Mike & The Moonpies over for Huercasa Festival next weekend
06-07-2022For a band that regularly plays 250 shows a year, there’s nothing like coming back home.
‘One To Grow On,’ the eighth studio album from Mike and the Moonpies, is a musical homecoming that returns the group to its roots as a workingman’s country band. Layered with Telecaster twang, honky tonk harmonies and lyrics that highlight the Everyman’s struggle to remain optimistic during a 9-to-5 world, this is organic music for dancehalls and car stereos — a soundtrack for the mid-week blues, shot through with weekend energy.
“I wanted to create a record you could crank loudly in your truck on Friday afternoon at quitting time,” says frontman Mike Harmeier, who wrote ‘One To Grow On’ in his backyard studio on the outskirts of Austin. “To do that, I developed a narrative and a central character. It’s a guy who’s working hard to make ends meet, all while living in the moment and hoping to stay appreciative of the things he has. A guy who takes pride in what he does but is still searching for a balance in his life. There are a lot of similarities between him and me.”
A workingman himself, Harmeier headed to his backyard studio, where he used his free time to his advantage. He wrote. He revised. He sent ideas to his producer and bandmates, who helped mold and modify the songs from their own home studios. What emerged was a sound that split the difference between 70s southern rock and 90s country, with twin guitar leads and earthy storytelling. ‘One To Grow On’ took shape during those months of isolation — months that found all of the Moonpies collaborating remotely, remaining active even while in quarantine.
“We’d never had that kind of time on our hands before,” Harmeier remembers. ” I would develop the character as far as I could then send it to our producer [Adam Odor] for even more rewrites and then finally to the band for their input. They got to know the material long before we went into the studio. They got to know the album’s central character, as well, and they wrote instrumental parts to convey the consciousness of that guy.”
This weekend Mike and the Moonpies are over for an exclusive European show in Spain, followed up by and extensive tour in April:
07/16: Riaza, ESP - Huercasa Country Festival
01/04: Newcastle, UK - The Cluny
02/04: London, UK - Omeara
03/04: Nottingham, UK - Bodega
04/04: Manchester, UK - Retro Bar
05/04: Oxford, UK - The Bullingdon
07/04: Oud-Turnhout, BE - OC de Djoelen
08/04: Nijmegen, NL - Merleyn
10/04: Groningen, NL - Der Aa-Theater
11/04: Norderstedt, DE - Music Star
12/04: Malmö, SWE - Folk å Rock
13/04: Göteborg, SWE - Pustervik
14/04: Oslo, NO - Belleville
15/04: Stockholm, SWE - Bryggarsalen
16/04: Hultsfred, SWE - Hotel Hulingen
19/04: Krefeld, DE - Kulturrampe
20/04: Hamburg DE - Nochtwache
21/04: Berlin, DE - Privatclub
22/04: Lauchhammer, DE - Real Music Club
24/04: Rheinfelden, CH - Kulturbrunnensaal