JAMES MCMURTRY and THE MARTIAL LAW w/ BETTY SOO
June 17th, 2026 | 7 doors, 8 show
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JAMES MCMURTRY and THE MARTIAL LAW w/ BETTY SOO
Doors at 7:00PM, Show at 8:00PM
Ages 16+
(Under 16 are allowed w/ a paid ticket and accompanied by a legal guardian.)

$2 off any sandwich across the street at MOTR on day of show with proof of purchase

Parking Info: Click Here

JAMES MCMURTRY:

"THE WANDERING BOY NEVER FLINCHES - James McMurtry’s 11th LP is a solid smorgasbord of aging, Americana, and arrested development”
"Local critic asks another: 'How’s the McMurtry?' Answer: cut-above songs and then the clutch killers.”  
...The Austin Chronicle/Raoul Hernandez • October 31st, 2025
 
James McMurtry released The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy on June 20th via New West Records.  The 10-song collection was co-produced by McMurtry & Don Dixon (R.E.M., The Smithereens) and is his first album in four years.  It follows his 2021 acclaimed new West debut, The Horses and the Hounds, which UnCut Magazine said “lifts storytelling-in-song to meticulous new levels" and Pitchfork awarded an 8.0, saying “James McMurtry stands out even among the Lone Star State’s finest songwriters…” The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy features appearances by Sarah Jarosz, Charlie Sexton, Bonnie Whitmore, Bukka Allen and more, alongside his trusted backing band, THE MARTIAL LAW REVIEW, Tim Holt on guitar and accordion, Cornbread on bass and Daren Hess on drums.
 
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, 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 have elements of Americana but sound too sly and smart for such a general 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 young songwriters like Sarah Jarosz and Jason Isbell cite him as a formative influence.



BETTY SOO:

It’s the voice that gets you first. 

“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 

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. 

Then the performance reels you in. 

“Truly remarkable. BettySoo’s sharp, often self-deprecating humor skillfully wove the songs together. Her clear, evocative voice and poignant lyrics recall Patty Griffin and Joni Mitchell, and did I mention she’s a hell of a guitar player?”  – NO DEPRESSION, live concert review


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