Texas has traditionally been a hotbed for country music and that still holds true today. Austin-based Mike and the Moonpies has been quietly releasing amazing records for over a decade, mostly under-the-radar and far away from the bro-country and country pop that has been dominating the public consciousness for a while. Make no mistake: Mike and the Moonpies are as far away from drivel like Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Sam Hunt as you can get. They keep the flame of “real” country music alive nowadays.
They first came to my attention back in 2017, when they released a single with the evocative title “Country Music’s Dead”:
Soon afterwards they put out a full-length album called Steak Night at the Prarie Rose which is a front-to-back classic. There is not a bad song on it. A great example is “Road Crew”…they even made a clever video to go along with it:
Another one of my favorites is One to Grow On from 2021. It is another solid effort from a group that can seem to do no wrong. “Hour on the Hour” was the single and video and released from that record:
Their prowess as a live act is really their bread and butter though. They have been constantly touring and because of that they are a well-oiled machine at this point. Here are 5 songs from them earlier this year where you can see them effortlessly blazing through their music with a fun attitude that is infectious:
Earlier this month, they released a new live album that captures them perfectly called Live From the Devil’s Backbone which is today’s pick!
The Devil’s Backbone looks like an interesting club that is located between San Antonio and Austin. It used to be a Sinclair gas station and has a history of ghost sightings….and nowadays is a classic country music bar. This makes it a fitting place for Mike and the Moonpies to record their live set.
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The only disappointment I have with the record is it does not include their rendition of Fastball’s “The Way”. I saw them perform it in Baltimore at The 8x10 in February…and luckily the club released a video from that particular show:
Minor selection quibbles aside, Live From the Devil’s Backbone is an essential document from the group. With a run time of almost 1.5 hours and 22 songs, it covers all the bases of what makes them a formidable live act apart from “The Way”.
As if the record is not enough, TV show The Texas Music Scene announced that they filmed the shows as well and will be releasing it in November. I cannot wait to see this. If old footage of Mike and the Moonpies from The Texas Music Scene is reflective of what it will look and sound like it appears we will be in for a treat:
Until then, I’ll just put Live From the Devil’s Backbone on repeat and keep checking their tour dates to see when they are returning to the area. If they ever perform anywhere close to where you are, I strongly urge you to drop everything and check it out. You won’t be disappointed. This recent live record should be all the proof you need.