Early James back in The Netherlands for a string of shows

Early James’ album Medium Raw strips things back to the bone, capturing the Alabama-born songwriter in the most unvarnished form of his career. Trading the sleek comfort of a modern studio for a century-old Nashville house—dubbed the “Honky Chateau”—James and producer Dan Auerbach leaned into the building’s imperfections: plaster walls, creaking floors, and wide-open rooms that bled into every mic. With James’ amp humming right behind him, drummer Jeff Clemens hidden two rooms away, and bassist Adrian Marmolejo peering around corners, the record thrives on its loose, lived-in chaos. As James puts it, “Pretty much everything you hear was cut au naturel.” The result is an album that pulses with the same raw immediacy of the blues and country greats James grew up obsessing over.

That stripped-back grit carries through the songs themselves—seven sharp originals and a handful of co-writes with Auerbach, Pat McLaughlin, Sheryl Crow collaborator Jeff Trott, Langhorne Slim, and more. James’ singular style remains intact: sly humor wrapped in darkness, wordplay that bends clichés inside out, and a voice that can growl, smolder, or slip into tenderness. A voracious reader who counts Cormac McCarthy among his influences, James writes with a literary edge that deepens the album’s emotional punch. Now taking Medium Raw on the road with Marmolejo and drummer Joey Rudisell, James is embracing the unpredictability of live performance. “I’m trying to play dress-up with this record on the road,” he says. “You never know what it’s going to be wearing.” Like the bluesmen before him, he seems intent on keeping each night—and each song—restlessly alive.

Early James will be back in The Netherlands for a string of shows this month:

18/10: Utrecht, NL - Ramblin' Roots
25/10: Hengelo, NL - Metropool
28/10: Nijmegen, NL - Merleyn
29/10: Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso w/ Red Clay Strays SOLD OUT
01/11: Groningen, NL - Take Root