Texastentialist Folk-Rock

I’m pretty sure truck-stop rocker James McMurtry was laughing into his dinner as he sat at Poppi’s Anatolia last time he came to Eugene. He was chilling out alone before his WOW Hall show, sitting one table over from me, and couldn’t help but to hear my friend Becky bitching me out for not putting hay bales around the bottom of my Airstream trailer in a sort of redneck insulation to keep it warm in the winter.

McMurtry sings the poetry of meth, drinking, lost love and living in Airstream trailers and crappy houses in a low, nasal twang. He’s been called “America’s voice,” “Texastentialist folk-rock” and “bookish boogie” in an effort to explain how danceable yet elegiac his tales of rural dystopia are. He’s at once quietly funny, biting and sad.

It’s easy to lose track of the fact that McMurtry plays a pretty mean hard rock guitar as you get caught up in his story-songs of losers, rebels and melancholy: “Will work for food / Will die for oil / Will kill for power and to us the spoils / The billionaires get to pay less tax / The working poor get to fall through the cracks.” McMurtry sings activism without sounding like an activist; he sounds a little broke, a little pissed off and a lot like the kind of guy who gets how hard it is when your dented metal trailer’s too damn cold.

James McMurtry plays with Denver 8 pm Tuesday, June 18, at WOW Hall; $15 adv., $18 door.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!