The Jayhawks + James McMurtry

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Over the course of 4 decades and countless memorable live shows, The Jayhawks have soared to heights few ever achieve while winning the hearts and minds of numerous critics, fans and peers in the process. Since 2014 The Jayhawks have enjoyed a career resurgence, touring constantly and releasing 3 memorable albums – including Paging Mr. Proust, a true classic co-produced by Peter Buck – while collaborating with the likes of Ray Davies and Wesley Stace. In early 2025 the band announced the that work had begun on their 12th studio album, slated to come out in 2026, which will be the 40th anniversary of the release of their first album. 2026 has officially been designated as “The Year Of The Hawk.”

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.