Earle will perform at 8 p.m. tonight at the Bluebird Nightclub.
“It’s gotten to be that my fans do expect a certain number of solo shows a year,” ?Earle said.
He also said small clubs such as the Bluebird with more intimate crowds are often better for acoustic shows like the one Earle is set to be doing.
“I have had the issue in larger cities these days where the rooms are getting big enough that I’m having a problem with a bit of a disconnect with the crowd, so it is fun to get back into a regular club where you can see everybody and judge their reaction to the songs,” he said.
Earle hasn’t played in Bloomington since a house show he did about 14 ?years ago.
Because of his unfamiliarity with the area, he said he expects his visit to be a “pleasantly surprising” ?experience.
His most recent album, “Single Mothers,” was ?released Sept. 9.
After the expiration of his contract on Bloodshot Records and a short relationship with Communion Records, he signed to Vagrant Records shortly before the release of the album.
“Single Mothers” was intended to be a double album.
“It was a conscious decision just to kind of break them up and not pile too much on people at once after, you know, two and a half years or so of not making records,” Earle said.
The second half of the set, “Absent Fathers,” is intended for release Jan. 14.
“There’s a definite downside to the first record, ‘Single Mothers,’” Earle said. “It’s still kind of grasping for some control after all those years, basically. Then the second one, it’s seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s nowhere near it, I mean, it’s still a pinhole in the distance, but you can see it at least.”
The Bluebird’s doors open at 7 p.m. and the show will begin at 8 p.m.
Tickets are available in advance through the venue’s website, thebluebird.ws or at Earle’s personal website, ? justintownesearle.com .
