See Mike and the Moonpies Perform ‘Steak Night at the Prairie Rose’
When it was released in February, Mike and the Moonpies’ latest, Steak Night at the Prairie Rose, quickly became a contender for one of the best country albums of the year. With its easygoing barroom sound and crisp songwriting, the record transcends the “Texas country” tag to make Mike Harmeier’s band a necessary part of the national country-music conversation. Listen to the title track: a devastatingly honest portrait of divorce and how a single dad integrates his son into his routine. It’s Harmeier’s story, told from his perspective as a kid sipping a Coke while his dad nursed a beer and watched a cover band at the local bar.
“‘Steak Night’ is a song I think I’ve been trying to write for a really long time,” Harmeier told Rolling Stone Country earlier this year of the autobiographical track. “I don’t have to write that song anymore.”
Mike and the Moonpies recently performed the song in the close quarters of Jam in the Van, the YouTube concert series that takes place in the confines of an RV. The cramped space didn’t squeeze the band’s vibe, however – propelled by a jangly guitar riff and Zachary Moulton’s trickling steel, “Steak Night at the Prairie Rose” is a satisfying slice of live country, with Harmeier recalling, “He never treated me like a kid / I did all the things he did.” The highlight is the way he repurposes the chorus of “I’m going to see you up there some day.” Early in the song, it’s his father’s words to his musical son, pointing at the stage. By the end, though, Harmeier is looking to the heavens, with his own bottle raised aloft.
The group will perform a string of shows in Texas and Oklahoma this month, before venturing out of Red Dirt territory for a new round of dates this summer.
Here’s Mike and the Moonpies’ upcoming shows:
May 4 – Coupland, TX @ Coupland Dancehall
May 5 – League City, TX @ League City Music Fest
May 11 – Deadwood, SD @ Deadwood Mountain Grand Event Center
May 12 – Wayne, NE @ The Beaumont
May 18 – Thackerville, OK @ Palladium Club at WinStar World Casino
May 19 – Thackerville, OK @ Palladium Club at WinStar World Casino
May 20 – Plano, TX @ Love and War
May 25 – Wichita Falls, TX @ Silver Dollar Saloon
May 27 – Austin, TX @ Lone Star Jam
June 1 – Pocola, OK @ Gilley’s at Choctaw Casino
June 2 – Thackerville, OK @ Palladium Club at Winstar World Casino
June 5 – Spring Green, WI @ The Shitty Barn
June 8 – Indianapolis, IN @ Duke’s Indy
June 9 – Cascade, IA @ Rockin’ On The River
June 10 – Galva, IL @ Wiley Park
June 15 – Brooklyn, NY @ Skinny Dennis
June 17 – Washington, DC @ Pearl Street Warehouse
June 22 – Yorkville, IL @ The Law Office Pub & Music Hall
June 23 – Rochester, IL @ The Alibi
June 28 – Oklahoma City, OK @ The Weekend Dance Hall & Saloon
June 29 – Lubbock, TX @ Blue Light Live
June 30 – Buda, TX @ Buck’s Backyard
July 6 – Thackerville, OK @ Palladium Club at WinStar World Casino
July 7 – Thackerville, OK @ Palladium Club at WinStar World Casino
July 13 – Tomball, TX @ Main Street Crossing
July 17 – Little Rock, AR @ White Water Tavern
July 20 – Nashville, TN @ Nashville Palace
July 21 – Atlanta, GA @ Fado Irish Pub
July 28 – Craponne-Sur-Arzon, FR @ Country Rendez-Vous Festival
August 9 – Billings, MT @ Zoo Montana
August 11 – Challis, ID @ Braun Brothers Reunion
August 16 – Austin, TX @Rustic Tap
August 17 – Thackerville, OK @ Palladium Club at WinStar World Casino
August 18 – Thackerville, OK @ Palladium Club at WinStar World Casino
August 24 – Thackerville, OK @ Palladium Club at WinStar World Casino
August 25 – Thackerville, OK @ Palladium Club at WinStar World Casino