Jeff Black

There’s a long list of Kansas City songwriters who, for various reasons — making a living, for instance — have headed out into the world and made things happen. Jeff Black‘s dream was to move to Nashville and have people (including himself) sing his songs, and it came true. The late Waylon Jennings, mandolin miracle Sam Bush and Blackhawk have recorded his tunes. He’s written enough songs to release a CD of extras, this year’s B-Sides and Confessions. Like most artists who leave the region, Black’s never been all that far from home. Birmingham Road, his 1998 debut, opens with what sounds like We lost Jennifer to the myth of independence, but we know he’s singing We lost Jennifer to the meth of Independence. Black has showcased such love/hate poetry as the opening act for Steve Earle and Guy Clark. This show’s pairing with acerbic Texan James McMurtry should work out just fine.