"James McMurtry may be the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation" - Stephen King
The son of acclaimed author Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove, Terms of Endearment), James grew up on a steady diet of Johnny Cash and Roy Acuff records. His first album, Too Long in the Wasteland (released in 1989), was produced by John Mellencamp and marked the beginning of a series of acclaimed projects for Columbia and Sugar Hill. In 1996, McMurtry received a Grammy nomination for his Longform Music Video of Where'd You Hide The Body. 1997's It Had To Happen received the American Indie Award for Best Americana Album.
The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy
McMurtry's 2025 album, The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy, was released June 20 via New West Records. Co-produced with Don Dixon — who helmed McMurtry's 1995 album Where'd You Hide the Body? — the 10-song collection is his first in four years, following the acclaimed The Horses and the Hounds, which Pitchfork awarded an 8.0 and Uncut Magazine said "lifts storytelling-in-song to meticulous new levels."
The album features Sarah Jarosz, Charlie Sexton, Bonnie Whitmore, and Bukka Allen, alongside his trusted backing band: Cornbread on bass, Tim Holt on guitar, Daren Hess on drums, and BettySoo on backing vocals.
"BettySoo may well have the most gorgeous voice in Texas ... if not in all contemporary folk - its purity and strength can be downright devastating."
- ACOUSTIC GUITAR