Earnest and Troubled

Chicago Songwriters James Curley and Ilsabe OConnell both flew solo and under the radar for years. Then they discovered they sounded damn good together, that some of their songs worked better for duos than solos, and decided to hang out their shingle as “Earnest & Troubled”  in 2016.

As solo artists, they released a combined four CDs that garnered airplay on Folk, Americana and Independent Radio.

The duo performs original songs  and select tunes by Guy Clark, Warren Zevon, The Carter Family, Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, Emmylou Harris, and any other great songs they might find lying around or you might suggest they do.

Featuring harmony vocals, guitars, banjo, and ukulele bass, Earnest & Troubled write and perform great music and have been known to be extremely entertaining!

In June of 2018, James and Ilsabe complicated things by getting married. But at least there’s only one surname between them now!