James McMurtry
Birchmere
3701 Mt Vernon Ave
Alexandria, VA 22305-2408
Sep 7, 2024
7:30 PM EDT
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JAMES MCMURTRY WITH BETTYSOO
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What fans are saying
Michael
July 28th 2024
Once again sound engineering buried the vocals and for me to not understand what a true poet was was saying was very disappointing. Also my seats behind the soundboard and a sound engineer, who stood up the whole show blocking our view, made me want to ask for the soundman‘s autograph since mostly what I saw was his back.
Dallas, TX@Granada Theater
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About the venue
In music circles, the reputation of the Birchmere is legendary. Many careers have been launched from this internationally recognized music hall. On any given night, a sta...
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James McMurtry Biography
Followers
195,516
Monthly Listeners
Denver, US
5,259 listeners
Dallas, US
4,368 listeners
Chicago, US
4,151 listeners
Seattle, US
3,570 listeners
Austin, US
3,246 listeners
The son of one of America's most celebrated novelists, James McMurtry followed the family's tradition: he's a master storyteller who relates his tales in verse and music. Part of the Texas singer/songwriter community, McMurtry has a gift for character studies, documenting lives not in perfect balance, and offering political commentary on how the choices of the powerful impact the lives of ordinary folks. McMurtry's vocals are dour and plainspoken, but give eloquent voice to the lives of his protagonists, and his artfully unadorned lyrics are often full of warmth and humanity, even in narratives full of chaos. McMurtry made a celebrated debut with 1989's Too Long in the Wasteland, he hit a creative stride with 2005's Childish Things and 2008's Just Us Kids, and on 2021's The Horses and the Hounds, the performances and production were every bit as compelling as McMurtry's songs.
James McMurtry was born in Fort Worth, Texas on March 18, 1962. His father was Larry McMurtry, a best-selling novelist of the Lone Star State whose works included The Last Picture Show, Lonesome Dove, Terms of Endearment, and The Evening Star. When James was seven years old, his parents divorced, and he spent most of his childhood in Leesburg, Virginia. He attended a boarding school in Orange, Virginia, where he started to teach himself to write songs. By the time he was in college, he was playing gigs at local clubs. After living in Alaska for a while, McMurtry returned to Texas, where he supported himself with a variety of odd jobs while he continued writing music. In 1987, on the advice of a friend, McMurtry entered the annual songwriting competition at Texas's Kerrville Folk Festival, where he became a finalist. Meanwhile, Larry McMurtry had written a screenplay, Falling From Grace, that was going to be made into a film by musician turned filmmaker . Larry passed a tape of his son's songs to , who was impressed enough to offer to produce an album for James. McMurtry took the offer, and Too Long in the Wasteland was released in 1989, after James landed a deal with . (James also landed a small role in the TV adaptation of Lonesome Dove, playing Jimmy Rainey.) McMurtry also contributed to the Falling from Grace soundtrack as a member of the ad hoc supergroup the Buzzin' Cousins, which also featured , , , and .
The song "Painting by Numbers" from Too Long in the Wasteland would rise to Number 33 on the Mainstream Rock Radio charts, and the LP peaked at Number 125 on the Top 200 listings. Along with positive reviews, this made for a respectable showing, but McMurtry's next two albums, 1992's Candyland and 1995's Where'd You Hide the Body, failed to chart, and dropped him from their roster. McMurtry next signed with the roots music imprint ; his first release for the label, 1997's It Had to Happen, showed off a more organic sound and mature lyrical outlook, and received strong reviews. Multi-instrumentalist , who produced It Had to Happen, was back for the sessions for 1998's Walk Between the Raindrops. 2002's Saint Mary of the Woods featured one of McMurtry's most popular songs, the funny but harrowing "Choctaw Bingo," and it would be his last album for . ("Choctaw Bingo" would later pop up on the soundtrack to the 2008 movie Beer For My Horses, starring country star .) A storming live take of "Choctaw Bingo" would appear on McMurtry's next release, 2004's Live in Aught-Three, that captured him and his road band the Heartless Bastards on tour. The tough, direct sound of the live LP suited McMurtry's material, and 2005's Childish Things boasted a more full-bodied approach than his previous studio efforts; it also included the song "We Can't Make It Here," a study of American life under that Village Voice critic Robert Christgau called the best song of the 2000s.
