Electronic Press Kit
James McMurtry
The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy — Out Now via New West Records
Biography
James McMurtry will release The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy on June 20 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 — Cornbread on bass, Tim Holt on guitar, Daren Hess on drums, and BettySoo on backing vocals.
A supremely insightful and inventive storyteller, McMurtry teases vivid worlds out of small details, setting them to arrangements that have the 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 enjoyed a resurgence as young songwriters like Sarah Jarosz and Jason Isbell cite him as a formative influence.
Known for his powerhouse performances, McMurtry tours year-round. The new album's title came from his stepmother Faye, who told him that his father — the legendary writer Larry McMurtry — had a favorite hallucination: the black dog and the wandering boy. McMurtry took them and applied them to a fictional character, and a song was born.
Press Quotes
"James McMurtry may be the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation."
— Stephen King
"James McMurtry is your favorite songwriter's favorite songwriter."
— Texas Highways
"One of America's greatest living songwriters."
— Rolling Stone
"This is a career-best collection of dense, fascinating narratives."
— Country Universe
"A supremely insightful and inventive storyteller, McMurtry teases vivid worlds out of small details... this is roots rock at its most cathartic."
— Americana UK
"Solidifying McMurtry as one of this generation's most unflinchingly potent and powerfully erudite recording artists."
— American Songwriter
"James McMurtry returns with masterful storytelling & truth laying on The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy."
— Glide Magazine
"There is so much to digest in the music of James McMurtry and this new album is filled with ample proof of his many gifts and talent."
— Lonesome Highway
The Black Dog & The Wandering Boy
New West Records · June 20, 2025
Produced by James McMurtry & Don Dixon
- 1Laredo (Small Dark Something)
- 2South Texas Lawman
- 3The Color of Night
- 4Pinocchio in Vegas
- 5Annie
- 6The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy
- 7Back to Coeur d'Alene
- 8Sons of the Second Sons
- 9Sailing Away
- 10Broken Freedom Song