KZFR Presents Paul Thorn and James McMurtry

KZFR Presents Paul Thorn and James McMurtry @ the Paradise Performing Arts Center

Paradise Performing Arts Center @ 777 Nunneley Rd.

Doors open at 6pm, Show at 7pm

$25 Advance tickets available at Chico Paper Co. on Broadway, Blaze N' J's on West 9th St and the KZFR Office or by CLICKING HERE

Paul Thorn solo opening...The son of a preacher man, Mississippi-raised Thorn spent much of his childhood in church, participating in multiple weekly services with his father as well as at neighboring African American congregations, where he became entranced with the music whose infectious spirit is captured on the new album. Don't Let the Devil Ride is Paul's new CD, collects soulful songs originally cut by black southern gospel groups and features guests the Blind Boys of Alabama, The McCrary Sisters, the Preservation Hall Jazz Horns, and Bonnie Bishop.

James McMurtry with his full band follows Paul...Longtime fans know McMurtrys vibrant vignettes have turned heads for more than a quarter-century now. His critically successful first album Too Long in the Wasteland (1989), which was produced by John Mellencamp, marked the beginning of a series of acclaimed projects for Columbia and Sugar Hill Records. In 1996, McMurtry received a Grammy nomination for Long Form Music Video for Whered You Hide the Body. Additionally, It Had To Happen (1997) received the American Indie Award for Best Americana Album. In his long career, songs like Childish Things, Choctaw Bingo, Peter Pan, Levelland, and Out Here in the Middle only begin the list of high watermarks. (Yes, Robert Earl Keen covered those last two, Levelland remaining a live staple.) Childish Things (2005) scored endless critical praise and spent six full weeks topping the Americana Music Radio chart. In 2006, it won the Americana Music Associations Album of the Year. The track We Cant Make It Here was named that rapidly rising organizations Song of the Year, and was cited among The Nations "Best Protest Songs Ever. Just Us Kids (2008) earned McMurtry his highest Billboard 200 chart position in nearly two decades and notched Americana Music Award nominations.