© 2026 ABC News

Reaction to Justin's passing was swift, with author Stephen King reacting with disbelief. \"It appears that Justin Townes Earle has died. I hope it's a hoax but fear it is not. What a loss,\" he wrote in a tweet.

Fellow country act Parker McCollum encouraged fans to pay tribute to the late singer by listening to his music. \"RIP Justin Townes Earle. What a talent he was,\" he tweeted. \"If you get the chance, listen to \"far away in another town\" by him. One of all time favorite end of the day tunes.\"

Indie band Head & the Heart also took to Twitter to offer their sincerest condolences. \"RIP Justin Townes Earle...,\" the band wrote. \"We had the pleasure of playing a few shows together. He was such an immense songwriter and authentic soul. This year is a thief.\"

Earle came into the music scene in 2007 with the release of his 6-song EP, \"Yuma.\" He went on to release several albums throughout his career as a musician -- his most recent was \"The Saint of Lost Causes,\" which was released in May 2019.

Earle also won the Americana Music Association's emerging artist of the year award in 2009 and the association's song of the year award for his hit \"Harlem River Blues\" in 2011.

He leaves behind his wife, Jenn Marie, their daughter Etta St. James, as well as his parents and other family members.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/justin-townes-earle-son-country-legend-steve-earle/story?id=72567087","legacySlug":"/culture/story/justin-townes-earle-son-country-legend-steve-earle-72567087","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"14:21","publishDate":"08-24-2020","updatedTime":"14:21","updatedDate":"08-24-2020","socialImage":{"alt":"Singer Justin Townes Earle performs at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass music festival at Golden Gate Park, Oct. 7, 2017, in San Francisco.","credit":"Scott Dudelson/Getty Images, FILE","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/townes-earle-gty-ps-200824_1598275804961_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"8/24/2020 14:21:38 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":72567087,"headline":"Justin Townes Earle dies at 38","mediaAssetTitle":"JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE","description":"Many took to Twitter to share their shock at Earle's sudden loss. ","duration":"1:00","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2026/04/260415_abcnl_headlines_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["72522820","72470733","72556206"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"August 21, 2020","headline":"Florida Georgia Line's Tyler Hubbard injured in accident weeks before wife's due date","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/florida-georgia-lines-tyler-hubbard-injured-dirt-bike-72522820","id":72522820,"image":{"alt":"Florida Georgia Line's Tyler Hubbard injured in accident weeks before wife's due date","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/hubbard-wife-01-gty-iwb-200821_1598025621036_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images, FILE","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"August 23, 2020","headline":"WNBA stars recall what Kobe Bryant meant to women's sports","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/wnba-stars-diana-taurasi-sabrina-ionescu-pay-tribute-72470733","id":72470733,"image":{"alt":"WNBA stars recall what Kobe Bryant meant to women's sports","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/KobeBryantDay_081920_v04_DG_1597948530532_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"ABC News Photo Illustration, Getty Images, Diana Taurasi, Sabrina Ionescu","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"August 23, 2020","headline":"Widow of Kobe Bryant shares emotional Instagram post on former NBA star's birthday","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/vanessa-bryant-pays-tribute-husband-kobe-bryant-emotional-72556206","id":72556206,"image":{"alt":"Widow of Kobe Bryant shares emotional Instagram post on former NBA star's birthday","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/vanessa-kobe-bryant-01-gty-jc-200522_hpMain_3_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Frank Micelotta/Getty Images, FILE","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Justin Townes Earle dies at 38","description":"Many took to Twitter to share their shock at Earle's sudden loss. ","duration":"1:00","uploadDate":"08-24-2020","publication":"08-24-2020","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2026/04/260415_abcnl_headlines_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2026/04/260415_abcnl_headlines_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/justin-townes-earle-son-country-legend-steve-earle-72567087"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131142257","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131046664","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131048076","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131033212","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130999943","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130971027","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:culture:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"culture","title":"Justin Townes Earle dies at 38","pubTime":"10:21","pubDate":"08-24-2020","modTime":"10:21","modDate":"08-24-2020","taxonomyTags":"none","id":72567087,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Justin Townes Earle dies at 38","mediaAssetTitle":"JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE","videoId":72567087,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/culture/story/justin-townes-earle-son-country-legend-steve-earle-72567087"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/72567087","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/72567087","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};