Portsmouth-bound singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle discusses his life in the big city, his struggles with addiction and his new CD.

Fans of singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle have waited patiently for his upcoming concert in Portsmouth. Earle has not appeared in the area since The Big Surprise Tour swung through the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in the summer of 2009, also featuring Dave Rawlings Machine, Old Crow Medicine Show and The Felice Brothers. He was originally scheduled to appear at The Music Hall in October but postponed his tour after checking himself into rehab following an ugly incident in September. During a post-show fracas in Indianapolis, Earle was charged with battery, public intoxication and resisting arrest. 

But Earle has resumed his career, presumably with a clear head. He gigged around Europe in late January and is now set to hit the road for six months. He’s touring in support of his latest album, “Harlem River Blues,” a captivating collection of folk tunes that prove he has inherited the songwriting talents of his father, Steve Earle. In many ways, the album is an ode to New York, where he moved from his native Nashville about three years ago.

Earle’s long-awaited show at The Music Hall takes place on Friday, Feb. 4. He recently spoke to The Wire about his life in New York and his blossoming career.

Do you feel like “Harlem River Blues” represents a new musical peak or level of growth for you? Yeah, I do. I think that each of my records show stepping stones and new directions. I don’t ever want to make the same record twice. There’s so much that can be done musically. There are so many cool options out there that you might as well exercise them all. That’s the way I feel about it. As many as you can, anyway. I’m not gonna be making a fucking calypso record.

The album makes it sound like you’ve got some conflicted feelings about New York. How do you feel about life in the big city? Oh, I absolutely adore New York. It’s my favorite place on Earth. I felt at home here immediately and I think that I’ll always in some way be rooted in the city. I have intentions of probably in the next six months moving over to Europe for a year... but when I come back to the States, I’ll be coming back to New York City.

I know you’re a big Woody Guthrie fan, and he also lived in New York for a while. Does being in the city affect your songwriting perspective? Yeah, I think it does. It’s a really inspiring place. I think it’s part of what has inspired me to move abroad for a while, too. I don’t know, if you’re not inspired constantly by New York City, then your eyes aren’t open. That’s the way I feel about it. It’s one of those places. Electric, if you will.

Are you inspired by the same sorts of social and political issues that guys like Guthrie and Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan wrote about? Social, yes. Social is political these days, but I don’t align myself with any one political party. Music is not something that you’re allowed to pick who likes it. You’re not allowed to pick your fans. Your fans pick you and you’re lucky to have them and I think that their political beliefs should be left aside. My father thinks otherwise. If you’re a Republican and you’re at one of my father’s shows you’re going to feel alienated, like the odd man out. And, that’s all fine, I mean, I think it’s funny, but it’s just not the way I choose to conduct my business. I think that what I do is for anybody who wants it, and for at least the hour and a half that I’m onstage, I can let them forget that they’re scum-sucking Republicans (chuckles).

Do you think your father’s influence comes across in your music? Yeah, it definitely does, because we kind of possess the same character as far as writing goes, which is very personal storytelling. I think that’s something that we both got from my dad’s dad, Papa, who was one of the best storytellers I’ve ever heard in my life. When you’re a kid, and even into my late teens, you go over to his house and he makes biscuits and gravy and you sit around and he tells you stories about when he was growing up on a farm in east Texas, and he could make these stories really grand and really big, and he was very entertaining. And also the king—I mean he knew more dirty jokes than anybody I’ve ever met in my life.

I caught The Big Surprise Tour in 2009, and I remember the suit and suspenders you wore onstage. You’ve been recognized as a sharp dresser. Do you put a lot of thought and time into your wardrobe? It’s one of those things that’s always been kind of automatic with me. I’ve always been kind of good at it. I like shopping and I like putting suits together and things like that. It’s just something I enjoy doing. I don’t spend a whole lot of time doing it just because I’ve gotten good at it. Especially living in New York, I know where to shop. When I was in Nashville, I mean, one of the things I hated about living there was that shopping was an ordeal. Trying to find clothes to fit my frame was next to impossible. Once I moved to New York, I shop at Billy Reid, Rag & Bone, Uniqlo. I’ve got it narrowed down to that.

Dave Rawlings came to The Music Hall last year. Do you still keep in touch with all those folks from the Big Surprise Tour? Yeah. I’ve known The Felice Brothers less time than anybody, but I’ve known Gil (Gillian Welch) and Dave (Rawlings) since I was a young teenager. I met Old Crow on my 18th birthday. I’d been living in Chicago and I flew back to Nashville for my birthday. The girl I was dating at the time took me to see this band play and it was Old Crow Medicine Show in its original form, and I was one of four people who got in for it (laughs). I’ve known those guys for years. We keep in touch. I see The Felice Brothers every now and then because they are New Yorkers and come into the city.

You were originally scheduled to perform at The Music Hall back in October, but that got postponed. Do you feel like your time in rehab has given you a fresh outlook on this tour since it’s resumed? It’s definitely brought me a clearer head and a little more energy than I used to have. Even though, when you get on those long stretches on the road with like seven shows in a row, I’ve gotta say I do miss the cocaine.

You’ve struggled with addiction before. Do you feel like you’re in a stable position right now where you’ll be able to stay clean and focus on music? No, no, I don’t. I think it’s just one of those things where I’m just at a point in my life and my career—well, not so much my career, my career’s going pretty well—but in my life I’ve been kind of unstable as of late. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s because I’m rapidly approaching 30. Maybe it’s because I’m losing my mind. Who knows.

I know you disagreed with the viral version of what happened in Indiana, the way it was reported on the Web. Would you care to comment on that? Since it’s still in trial I’m not supposed to comment on it. But it was a massive, massive misunderstanding and a very strange set of events. 

How’s the tour been going so far? Are you enjoying yourself? Yeah, I’ve been having a great time. I kind of lost my want to tour for awhile, just because I had a short period where everything went majorly wrong through the last summer, where I was canceling shows due to cutting up my fingers and whatnot, and I was in really bad health. Now that my head’s clear and I have more energy, I’m back to liking being on the road again as opposed to just hiding in my typical holes in the East Village.

What can folks expect in Portsmouth? Any new songs? Maybe one new song. But I’m on four records now, so I’m able at this point to do a pretty even spread of all the records, so I’m doing that. A few more records and we’re gonna have to start picking and choosing. 

The show begins at 8 p.m. on Feb. 4 at The Music Hall, 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, 603-436-2400, www.themusichall.org. Tickets are $22 to $17.