2008's Just Us Kids was issued by the upstart indie label , and was hailed by critics as one of the finest albums of McMurtry's career. By this time, McMurtry was touring regularly in the United States, occasionally traveled abroad with his band, and when not on the road he often played on Wednesday nights at the Continental Club in Austin, Texas, which he called home. A show in Amsterdam on a tour in support of Just Us Kids was recorded for release on the CD/DVD package Live in Europe, with McMurtry's band joined by keyboard player . Touring commitments kept McMurtry away from the studio for several years, though he did record songs for several tribute albums, including "Big Things" for Cold and Bitter Tears: The Songs of Ted Hawkins and "Comfort's Just a Rifle Shot Away" for Dreamer: A Tribute to Kent Finlay. McMurtry moved on to a new label, , for his first studio album in seven years, also called Complicated Game, which was produced by swamp rock revivalist with Mike Napolitano. The COVID-19 pandemic ended McMurtry's touring plans for 2020, so to keep himself occupied and satisfy his audience, he began playing weekly live-streamed concerts where he played fan favorites as well as debuting new material. Several songs from McMurtry's weekly streaming performances would find their way onto his 2021 album, The Horses and the Hounds, his first release for . ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Read More195,516
Monthly Listeners
Denver, US
5,259 listeners
Dallas, US
4,368 listeners
Chicago, US
4,151 listeners
Seattle, US
3,570 listeners
Austin, US
3,246 listeners
The son of one of America's most celebrated novelists, James McMurtry followed the family's tradition: he's a master storyteller who relates his tales in verse and music. Part of the Texas singer/songwriter community, McMurtry has a gift for character studies, documenting lives not in perfect balance, and offering political commentary on how the choices of the powerful impact the lives of ordinary folks. McMurtry's vocals are dour and plainspoken, but give eloquent voice to the lives of his protagonists, and his artfully unadorned lyrics are often full of warmth and humanity, even in narratives full of chaos. McMurtry made a celebrated debut with 1989's Too Long in the Wasteland, he hit a creative stride with 2005's Childish Things and 2008's Just Us Kids, and on 2021's The Horses and the Hounds, the performances and production were every bit as compelling as McMurtry's songs.
James McMurtry was born in Fort Worth, Texas on March 18, 1962. His father was Larry McMurtry, a best-selling novelist of the Lone Star State whose works included The Last Picture Show, Lonesome Dove, Terms of Endearment, and The Evening Star. When James was seven years old, his parents divorced, and he spent most of his childhood in Leesburg, Virginia. He attended a boarding school in Orange, Virginia, where he started to teach himself to write songs. By the time he was in college, he was playing gigs at local clubs. After living in Alaska for a while, McMurtry returned to Texas, where he supported himself with a variety of odd jobs while he continued writing music. In 1987, on the advice of a friend, McMurtry entered the annual songwriting competition at Texas's Kerrville Folk Festival, where he became a finalist. Meanwhile, Larry McMurtry had written a screenplay, Falling From Grace, that was going to be made into a film by musician turned filmmaker . Larry passed a tape of his son's songs to , who was impressed enough to offer to produce an album for James. McMurtry took the offer, and Too Long in the Wasteland was released in 1989, after James landed a deal with . (James also landed a small role in the TV adaptation of Lonesome Dove, playing Jimmy Rainey.) McMurtry also contributed to the Falling from Grace soundtrack as a member of the ad hoc supergroup the Buzzin' Cousins, which also featured , , , and .
The song "Painting by Numbers" from Too Long in the Wasteland would rise to Number 33 on the Mainstream Rock Radio charts, and the LP peaked at Number 125 on the Top 200 listings. Along with positive reviews, this made for a respectable showing, but McMurtry's next two albums, 1992's Candyland and 1995's Where'd You Hide the Body, failed to chart, and dropped him from their roster. McMurtry next signed with the roots music imprint ; his first release for the label, 1997's It Had to Happen, showed off a more organic sound and mature lyrical outlook, and received strong reviews. Multi-instrumentalist , who produced It Had to Happen, was back for the sessions for 1998's Walk Between the Raindrops. 2002's Saint Mary of the Woods featured one of McMurtry's most popular songs, the funny but harrowing "Choctaw Bingo," and it would be his last album for . ("Choctaw Bingo" would later pop up on the soundtrack to the 2008 movie Beer For My Horses, starring country star .) A storming live take of "Choctaw Bingo" would appear on McMurtry's next release, 2004's Live in Aught-Three, that captured him and his road band the Heartless Bastards on tour. The tough, direct sound of the live LP suited McMurtry's material, and 2005's Childish Things boasted a more full-bodied approach than his previous studio efforts; it also included the song "We Can't Make It Here," a study of American life under that Village Voice critic Robert Christgau called the best song of the 2000s.
2008's Just Us Kids was issued by the upstart indie label , and was hailed by critics as one of the finest albums of McMurtry's career. By this time, McMurtry was touring regularly in the United States, occasionally traveled abroad with his band, and when not on the road he often played on Wednesday nights at the Continental Club in Austin, Texas, which he called home. A show in Amsterdam on a tour in support of Just Us Kids was recorded for release on the CD/DVD package Live in Europe, with McMurtry's band joined by keyboard player . Touring commitments kept McMurtry away from the studio for several years, though he did record songs for several tribute albums, including "Big Things" for Cold and Bitter Tears: The Songs of Ted Hawkins and "Comfort's Just a Rifle Shot Away" for Dreamer: A Tribute to Kent Finlay. McMurtry moved on to a new label, , for his first studio album in seven years, also called Complicated Game, which was produced by swamp rock revivalist with Mike Napolitano. The COVID-19 pandemic ended McMurtry's touring plans for 2020, so to keep himself occupied and satisfy his audience, he began playing weekly live-streamed concerts where he played fan favorites as well as debuting new material. Several songs from McMurtry's weekly streaming performances would find their way onto his 2021 album, The Horses and the Hounds, his first release for . ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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