Mike & the Moonpies at the Raccoon Motel -- June 5 and 6.
Sunday, June 5, and Monday, June 6
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Touring in support of their most recent album One to Grow On – a 2021 release that inspired Saving Country Music to rave that "the single greatest band in country music at the moment has just released one of the single greatest records you will hear in country music in the last few years" – the Austin, Texas-based ensemble Mike & the Moonpies headline a pair of concerts at Davenport Raccoon Motel on June 5 and 6, their sound praised by No Depression for its “shining tautness” and “crisp precision that is marvellous.”
Founded by singer/songwriter and frontman Mike Harmeier, Mike & the Moonpies has been a regional force in country music for the past 15 years, its current lineup boasting Harmeier, drummer Kyle Ponder, guitarist Catlin Rutherford, bassist Omar Oyoque, and steel guitarist Zachary Moulton. The band's 2010 album debut The Real Country led to an invitation by Daytrotter founder Sean Moeller to take part in the concert event Barnstormer IV, and in the years since, Mike & the Moonpies have maintained a busy touring schedule opening for the likes of Jason Boland & the Stragglers, Turnpike Troubadours, and Johnny Lee. The ensemble has also earned considerable critical acclaim for albums including 2012's The Hard Way, 2015's Mockingbird (cited by Rolling Stone as one of the year's best country albums), 2018's Steak Night at the Prairie Rose, 2019's Cheap Silver & Solid Country Gold, and 2020's Touch of You: The Lost Songs of Gary Stewart.
As Rolling Stone wrote in its Mockingbird rave, Harmeier "spent his youth soaking up the classic country, Western swing, and Southern rock pouring out of the jukebox of his grandfather's favorite honkytonk. He and his bandmates serve it back up on their third album, toasting influences that range from the Allman Brothers to George Strait … . Harmeier writes with a storytelling skill and specificity his heroes would appreciate – and the musicians play with the fire of the hard-touring band that they are.” Steak Night, meanwhile, earned even more lavish kudos, with the music magazine calling the 2018 recording “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.”
Mike & the Moonpies will play two Davenport engagements during their area stay: one at 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 5, and another at 8:30 p.m. on Monday, June 6. Admission is $20 per night, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
