Justin Townes Earle is certainly doing the hard yards to grow his audience in this part of the world. This tour is his his third visit to Australia in the last 16 months and he seems to be garnering larger crowds and wider praise each time he plays here. Fresh from Bluesfest, Earle was doing a run of shows down the east coast including the Factory Theatre in Sydney.

One benefit with tours around festivals is that you often get great double bills and guest appearances, in this case ex Drive-By Trucker Jason Isbell. Solo and acoustic he was a revelation with his deeply personal and emotional songwriting style. His was a finely balanced set of songs with between-song banter that ranged from hilarious to sincere and moving. Isbell included DBT songs among his solo ones with the peak of his set being the song Dress Blues detailing the death of a high school friend in Iraq and the subsequent memorial service that Isbell missed due to being out on tour. The personal nature of the songs shone through quickly with Isbell choking up in the first verse but steadying himself to keep on playing. It was one of those special and rare musical moments.

With each visit Earle’s stage persona has evolved and changed. First time round it was white singlet, jeans and slicked back hair, very much the ex-con look. Last time he was modeling the americana denim shirt, a more wholesome look. As he strode on stage at The Factory Theatre the crowd was treated to a three-piece pale blue suit, complete with suspenders and bow tie. Debate ensued as to whether he was rocking the mutant son of Colonel Sanders, southern preacher or school of Peewee Herman look. Either way he looked fantastic and if anyone can dress so sartorially and match it with his music it is Earle.

Playing a set that covered both his albums, he also included a bunch of songs that will feature on his next record that he is recording as soon as he returns to America. In his words it will be more in a ‘primitive blues’ style, though the songs we heard didn’t necessarily stretch into new stylistic terrain. One track that stood out was about a New Zealand girl he met in Sydney on a previous trip, the song telling the story of waiting for that Christchurch woman in the rain. It was a beautiful tale of a lonely traveller seeking love or comfort that effectively tugged the melancholic heartstrings.

Earle has developed his range beautifully over recent years and vocally he was able to play the tender card on songs like Mama’s Eyes or add some old-time grit and verve on a song like Halfway To Jackson. He can growl and he can croon and when you are carrying the show by yourself you need that versatility.

Earle took full advantage of having Isbell around with the guitarist adding impressive solos through most of the set as well as the occasional sweet vocal harmony. He complemented Earle’s dressed up style and schtick well but at times took the focus away from the central elements of Earle’s distinctive picking style that ran the gamut from country to swing and honky tonk.

That a musician can hold centre stage for near to two hours (usually without accompaniment) is testament to the charisma and talent of Justin Townes Earle. As his writing and playing develops he continues to carve out his own unique take on American roots music and though the venue wasn’t at capacity on this occasion you wouldn’t bet against it being full on his next visit to Australia.