By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

PASCAGOULA — Legendary classic country artist Michael Martin Murphey will be returning to the Mississippi Gulf Coast for just the second time in over 25 years this weekend.

Murphey is making a return to The Grand Magnolia Ballroom in Pascagoula on Saturday for a show. “An Evening with Michael Martin Murphey” is set for 7 p.m., and tickets are on sale at both Scranton’s Restaurant in Pascagoula as well as online at http://www.grandmagmusic.com.

The multiple Grammy Award nominee Murphey played a sold-out show in October of 2022 at The Grand Magnolia, marking his first appearance on the Mississippi Gulf Coast since a 1996 show at the Boomtown Casino in Biloxi.

Rolling Stone Magazine once called the multiple Grammy Award Nominee Murphey “One of the best songwriters in the country”, and country superstar Garth Brooks said of Murphey, “One of the three main influences on my career”

Murphey’s musical journey has taken many unpredictable paths over the past five decades, as he has topped the pop, country and bluegrass charts. He is best known for his chart-topping hits “Wildfire,” “Carolina In The Pines,” “What’s Forever For,” “Long Line of Love,” “Cherokee Fiddle” and “Backsliders Wine” among many others across his 35 albums released to date. He’s also charted more than 30 songs on the Billboard charts and has six gold albums.

“All during my career, young women have come up to me and said, ‘I love my horse, and I named him “Wildfire,” and I cry every time I hear that song,’” Murphey said in a recent interview. “I think it’s kept this song alive. It’s not really a love story; it’s not about a breakup between lovers. It’s something more than that — it’s something mystical that I can’t explain.”

Murphey is also the author of New Mexico’s state ballad, “The Land of Enchantment”. He has become a prominent musical voice for the Western horseman, rancher, and cowboy.

“I wanted to tackle every kind of music I could, cross-breeding different styles. As to the lyrics, it’s up to you to read into it,” Murphey said. ““I’ve never stopped touring. I’ll always be on tour and be writing music.”

His original songs have also been recorded by The Monkees, Kenny Rogers, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, John Denver, Hoyt Axton, Johnny Cash, Tracy Byrd, Lyle Lovett, Jerry Jeff Walker, Dolly Parton, Johnny Rivers, Billy Ray Cyrus, and many others.

Murphey has been awarded gold albums for Cowboy Songs, Vol. I and Blue Sky Night Thunder, as well as a Platinum single in “Wildfire.” He is a five-time recipient of the Wrangler Award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and Cowboy Hall of Fame, and boasts awards from the Academy of Country Music, Rock Music Awards, Academy of Western Music Awards, Outstanding Son of Texas Award by the Texas Legislature, and multiple from BMI.

Murphey is the fifth member of the prestigious Texas Heritage Songwriters Association Hall of Fame to perform at The Grand Magnolia in the past five years, along with Rodney Crowell, J.D. Souther, Lee Roy Parnell and John Ford Coley.

He is also one of over 30 musicians/singer/songwriters that have performed on stage at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and then graced the state of the Grand Magnolia Ballroom in Pascagoula less than three months later.

Other upcoming shows at The Grand Magnolia feature Louisiana’s LeRoux in May and John Hiatt in June. All upcoming shows can be found on the Grand Mag Music website.