SPILL LIVE REVIEW: STEVE EARLE w/ JEFF CROSBY @ THUNDER BAY COMMUNITY AUDITORIUM, THUNDER BAY

STEVE EARLE w/ JEFF CROSBY

@ THUNDER BAY COMMUNITY AUDITORIUM, THUNDER BAY

JULY 13, 2026

The temperature had reached a record high tonight, as Steve Earle took the stage at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, on his 51 Years of Songs & Stories tour. He is no stranger to this city and appears to hold a special place in his heart, based on his kind words, for this land also known as ‘The Lakehead.’

Jeff Crosby opened things up with his welcoming Americana style and captured the audience with his original songs. He would turn out to be a perfect complement to Steve Earle. It makes one feel glad that young people are still out there carrying on the musical tradition. It was a pleasant surprise as the audience embraced his Guy Clarke cover, “The Cape.”

As Steve Earle hits the stage, he gives us his impression of the city’s heat wave, reminding us of his last visit to Thunder Bay when it was so cold that his beard froze, and now it’s 100 F. Quite the difference today. He opens his set with tracks spanning his first decade before turning things into a storytelling workshop. He shares tales about his first publisher, Noel Fox, and how he encouraged him to write an album. He told another tale of attending a 1984 Springsteen concert in Tennessee where a light bulb suddenly coming on inspired him to write his first album. He immediately busts into “Guitar Town.” The Steve Earle purists know what’s going down, but if you don’t know, that’s fine because this show has found its legs and it’s full sail ahead from this point forward.

Steve Earle makes you feel like you are in his living room with his anecdotes and his stories. He shared how important Canada was to him thanks to his reception here at the start of his career. Before breaking into “I Ain’t Never Satisfied,” he talks of how it was Canadian radio, both rock and country stations, that gave him unique exposure.

Though nowhere near a sellout crowd, Earle kept things positive all night by reading the room as a full one and delivered accordingly. He took notice of the Indigenous turnout before jumping into “City Of Immigrants.” He spoke of Lake Superior’s rich freshwater reserves and called Thunder Bay a piece of paradise.

The Community Auditorium has a good reputation in music circles as world class facility with great acoustics, and Steve Earle’s performance and presence solidified that notion. The stage set up is simple. There is no back up band; just a man and a guitar. His vocals and guitar tones cut beautifully through the room. He looked like a busker, and when he played a song like “Fearless Heart,” you could see and feel the good vibes the concert goers were feeling. And when the song finished, you could feel the sense of complete appreciation from his Thunder Bay fans.

And to all those who did not purchase tickets to full fill those empty seats, you missed a good show. He is truly one of last greats to come out of the US.

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Background Photo Credit: Emma Delevante