James McMurtry and the Martial Law Review with special guest BettySoo at Turntable in Indianapolis on Tuesday, June 16,2026!
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 bas,s 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.
JAMES MCMURTRY WITH SPECIAL GUEST BETTYSOO
TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 2026
18+
TURNTABLE
INDIANAPOLIS, IN
TICKETS AT TURNTABLEINDY.COM
PLEASE NOTE:
THIS SHOW IS GENERAL ADMISSION AND SEATING IS NOT PROVIDED. YOU MUST BE 18+ TO ENTER THE VENUE WITH A VALID FORM OF IDENTIFICATION. ALL TICKETS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE. TWO FORMS OF IDENTIFICATION MAY BE REQUIRED FOR ENTRY.
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