For
25 years, legendary singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey has been
riding across the Southwest spreading his message of Christmas cheer.
Now with the Silver Anniversary of his treasuredMichael Martin Murphey’s Cowboy Christmas®,
the acclaimed artist remains as passionate about that message as ever.
“What I try to do is encourage people to think of the spirit of giving,
charity and forgiving, which is the spirit of Christmas,” says Murphey.
“It’s about delivering that beautiful message of Christmas to people.”
Michael Martin Murphey’s Cowboy Christmas®was inspired by an event that began in 1885 in Anson, TX, when the
local community of cowboys came together to celebrate the season with
the very first Cowboy Christmas Ball. The festivities included dancing
and merriment that has continued virtually every year since. (Murphey
will return to this year’s ball at the famed Pioneer Hall in Anson on
December 22)
“The
first time I came to the annual Cowboy Christmas Ball in Anson, I was
floored that the community had worked so hard to keep it going,” says
Murphey, himself a rancher and farmer. “I fell in love watching the
older couples dance and the dances being passed on to the younger
people. It re-connected me to the tradition. The Cowboy Christmas Ball
is steeped in everything I hold dear of growing up in Texas at
Christmas. All the dances were here — the waltzes, the mazurkas, the
Paul Jones, the Virginia Reel. The women make their own costumes and
clothes and the men still wear string ties and frock coats. It’s a
family reunion of friends.”
Cowboy Christmas®
differs from other seasonal presentations in its focus of the “special
relationship” of the Christmas story to rural communities, farmers and
ranchers. “God first sent an angel to the livestock people — shepherds
in the fields. Whether you’re a believer or not, the story emphasizes
that the news of the birth of the Savior was not given to royalty or
politicians. The Lord did not alert the media or ministers.
“That
underscores that Jesus came for all people, all races and all classes,”
he continues. “That means that rural people should feel a significant
part of the Christmas message because they were chosen to hear the story
first. This is my favorite season of the year. We remember our fathers
and mothers. We celebrate our children and we treasure our friends and
the many blessings given by our Lord. It really brings out the very best
in all of us.”
In
addition to his popular Christmas classics that Murphey and his Rio
Grande Band will perform, he will also be incorporating songs from his
new acclaimed release, Austinology • Alleys of Austin, a
project that pays tribute to the early years of the Austin Music Scene
when Murphey, Jerry Jeff Walker, Gary P. Nunn and more laid the
groundwork for the Outlaw Movement with WIllie Nelson, and in the
process setting the stage for what has now become known as “Americana”
music.
This year, the Cowboy Christmas® Tour will
hit 20 cities, beginning just before Thanksgiving in Cuero, TX (Nov.
10). That follows on Nov. 29 with a two-night stop in Lubbock, TX before
heading to other cities: Fredericksburg, TX (Dec. 1), Corpus Christi,
TX (Dec. 2), Durango, CO (Dec. 4), Price, UT (Dec. 5), Colorado Springs,
CO (Dec. 6) Concordia, KS (Dec. 7), Tama, IA (Dec. 8), Beaumont, TX
(Dec. 12), Waco, TX (Dec. 13), Oklahoma City, OK (Dec. 14), Tyler, TX
(Dec. 15), Tatum, TX (Dec. 16), Ft. Worth, TX (Dec. 17), Huntsville, TX
(Dec. 20), Austin, TX (Dec. 21), Anson, TX (Dec. 22) and Caldwell, TX
(Dec. 23).
More dates are being added to the run and will be announced soon.
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