IT’S BEEN a long time coming, but Steve Earle, pictured, seems to have found peace at last.

After seven wives, a spell on the streets and the odd decade lost to drink and drugs, he’s back to his best after returning to his roots – and the music of country legend Townes Van Zandt.

Earle first met the Texan songsmith when he was a wide-eyed 17-year-old, determined to follow in his hero’s footsteps.

The covers album Townes is a tribute to Van Zandt, and Earle’s biggest hit for years – a fact he notes ruefully during the show.

“It’s odd for a singer songwriter to have a best-seller with someone else’s songs,”

he said. “But it has been a gift and I only wish Townes was still here to see it.”

Earle need not feel too miffed – his own songs more than match his mentor’s during the set.

The Townes classic Poncho and Lefty gets an airing early in the show, but Earle ably follows it up with highlights from his own back catalogue, including Tom Ames’ Prayer and Billy and Bonnie.

As the show moves on, his guitars get smaller, and by the hour mark he has swapped his Martin acoustic for a mandolin for a medley of Celtic-tinged tracks.

Galway Girl, his 2000 Sharon Shannon collaboration, which was recently revived after featuring in a Magners television advert, is one of the standouts.

Earle later quips: “Even when I was drinking, cider never passed my lips.”

A great performance from Earle, who seems assured of matching Van Zandt’s legacy when all is said and done.