Ogden folk artist pays tribute to his mentor, Justin Townes Earle

OGDEN — Words capture our feelings and tell our stories.

When paired with music they can inspire. And that’s exactly what happened when Sammy Brue was introduced to folk music at a young age.

“I just took a real keen liking to folk music,” he said, “it’s just the simplest form of expression in songwriting.”

The words of The Avett Brothers, Justin Townes Earle, and Shakey Graves called to him. At age 10, he grabbed his guitar and took to the streets.

“Even on 25th Street, I was always busking and then moved our way up to Salt Lake, and then Park City,” he said.

His heart was set on being like one songwriter in particular, Justin Townes Earle.

Following in the footsteps of a legend

“I was like, I want to play guitar like him, I want to dress like him. Everything in my power, I tried to just emulate him,” Brue said.

Because Justin Townes Earle was a legend.

“This is a guy who’s named after one of the best writers, Townes Van Zandt. The guy who gave Justin that name is Steve Earle,” Brue said.

At 10, Brue was able to meet his hero.

“He came out and was smoking a funny smelling cigarette and signed my guitar and gave me a big hug and said, ‘I wish you the best’. And from then on, it just inspired me to keep writing,” Brue said.

At 13, Earle invited him to be on the cover of one of his albums. At 16, the two went on tour together.

“And he was kind of just like my big brother in the industry,” Brue said. “Him saying, ‘you can do it’ shaped my whole path in front of me.”

Keeping the stories alive

Now at a venue on 25th Street, Brue is performing some of Earle’s songs.

“Yeah. I want to keep these stories alive, and I want to keep Justin alive,” he said.

Because in August 2020, Brue’s idol died of a drug overdose. Brue was devastated. He traveled to meet with Earle’s family and found comfort and connection between pages of discovered journals.

“Looking at words he wrote down with pencil and finding songs that are like my favorite songs, handwritten, I was so inspired just from holding his journals,” he said.

That’s the powerful thing about words. They can carry a legacy.

“I was like, I want to be in charge of archiving this. I want to co-write with my hero,” Brue said.

So, Brue got to work resurrecting and reimagining old songs, becoming a co-writer to new ones, and working on an album that would continue the story of Justin Townes Earle.

“To be able to even feel somewhat a part of this lineage is just been an insane honor,” he said.

Fundraising efforts

Through community fundraising and concerts, Brue is raising the money needed to produce the album. Once produced, all the album sales will be donated to Earle’s wife and daughter. He hopes in this way he can also continue Earle’s legacy.

“I’m actually able to donate all this time and these songs saying thank you to my friend,” he said.

And his hopes spread beyond the financial goals of the album.

“It’s not about fame. It’s about inspiring that next kid,” Brue said.

Because maybe there is someone like 10-year-old Sammy Brue, who hears a line or two that stands out, and the story of Brue and Earle will continue.

If you would like to donate to the production of the album, Brue is collecting donations here with a *GoFundMe account.

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