Name: Dave’s Night Out with Jack Murray – Travelin’ Man, an Exploration of Folk, Blues, and Country Music’s Pull of the Road
Start: 2026-01-28T18:00:36-05:00
End: 2026-01-28T20:00:00-05:00
Location: 7 E 4th St, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA

$Dave\u2019s Night Out with Jack Murray \u2013 Travelin\u2019 Man, an Exploration of Folk, Blues, and Country Music\u2019s Pull of the Road$

Dave’s Night Out returns with Jack Murray as host Dave Fry and his guest explore Travelin’ Man, an evening centered on folk, blues, and country music’s enduring fascination with the road. Born in Sevierville, Tennessee—the same hometown as Dolly Parton—and kin to Merle Haggard, Murray brings both heritage and lived experience to his songwriting. From his early days in country-rock band Golden Rocket to writing songs recorded by Alabama and other Nashville artists, his career reflects a deep connection to American roots music.
A familiar and respected presence at Godfrey Daniels and throughout the region, Murray has shared stages with artists including The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Chris Smither, Joe Ely, and Butch Hancock, and has appeared at MusikFest, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, and Bluebird-style “In The Round” performances with notable Nashville songwriters. This installment of Dave’s Night Out blends live music, thoughtful conversation, audience engagement, humor, and storytelling—designed for attentive listening in the intimate setting that defines Godfrey Daniels.
Dave’s Night Out is a monthly recurring series at Godfrey Daniels, curated by Dave Fry. Join us monthly for a delightful blend of music, humor, and thought-provoking conversations between Dave and his guests.
JACK MURRAY
jackmurray.net
Being born in the same town as Dolly Parton (Sevierville, TN) and being kin to Merle Haggard, Jack Murray enjoys the unique challenges of navigating such elevated expectations. Jack was a founding member of the country-rock band Golden Rocket in the late 70s, which featured a unique mix of folk, blues, rock & roll, and traditional country music. That was followed by a hot "Rockpile"-like 4-piece rock and roll band called "The Rockin' Eddies." In the ‘80s, he was lucky enough to have written some songs -for “Alabama” and for other Nashville recording artists. Jack has become a popular headlining act as a singer/songwriter at many venues in the Philadelphia area, including the legendary Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem, Landhaven in Huffs Church, MusikFest in Bethlehem as well as at the Sellersville Theater where he has opened the show for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The Commander Cody Band, Chris Smither, Joe Ely, Butch Hancock, and many others. He’s been invited to perform In Bluebird-style ‘In The Rounds’ with Nashville songwriting legends Craig Bickhardt, Thom Schuyler, Tony Arata, Don Henry, Michael Johnson and Poco’s Jack Sundrud. He was a featured guest on Gene Shay’s "The Folk Show" on WXPN and again with his band “The Midnight Creeps.” Jack has been a main stage performer at the Spring Gulch Festival and performed in back-to-back years at the prestigious Philadelphia Folk Festival. He’s been invited back again this year to be part of an “In The Round” Songwriter Workshop at the 2024 Philadelphia Folk Festival -swapping songs with Lenny Kaye, Christine Havrilla and Mary Battiata.After learning that Nashville songwriting legend David Olney had adopted one of Jack’s songs “Bluebonnet Girl” in his final months among us, he found himself on stage at Nashville’s Belcourt Theater in March of 2020, having been invited to play and sing that song in a memorial concert for Mr. Olney after his untimely passing.When not performing solo, Jack now fronts “The Blue Tarp Wranglers” –a band built to handle all manner of well-rooted American music, including his own. The line-up features charter members guitarist Alan Landes, bassist Nick Franclik, percussionist Josh Kanusky and pedal steel maestro Dave Van Allen. The Tarps often showcase special musical guests as well.Jack’s 2008 debut CD “Then There’s That...” features his distinctive guitar and vocal stylings and powerful original songs. He recorded ten tracks in Nashville, TN with twice Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Thomm Jutz. After much anticipation, those tracks, now an album titled “Blue Tuxedo” will be released after the completion of a Kickstarter campaign to be launched in the fall of 2025.