It seems like everyone in Bend is a sucker for a country concert. Whether it’s a big name like Zach Bryan at the FairWell Festival or Jon Pardi at Hayden Homes Amphitheater, locals always seem to be nearby. While I’m not the most enthusiastic Zach Bryan fan myself, I appreciate a good country album. “Harlem River Blues” by Justin Townes Earle is a comfortingly real, banjo-strumming, country, folk and blues album.

Earle shares anecdotes about hard work, small town daily life and being on the road, singing “I’ve been working too hard I need some coming home, baby” in “Harlem River Blues” and “til the good lord calls, keep on wanderin’” in “Wanderin’.” With a smooth, twangy voice, Earle authentically strikes the rural American spirit in a way the most country albums strive to.

Recent popular country albums often come across manufactured, as if the writer hasn’t experienced their lyrics first hand. Earle represents places people actually live in, and real scenarios that normal people live through. He reflects on leaving, faith and solitude in a vulnerable yet effortless way. If you oppose the inauthentic, commercial sound that’s taken a rise in country music, or are a Tyler Childers and Zach Bryan fanatic looking for something a little different, give “Harlem River Blues” a chance.