CANCELLED: James McMurtry with Bonnie Whitmore
The New York Times Magazine’s cover story “25 Songs That Tell Us Where Music Is Going” (Sunday, March 12) prominently features a four-page spread focusing on James McMurtry’s “Copper Canteen,” from his 2015 release Complicated Game. The author points directly to the song’s frequently quoted opening line as a representative passage in McMurtry’s work: “Honey, don’t you be yelling at me while I’m cleaning my gun.”
“Though that line about the gun got a big laugh when McMurtry played it in Dallas,” Ruth Graham writes, “I still don’t know whether to hear it as a joke or a threat, and McMurtry has never been one to offer the easy comfort of a straight answer.”
Additionally, while many fans consider McMurtry an overtly political songwriter (“We Can’t Make It Here Anymore,” “Cheney’s Toy”), Graham notes that he’s actually more concerned with the effect of policy on personal workaday matters. “McMurtry often writes about how seemingly distant political concerns nudge his characters’ choices and prod their psyches,” she says, “the stretched budget of the Veterans Affairs Department or the birth of a new national park’s consuming the neighbors’ land through eminent domain.”
Read the New York Times Magazine in full http://nyti.ms/2mqjFM9″>here.
Those living and visiting Austin during South by Southwest this week will have several chances to catch McMurtry, from his full-band showcase at Mojo Nixon’s Jalapeno Pancake Mayhem at the Continental Club to a solo gig at El Mercado’s Backstage. Fans on the East Coast can see him on his Stateside Solo tour later in March, which launches at the Clementine Cafe in Harrisonburg, Virginia on March 25 and routes throughout the region before concluding at New York City’s City Winery on April 2.
“Nothing makes you miss Waffle House like a couple of weeks in Europe,” says McMurtry, who has been touring abroad recently. “The term ‘Continental Breakfast’ is an oxymoron.”
“James McMurtry may be the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation” —Stephen King
James McMurtry (solo)
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AUSTIN, Texas: James McMurtry spins stories with a poet’s pen (“Long Island Sound”) and a painter’s precision (“She Loves Me”). Proof: The acclaimed songwriter’s new Complicated Game. McMurtry’s first collection in six years spotlights a craftsman in absolutely peak form as he turns from political toward personal (“These Things I’ve Come to Know,” “You Got to Me”). “The lyrical theme is mostly about relationships,” McMurtry says. “It’s also a little about the big old world verses the poor little farmer or fisherman. I never make a conscious decision about what to write about.” |
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Bonnie Whitmore (solo)
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Bonnie Whitmore is an American musician from Austin, TX, currently based in Nashville, TN. After dropping out of the institution at the age of 15, Whitmore has gone on to pursue her career as a professional performer. She has tried on several musical roles for size, including playing the bass, the cello, and most lucratively as freak show extraordinaire, impersonating a living and breathing jukebox for tourists. Born and bread as a musical performer, Whitmore has created a sound and voice of her own. She brings to every show a veracity of honest emotion and vulnerability that almost hurts you in its beauty. Her voice is a powerful one and will command your attention. Whitmore's performances go through many emotions and musical climaxes . Whitmore has shared the stage and played with the likes of Cat Power, Miranda Lambert, Bruce Robison, Kelly Willis, Susan Gibson and Mando Saenz. She relocated to Nashville in pursuit of her music career. |