Album Feature: Mike And The Moonpies: Steak Night At The Prairie Rose.

By Joshua Wallace

Mike and the Moonpies are one of those bands you can always count on for a good honky tonk album.  Steak Night at the Prairie Rose is no exception.  This album picks up right where 2015’s Mockingbird left off with solid songwriting and great Texas honky tonk.  This band just continues to get better with every release.

The opening track and first single from Steak Night at the Prairie Rose is “Road Crew”.  It starts the album off with a barn burner of a track and it will immediately be one of your favorites.  “Might Be Wrong” keeps the pace up with a track that will be sure to get couples on the dance floor.

Steak Night at the Prairie Rose picks up where Mockingbird left off and we get another piece of Mike Harmeier’s life in the title track.  This time on “Steak Night at the Prairie Rose” we get a look at Mike as a kid where he got some of his earliest inspirations and first gigs.  I love these kind of  autobiographical songs and especially how Mike peels back more layers with each album.

Another favorite track is “The Worst Thing” which is a waltz that features Mickey Raphael on harmonica in the only guest spot on the album.  Mike had a hand in writing every song on the record except for the exceptional “The Last Time” which was written by Jonathan Terrell who also wrote a track on the band’s 2012 release The Hard Way.  Finally, I really enjoy the track “Beaches Of Biloxi” as it highlights the strong storytelling in the album with a tale of a gambler on hard times.

If you’re looking for a good country album to start your year off right, this one has it all.  Good songwriting, a great band and a good honky tonk sound.  You can’t ask for more.  Mike and the Moonpies continue to get better and 4 studio albums in, this record is their best yet.  I highly recommend picking this album up and it is available everywhere on February 2nd, 2018.

 Favorite tracks : Road Crew, Steak Night at the Prairie Rose, The Last Time, The Worst Thing, Getting High At Home & Wedding Band

Mike and the Moonpies – Steak Night at the Prairie Rose (2018)

1. Road Crew

2. Might Be Wrong

3. Steak Night at the Prairie Rose

4. Getting High at Home

5. The Last TIme

6. Beaches Of Biloxi

7. Things Ain’t Like They Used To Be

8. The Worst Thing

9. Wedding Band

10. We’re Gone