On May 6, two extremely talented Texas songwriters and entertainers, James Mc-Murtry and BettySoo will bring the next installment of the popular concert series, Stars Over Wimberley, to the Wimberley Playhouse.
At first sight, the two appear to be an unlikely pairing. Their differences make them stand out, but their similarities bind them deeply because each is an extremely talented singer, songwriter, and storyteller.
McMurtry is the son of acclaimed author and Pulitzer Prize winner Larry McMurtry, the author of “Lonesome Dove,” “The Last Picture Show,” “Terms of Endearment,” and other acclaimed novels. BettySoo is the daughter of Korean immigrants who settled in Houston in the ‘70s. He is tall, she is not.
His rambling, gritty singing style is instantly recognizable, Betty-Soo’s soaring soprano belies her stature and makes first-time listeners sit up straight and listen.
The pair recently gained national attention when performing in Knoxville and Nashville shortly after the Tennessee state legislature banned drag shows in the state. For their encore, McMurtry dressed in drag in a red dress, and BettySoo appeared with a mustache and an accordion. They weren’t sure of the potential outcome, but it gained plenty of national attention. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow picked up on the story and Mc-Murtry wrote an entertaining piece for Rolling Stone magazine, worth a read at rollingstone. com.
About this unlikely pairing, McMurtry said, “I’ve had various opening acts over time and I usually didn’t pay much attention to them — some were pretty good, some not so good. If you want to sell a good package to people, BettySoo is the best.”
BettySoo said, “I think one thing we have in common is that most people think we’re uninhibited and that we both have a lot of movies in our mind — about ourselves or some other character. We both write about situations that we would never live out. Songs are a perfect, quick way to tell a movie.”
McMurtry chimed in with, “Steve Earle once said that songs are literature that you digest while driving. And I just prefer to write verse fiction instead of prose fiction.”
BettySoo and Mc-Murtry promise to deliver a show with a bunch of laughs, and a few tears. It is Texas music and storytelling at its best.
Stars Over Wimberley is an initiative of Wimberley Valley Arts and Cultural Alliance, Wimberleyarts.org, in partnership with The Wimberley Players. They bring cultural enrichment to Wimberley by presenting high-quality entertainment to raise funds for the Robert Moreman Memorial Scholarship Fund which makes scholarships available for creative Wimberley graduating high school seniors who want to pursue an education in music, the culinary arts, visual arts and the building trades.
Tickets go on sale April 8, at Starsoverwimberley. org.
PHOTOS BY ROGER POLSON
