Singer-Songwriter Justin Townes Earle Dead At 38

UPDATE 8/25/20 4:28 P.M. PST: Metro Nashville Police Department told People the musician’s death is “likely related to a drug overdose.” An autopsy and toxicology report is still pending, but officials say there were no signs of struggle or foul play.

The music world has lost a thoughtful, talented artist far too soon…

Justin Townes Earle, a singer-songwriter behind popular tracks including Nothing’s Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now and Single Mothers, has died. He was just 38 years old.

The talented musician and performing artist also happened to be the firstborn son of Steve Earle, a high-profile American country music and folk singer-songwriter. Justin leaves behind a wife, Jenn Marie Earle, who he wed in 2013, as well as daughter Etta St. James Earle, born in 2017.

Justin’s death was first announced on his official Instagram account on Sunday, August 23. It’s unclear exactly when he passed; other details, including a cause of death, have not yet been publicly announced, either. A statement in the tragic IG post simply read:

“It is with tremendous sadness that we inform you of the passing of our son, husband, father and friend Justin. So many of you have relied on his music and lyrics over the years and we hope that his music will continue to guide you on your journeys. You will be missed dearly Justin.”

The message concluded with lyrics from his 2014 song Looking For a Place to Land, as well, which you can see (below):

View this post on Instagram

It is with tremendous sadness that we inform you of the passing of our son, husband, father and friend Justin. So many of you have relied on his music and lyrics over the years and we hope that his music will continue to guide you on your journeys. You will be missed dearly Justin ???? “I've crossed oceans Fought freezing rain and blowing sand I've crossed lines and roads and wondering rivers Just looking for a place to land” ???? by @thejoshuablackwilkins

A post shared by Justin Townes Earle (@justintownesearle) on Aug 23, 2020 at 5:30pm PDT

So very sad…

Earle was a prolific musician and performer, recording eight studio-length albums over a career that spanned more than a decade. The final full-length work of his released during his lifetime, The Saint Of Lost Causes, had been published in May of 2019.

In addition to his work, Justin battled addiction for quite a while during his teenage and young adult years. He was remarkably open and candid about the difficult subject, too. In 2015, he detailed to The Scotsman about what it had been like for him to battle addiction, saying:

“I was never one of those people that was confused, ‘Oh I can quit in a day.’ I knew I couldn’t quit any day. I always knew there was something different about the way that I used drugs and drank to the way that my friends did, but it’s a wild thing to wake up when you’re 16 years old and realize you can’t stop shooting up. The first time I did heroin, all the troubles I had just didn’t matter. It’s not that they went away, they just did not matter anymore. And after that it was just chasing that damn feeling that I never got again. There was this major wound inside of me and instead of doing anything about it, I kept picking at it and it never heals because of that.”

Wow… Eventually, after two relapses early in his career, Justin got sober. In that same 2015 interview, he further recalled how sobriety was what really pushed him to become a better performer and artist, adding:

“On my early records there are songs I wrote during the period when I was very intoxicated all the time, but there was no way I could have produced those records back then. I definitely had to be sober to figure out who I was as an artist and to have cohesion in my life.”

Tragically, Justin’s own website credits the advancement of his career to his “newly found clarity” in regards to sobriety and maturity. Even more noteworthy is this now-cryptic line, standing out from all the rest in his bio: