In 1993 Murry Hammond co-founded alt-country/Americana legends Old97s alongside his longtime music partner Rhett Miller. Throughout their 30-plus years the pair led the band through fourteen studio albums, appearances in films and television, and have had the pleasure of working with some of their musical heroes. In 2026 the band received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Music Association, and the future looks to be no less busy with a new album completed and a full-length film documentary, both set to be released early 2027.

Throughout their extraordinary run Murry has been the “other writer” in the band, penning or co-writing some of the band’s most notable songs, but it wasn’t until 2008 that Murry compiled his first full length solo, the deep roots I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm On My Way. The album received some very nice praise, including Murry being invited to participate as an interviewee and performer in the acclaimed Carter Family documentary The Winding Stream. A follow-up album, 2025’s “Trail Songs of the Deep” (Fluff & Gravy Records) was honored upon its release by UK’s Uncut Magazine as their “Americana Album of the Month.” 2025 also saw Murry busy producing Rhett Miller’s solo A Lifetime Of Riding by Night, a call Murry got because Rhett was fascinated with the sort of moods achieved on Trail Songs and its follow up album “Another Idle Day” (set for release in December 2026). The songs reveal his clear affection for certain musical heroes, especially Syd Barrett, Johnny Cash, the “singing cowboy” era, and just about anything 1960s. In the alt-country world he helped establish, he remains one of that movement’s more interesting and surprising voices.