kelly and Steve Earle, the hardcore troubadour himself, didn’t collide until 2023, when Earle harnessed their highway-honed talents as his backing band after members of his longtime fellow travelers The Dukes expired or departed.

The way they fit each other is striking. Earle earned a steadfast following, selling over 30 million albums worldwide by writing songs informed by his north stars Townes van Zandt and Guy Clark, earning him the No. 1 slot on the country charts for 1986’s Guitar Town and Top 10 status on the rock charts for 1988’s Copperhead Road while forever keeping it real regarding his struggles and sobriety. He continued on to play arenas, festivals and intimate clubs while releasing 21 studio albums over the years, his most recent being an album of Jerry Jeff Walker songs in 2022. Earle is revered as a songwriter. His songs have been covered by Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Emmylou Harris, Bob Seger and many more. Earle is also renowned for his activism, using songs to draw attention to injustices like Ontario’s Port Hope 8 case or the falsely convicted West Memphis 3. He earned a 2010 award for his work to abolish the death penalty. Earle notably appeared in HBO’s cult television classic The Wire as recovering addict Waylon, a role he said was more life than acting.

His alliance with Reckless Kelly, who built their own diehard congregation decade by decade, might seem to be a David and Goliath kinda thing, yet they meet as musical equals, complementing each other to build a whole greater than the sum of the parts.

- Mary-Lynn Wardle