James McMurtry

James McMurtry brings his plainspoken storytelling to Brudenell Social Club in Leeds on 7 October 2026. A Texas singer-songwriter steeped in roots rock and Americana, he writes character-driven songs that follow small-town lives, backroads, and the way decisions at the top filter down to everyone else. His voice is dry and direct, his guitar work spare, leaving room for lyrics that carry detail and weight without ornament.

From his 1989 debut Too Long in the Wasteland through Childish Things and Just Us Kids to The Horses and the Hounds, his catalogue charts decades of lived-in narratives. On stage he keeps the focus on the writing: tight band, unshowy playing, stories front and center. The set moves between electric pulse and hushed ballads, pairing road-dusted riffs with portraits that feel overheard and true. Son of novelist Larry McMurtry, James brings the same clear eye for setting and character, trading chapters for verses and choruses. In Leeds, expect a night of scenes that linger long after the last chord.