Steve Earle’s “The City” has been nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics category by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
“The City” was written exclusively for the HBO series, Treme, and was featured during the season finale. The series Treme takes place in the fall of 2005 during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Treme refers to one of New Orleans’s oldest neighborhoods, which was devastated by the hurricane.
Earle also played a street musician in three episodes of the series. He wrote “The City” at the request of the show’s creator.
“David Simon came on the set one day and asked me to write a song that my character would have written in ‘05. The next morning I woke up and wrote it,” Earle said.
This is Earle’s first Emmy nomination. The 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards telecast, hosted by Jimmy Fallon, will air Aug. 29 on NBC.
Earle has just kicked off his summer tour with Electric Hot Tuna. The tour also features his wife, Allison Moorer, his son, Justin Townes Earle, and a variety of special guests, such as Roseanne Cash, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Greg Trooper.
