James McMurtry to Appear at Lark Hall with Special Guest BettySoo, June 19th

ALBANY – It was announced that on June 19th, James McMurtry will be performing at Lark Hall. The show announcement comes with a slew of other dates McMurtry is appearing at as part of The Horses and the Hounds National U.S. Tour, celebrating the release of his full-length LP of the same name. The album marks the first full-length release for the artist in seven years. Opening for McMurty that night is BettySoo. Doors to the event open at 7:00 pm with an 8:00 pm showtime.

In James McMurtry’s new effort, The Horses and the Hounds, released through New West Records, the acclaimed songwriter backs personal narratives with effortless elegance and endless energy. The record spotlights a seasoned tunesmith in peak form as he turns toward reflection and revelation. Familiar foundations guide the journey. “There’s a definite Los Angeles vibe to this record,” McMurtry says. “The ghost of Warren Zevon seems to be stomping around among the guitar tracks. Don’t know how he got in there. He never signed on for work for hire.” 

The Horses and the Hounds is a reunion of sorts. McMurtry recorded the new album with legendary producer Ross Hogarth (John Fogerty, Van Halen, Keb’ Mo’) at Jackson Browne’s Groove Masters in Santa Monica, California, a world-class studio that has housed such legends as Bob Dylan (2012’s Tempest) and David Crosby (2016’s Lighthouse) as well as Browne himself for I’m Alive (1993) and New Found Glory, Coming Home (2006). McMurtry and Hogarth first worked together 30 years ago, when Hogarth was a recording engineer in the employ of John Mellencamp at Mellencamp’s own Belmont Studios near Bloomington, Indiana. Hogarth recorded McMurtry’s first two albums, Too Long in the Wasteland and Candyland, for Columbia Records and later mixed McMurtry’s first self-produced album, Saint Mary of the Woods, for Sugar Hill Records. Another veteran of those three releases, guitarist David Grissom (Joe Ely, John Mellencamp, Dixie Chicks), returns with some of his finest work. 

[McMurtry] fuses wry, literate observations about the world with the snarl of barroom rock. The result is at times sardonic, subversive and funny, but often vulnerable and always poignant. 

~ National Public Radio

McMurtry tours year-round and consistently throws down unparalleled powerhouse performances, reflected in the release of two live discs: the universally lauded Live in Aught-Three on Compadre Records, and 2009’s Live in Europe, which captured the McMurtry band’s first European tour and extraordinary live set. Along with seasoned band members Ronnie Johnson, Daren Hess, and Tim Holt Live in Europe features special guests Ian McLagan (Faces) and Jon Dee Graham (True Believers, Skunks).

TICKET INFORMATION:

Tickets to the event at Lark Hall are $20 for general admission and $30 for the VIP mezzanine section. Tickets can be purchased here.