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Family Influential Part Of Stacey Earle's Music

Singer/songwriter Stacey Earle might be raking in critical acclaim for her unique blend of country, pop and folk, but she hasn't forgotten her roots.

Earle, who will be performing Sunday at the Carrboro ArtsCenter at 300-G E. Main St., has always relied on her close-knit family for help and support. And she is the first to admit that her family ties have had much to do with her success as a solo artist.

Her husband, Mark Stuart, is not only her partner in life but also her partner in music.

His lead guitar work, accompanying vocals and hand in the writing process have added much to Earle's performance.

"Mark and I have been playing for 10 years together. He's been a very big part of my music," Earle said.

"And all those riffs you hear on the album, those are his own. I didn't tell him to play that."

Aside from Stuart's close involvement with her career, Earle's oldest son, Kyle Mims, also plays drums in the live band.

Earle, 41, got her start in music at the request of her famed older brother, roots-rocker Steve Earle. After divorcing her first husband in 1990, she and her children moved to Nashville, Tenn., to live with him.

"I came up here to help Steve and basically to help me," Earle said. "I was a single mom. He had asked me to sing on one of his records. And then he said, `Now you got to take it on the road.' So my first tour was playing guitar and singing backup for Steve."

As easy as it would have been, Earle didn't allow herself to rely on her older brother's reputation to make her name in the industry.

After she finished her stint on her brother's arena tour, Earle busted her chops with the best of Nashville's singer/songwriters to become an established musician.

"I had to do what everybody else did," Earle said.

"I spent seven years in Nashville, going to singer/songwriter nights, standing in line, going to publishers and developing my writing.

"It took time and a lot of hard work."

Earle's music is passionately personal and carved from these real-life experiences.

She goes as far as to describe her work as her own sort of journal.

"Some people keep journals or diaries. I write songs," Earle said. "And I only write when I have something to say. I never force it."

After realizing that Nashville's industry wasn't the place for her deeply personal music, she and Stuart began their own record label, Gearle Records.

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"We knew that at that point that we just needed to make our own record, and I knew in my heart that we were the only ones that were going to be able to take care of it," Earle said.

Under their care, both of Earle's albums, 1998's Simple Gearle and this year's Dancin' With Them That Brung Me, were released on the Gearle label to critical acclaim.

And the future looks just as bright for Earle's blend of familial folk, pop and country.

On Dec. 1, she and Stuart will officially launch a new phase of their careers as a duo. The two are celebrating the union with a collection of live songs, Must Be Live: Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart, that is only available at their shows or from Earle's website.

All of the continuing family involvement suits the easygoing Earle just fine.

She said, "What more can a wife and mother want than to know where her husband and son are at 10 p.m.? They're onstage with me."

The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.