The Official Site of James McMurtry

James McMurtry's "We Can't Make it Here" Featured on OCCUPY THIS ALBUM
James McMurtry is featured on the new release, Occupy This Album (Razor & Tie) - a compilation of music by, for and inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement and The 99%. Proceeds will go directly toward the needs of sustaining this growing movement. 99 Artists, 99 Tracks, for The 99%, an iconic soundtrack for the movement, Occupy This Album features a brand new version of "We Can't Make it Here" by James McMurtry (with Steve Earle and Joan Baez). Other artists include Jackson Browne, Patti Smith, Ani DiFranco, My Pet Dragon, Arlo Guthrie and many more. Available May 15th, CLICK HERE to pre-order your copy today.

James McMurtry Featured on CNN
"America's Fiercest Songwriter," James McMurtry was recently the featured artist on CNN's #MusicMonday. In case you missed it, CLICK HERE to check it out!

McMurtry to Perform at Cohen Tribute
An eclectic group of musicians and artists will perform in honor of iconic singer, songwriter, poet and novelist Leonard Cohen, the Ninth Laureate of The Glenn Gould Prize, on Monday, May 14 at Toronto's Massey Hall. The star-studded evening will include musical performances by James McMurtry, Cowboy Junkies, Adam Cohen, Serena Ryder, John Prine, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and many more! Cohen will be present to receive his award at this ceremony. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets.

New McMurtry Blog
Sometimes my song,"We Can't Make it Here", seems a bit naive. It's still a pretty good song, and songs don't have time to be fair and balanced. Songs are mostly about emotion. So I still sing it. But I read the New York Times a couple of Sundays ago, and I now understand why we can't competitively produce iphones here.
CLICK HERE to read more

Road Perspectives
Throughout the course of his extensive 2012, James McMurtry is snapping pictures of the world around him. CLICK HERE for photos. (All photos by James McMurtry via iPhone).

JAMES McMURTRY OFFERS FREE MP3 IN SUPPORT OF OCCUPY MOVEMENT
The singer-songwriter is giving away mp3s of his iconic political masterpiece "We Can't Make It Here" (from his award-winning Childish Things).

Fans are encouraged to use the free mp3 of "We Can't Make It Here" to create videos supporting the Occupy movement.

Message from James:
We quit playing "We Can't Make It Here" for a year or two. We're playing it again because it seems to still be relevant, and that pretty much sucks for everybody but us. I know the song is still relevant because people are camped out along Wall Street and in front of City Halls around the country and around the globe, demanding a solution to the problems I tried to give light to when I put my song out seven years ago. They are mixed in age and economic status. Some are young and idealistic. Some are old enough to have had their ideals trampled upon a time or two. My son goes to school in the New York area and some of his friends have been involved in the protests. One was detained for nine hours without charge. This is not supposed to happen in our supposedly civilized nation. These people are getting roughed up, but the press only seems to notice when a victim of police brutality happens to be an Iraq war veteran. I'm guessing there are a good many vets in the crowd and the poor fellow in Oakland won't be the only one hurt. I suppose the cops think the protesters are breaking the law. Seems to me, the Bill of Rights guarantees the right to peaceful assembly. Meanwhile, the one percent, safely ensconced in the tall glass towers, does not have to break the law, because they get to write the law. I thought it was supposed to be the other way around, in a democracy. I think maybe my fourth grade teacher lied to me.

Let your voice be heard.

CLICK HERE to read McMurtry's latest blog about the Occupy Movement.

James McMurtry in Garden and Gun
"When I step off the twin-prop plane in Wichita Falls, Texas, and into the late-day heat of spring, wind blasting forty miles an hour, the first thing I hear, literally, is a loud and live rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” by what sounds like a marching band. Wichita Falls is home to Sheppard Air Force Base, one of the busiest airfields in the U.S. Air Force. The band is practicing, is all—it’s no special occasion—but then the Warthogs go screaming past, and James McMurtry drives up in his old Ranger pickup, his wild Jesus hair silhouetted by the westering sun, and I get it instantly. This isn’t just something he sings about—the heartland, rural values, hard choices, wars, politics—it’s his world, his milieu."

CLICK HERE to read more of this incredible Garden and Gun feature written by the great Rick Bass. For a custom playlist of some of McMurtry's favorite tunes, CLICK HERE.