JAMES McMURTRY TO PERFORM AT pat mAcdonald's STEEL BRIDGE SONGFEST ON JUNE 13TH IN STURGEON BAY, WI
McMurtry hit the road again this summer, touring the Midwest, the Southeast, and even one date in Canada. Click here for dates and locations still to come. They toured the Southeast in April, and it was a great tour! Their stellar west coast/mountain tour earlier in the year was another string of sold-out shows packed with enthusiastic crowds (including such notables as Bob Lefsetz and Steve Wozniak.) CLICK HERE to check out Lefsetz's review of McMurtry's LA show. CLICK HERE to read the review featured in Napster.
Check out James's blogs about the BP oil spill on Blurt.
Enjoy a live performance of "Levelland" on MusicFog.com.
McMurtry performed live in Portland in February at KINK FM. View the video on YouTube.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: James McMurtry's "Talking at the Texaco" is featured in Stephen King's latest novel, Under The Dome. The King novel is not the first to mention James and his music (others include James Patterson's Cross, and Emily Griffin's Baby Proof) but this is the first that uses McMurtry's lyrics to set the tone for the entire story. Check out this excerpt from Stephen King's Under the Dome:
"And she sang, in a small but tuneful voice: 'It's a small town, you know what I mean?'
Barbie smiled a little and sang the next line back to her: 'Just a small town, baby, and we all support the team.' It was from an old James McMurtry song that had the previous summer gained a new and mysterious two-month vogue on a couple of western Maine c&w stations. Not WCIK, of course; James McMurtry was not the sort of artist Jesus Radio supported."
James McMurtry is featured on "Man of Somebody's Dreams: A Tribute to Chris Gaffney" (in stores now). A founding member of the Hacienda Brothers, Gaffney passed away in 2008 after a courageous battle with liver cancer. McMurtry recorded Gaffney's "Fight (Tonight's the Night). Other artists on this amazing tribute include Los Lobos, Alejandro Escovedo, John Doe, Joe Ely, and of course, Dave Alvin. CLICK HERE for more info. Click to LISTEN and DOWNLOAD songs from Man of Somebody's Dreams: A Tribute to Chris Gaffney.
Hula Hoopin' to McMurtry:
This is Awesome!
.
Anyone who has ever been to a live show knows that James McMurtry has some incredible fans. Check out this Raleigh/Durham fan hula hooping to "Bayou Tortous" HERE.
James McMurtry's latest album showed up on a wide array of Best of 2008 lists. USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Blurt Online, and the Philadelphia Inquirer are some of the publications that laud Just Us Kids as one of the year's foremost releases.
.
Here is a partial list of the reviews:
• USA Today - Ken Barnes' #2 album of the year
• Entertainment Weekly - Stephen King's #3 album
of the year
• Baltimore City Paper - Geoffrey Himes' #1 album
of the year
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution - #4 album of the year
• Americana Music Chart - #2 album of the year
• Blurt Online - #11 album of the year
• Popmatters - #5 Americana Album of the year
.
In 2009, James McMurtry and his band will tour Europe for the first time. Legendary musician, Ian McLagan (Faces), will join McMurtry's band on keyboards for the tour. Austin singer/songwriter, Jon Dee Graham, will open most of the dates. Both McLagan and Graham appear on Just Us Kids. CLICK HERE for tour dates.
McMurtry Fan Group
. 
