James McMurtry with Betty Soo

About this show

$48 - Adult Reserved All seats are reserved. Taxes calculated upon checkout. Recently named one of the Best 100 Living Songwriters. James McMurtry returns to Antlers & Acorns with his band. As varied as they are, McMurtry’s new story-songs find inspiration in scraps from his family’s past: a rough pencil sketch by Ken Kesey that serves as the album cover, the hallucinations experienced by his father, the legendary writer Larry McMurtry, and an old poem by a family friend. A supremely insightful and inventive storyteller, McMurtry teases vivid worlds out of small details, setting them to arrangements that contain elements of Americana but sound too sly and smart for such a broad category. Funny and sad, often in the same breath, The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy adds a new chapter to a long career that has enjoyed a resurgence as younger songwriters like Sarah Jarosz and Jason Isbell (who is namechecked on the new album) cite him as a formative influence. BettySoo’s vocal prowess is a thing of wonder. A world-class instrument of deft phrasing and purity, a voice that knows when to hold back and when to dive in. At her own live shows, taking a verse onstage with friends or singing harmonies in sessions with Austin’s finest, BettySoo sings with consummate loveliness and self-assurance. A voice that knows the roots of American music inside and out; coming from a most unexpected place – a diminutive Korean-American with a deceptively girl-next-door demeanor. Visit Antlers & Acorns for more info.