Sat 5/31 @ 8PM
Texas singer-songwriter James McMurtry and St. Louis’ roots-rockin’ alt country band the Bottle Rockets are back out on the road again and making a return appearance at the Kent Stage, where they performed last July.
McMurtry, whose career goes back to the late ’80s, is more outward-focused than many of his fellow Texas songcrafters and often overtly outraged about injustice. His first album, 1989’s Too Long in the Wasteland, was co-produced by John Mellencamp, whose affinity for the average man in the heartland he shares. He attracted attention in the mid 2000s for songs like “We Can’t Make It Here” and “Cheney’s Toy” that took on the Bush administration.
He hasn’t released an album of new material since 2008’s Just Us Kids, but he’s promising a new one’s on the way. So maybe he’ll do some new material at the Kent Stage.
Meanwhile, the Bottle Rockets, who bill themselves as “the best band on the planet” (lot to live up to there, guys!), are promoting a deluxe reissue of their first two albums from the early 90s, featuring a 40-page booklet and an additional 19 previously unreleased tracks.
Tickets are $23-$28.