The number of songs from Steve Earle that make me and break me is nearly endless.
We’ll likely see Steve again in October as he is slated to perform at The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco.
I say, “likely” because they’ve been announcing scheduled artists and the list is already impressive. I want to end up at the Banjo Stage watching Steve and The Hardly Strictly Dukes perform their brand of raw and offensive bluegrass.
But there are performers scheduled I’ve never seen and conflicts could arise.
For instance, John Craigie is schedule and just hearing, “I Am California” or “Helena” or “Dissect the Bird” are important to me.
Allison Krause is schedule as well. Wow!!! What a talent. Also, Robert Plant (yes, THE Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin fame) is performing in San Francisco that weekend. Krause and Plant did a couple albums together produced by T. Bone Burnett. They performed at Hardly Strictly several years ago.
Might Plant make a guest appearance at HSB? Be still my heart!
Add to this, Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings are performing, as well as Old Crow Medicine Show. Those are two acts one should not miss if given the opportunity.
I also discovered that Billy Strings will be performing in Oakland on Friday and Saturday evening. It is nearly unfathomable that he won’t show up at HSB as some point.
In 2023, a year before Deb and I attended Hardly Strictly the first time, I received this text message from Jess, my oldest daughter, who was attending the festival.
Jess: “Saw Steve Earle just now. It transported me right back to being sixteen and listening to him on repeat at the dixeleta house. Thanks for introducing me to the best music.”
Me: “That’s so awesome! I’m jealous but happy for you. It makes me happy. Did he play someday?”
Jess: He did! First song.
Someday is a song about a young man who works at a gas station near a drive-by town and dreams of escaping poverty and boredom.
Another added element… when Steve played it at Hardly Strictly that year, he spoke about the fentanyl overdose death of his son, Justin Townes Earle (named after legendary songwriter Townes Van Zandt) - who also died due to drug abuse.
At this point, my son Christopher was living with us, recovering from a myriad of health issues caused by his fentanyl addiction. I’ve written about that here, here, and here.
All I’m saying is that the song means something to me. I’ve included the lyrics below, a little more context to the song, and Steve’s version.
"There ain't a lot that you can do in this town You drive down to the lake and then you turn back around You go to school and you learn to read and write So you can walk into the county bank and sign away your life I work at the fillin' station on the interstate Pumpin' gasoline and countin' out of state plates They ask me how far into Memphis son, and where's the nearest beer And they don't even know that there's a town around here Someday I'm finally gonna let go 'Cause I know there's a better way And I wanna know what's over that rainbow I'm gonna get out of here someday Now my brother went to college cause he played football I'm still hangin' round cause I'm a little bit small I got me a 67 Chevy, she's low and sleek and black Someday I'll put her on that interstate and never look back Someday I'm finally gonna let go 'Cause I know there's a better way And I wanna know what's over that rainbow I'm gonna get out of here someday"
The song infected the Zeitgeist of our world at the time… Family strife (divorce), living in the Arizona desert, getting out and starting to play music. Steve Earle’s entire catalog loomed large in our home and Someday may have loomed the largest.
Also, it makes a hopeful and then absolutely devastating appearance in the movie, Bridge to Terabithia.
Zooey Deschanel plays a middle-school teacher. She plays the song twice - the first time the kids are cheerfully taking part. After the tragic death of one of the two main characters, she performs are a much more somber version.
She’s playing (and yes, she does actually play) a Gibson Hummingbird guitar. It is a guitar I would LOVE to own. If there are any wealthy benefactors with $4,000 you don’t know what to do with, I have some ideas.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
A short-clip of the first rendition.
The tragedy infused second rendition.
Note: The videos are blocked from being embedded, hence the links only.
And the official video with a young and likely heroin addicted Steve Earle.
Thankfully, Steve is sober and angry and ornery as ever!
The two years that I’ve attended Hardly Strictly, he closes his set with a pointed version of Woody Guthrie’s, This Land is Your Land - including an added verse aimed at the current political and economic elite who are more intent on flexing power than helping society and the average human!
Deb and I are excited about attending but are also dreading what feels like the Faustian scheduling decisions we know we will be forced to make.
And yes, I’m quite aware that this is a first-world problem.
I’ve said it before, life is unfair and, at this point, it is unfair to my favor. I am aware that others are on the harsher side of that scale.
Thank you for joining me on this journey.
With Love and Gratitude,
Matthew Moran
August 7, 2026
P.S. Because several neighbors expressed an interest in learning guitar, I made a video titled: Three Chords, One Rhythm, Five Songs - Getting Started on Guitar (folk songs)
In it, I talk about my philosophy to learning to play guitar, why I teach the songs I do, and my musical backstory. I then teach 5 folk songs - the first songs I learned, including, This Land is Your Land (Woody Guthrie) & Blowing in the Wind (Bob Dylan).
Three chords and the truth can go a long way.
P.S.S. Somebody who lives less than 10 minutes from me was selling this Mandolin at a great bargain. We talked for a bit. She and her daughter always wanted to play but it has sat in its guitar case for about 8 years - never played. Other than needing new strings, it is “brand new”.
I’ve already learned Steve Earle’s, Copperhead Road. He wrote it on a mandolin. Again, three chords and the truth goes a long way.
The schedule makes me wish I could be at that festival :-). I'm impressed by how your passions inspire those around you! Be well,
J