Off the Record

02/29/2020

HEY ROSWELL! YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS SHOW!

The major label acts may have lasers and smoke machines and back-up dancers, but when it comes to pure energy and musicianship, there’s no live show better than Mike and the Moonpies.

The Austin-based five-piece has been on fire for the past couple years; releasing two albums, touring across the nation, playing the big festivals and wowing audiences along the way with their musical versatility and on-stage prowess.

After the much-anticipated release of Steak Night at the Prairie Rose in 2018, the band surprised everyone last year with Cheap Silver and Solid Country Gold, recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London with accompaniment from the London Symphony Orchestra.

A different environment and uncommon collaboration allowed Mike and the Moonpies to explore another side of their sound, but there’s still plenty of honky-tonk to be found among the lush strings and Countrypolitan crooning.

The title track and album opener “Cheap Silver” has a sprawling, dreamy quality that sets the stage for the blending of Moonpies and LSO, but if that turns off any longtime fans, the next track, “You Look Good In Neon,” will put your mind at ease and make you wanna find a dance partner.

The band goes full outlaw on “Danger” with some driving guitar licks from guitarist Catlin Rutherford, then frontman Mike Harmeier gets to channel his inner Frank Sinatra on “Young in Love.”

“Miss Fortune” and “If You Want a Fool Around” are subdued tunes with great metaphorical lyrics and “Fast as Lightning” is classic, fast-paced Moonpies.

The album ends with a cover of Gary P. Nunn’s “London Homesick Blues,” which couldn’t have been a more appropriate inclusion on this short (just north of a half hour), but diverse effort from easily the most surprising country act out there today.

The buzz from fans is that the Moonpies are better than ever since acquiring bass player Omar Oyoque and adding his infectious stage presence to an already stellar band that includes Rutherford, steel guitarist Zachary Moulton, drummer Kyle Ponder and singer-songwriter Harmeier.

Mike and the Moonpies have enjoyed a steady rise in popularity since 2010’s The Real Country, but the fuse has been lit and soon they will blast off as traditional-yet-fresh country music enjoys a bit of a mainstream revival.

There may not be many more chances to see an act of this caliber in a comfortable, up-close setting, so go to thelibertyinc.com now and purchase tickets for tonight’s show before they are gone!

Quaker City Night Hawks take the stage first at 8 p.m. with their guitar-driven bluesy rock with a hint of Texas twang.

The Liberty Inc.

02/29/2020

Tonight at the Liberty! Get tickets at thelibertyinc.com.

02/29/2020

Fun night at the Liberty with Josh Grider and the Drew Fish Band. Grider shared a new song that’s hitting the airwaves real soon!

02/28/2020

Austin honky-tonk heroes Mike and the Moonpies play the Liberty Saturday night! Better get those tickets from thelibertyinc.com.

02/28/2020

There's still time to snag tickets for New Mexico's own Josh Grider, tonight at the Liberty along with the Drew Fish Band! Doors at 6.

02/28/2020

Josh Grider back at the Liberty

Texas Country mainstay Josh Grider returns to Roswell tonight for a full-band show at the Liberty.

Grider has made Roswell a fairly regular stop on his tours, playing the Liberty several times and opening for Clint Black at Pearson a few years back.

“Being from New Mexico, I love coming to play anywhere in my home state,” said Grider. “There’s always something nice about touching base with where you are from. Las Cruces is my hometown, but New Mexico in general has a thing to it that no place else has, and I like it.”

On his most recent full-length album, Good People, Grider once again expertly toes the line between mainstream country music and more contemplative, singer-songwriter fare.

With a head full of natural rhymes and vocal chords that produce a twangy baritone perfectly suited to deliver his easy, smooth lyrics, Grider will delve into classic country themes like heartbreak and excessive drinking, but he does so with the overall positive outlook of a good family man.

“I had to give (my kids) some kind of alternative narrative,” he said. “The doom and gloom just gets to be too much sometimes. Without positivity and gratitude, and a little bit of hope, what do we have in this life?”

A quick spin through his catalog and it’s apparent that Grider is a real storyteller. He’s great at weaving verses seamlessly into a chorus and he’ll throw out a real unique rhyme now and then that’s both surprising, yet completely unforced.

A good example can be found on “Bad Times Roll,” the opening track from Good People, when Grider sings, “Let the bad times roll...roll like a midnight pair of dice on the floor of the Bellagio.”

“That line has gotten more comments than any other on that record,” he said. “When that combination happens, you gotta go for it. Hats off to my co-writers James Slater and Bobby Hamrick for helping me bring that song to life!”

Grider released a live album last year with friend and fellow artist Drew Kennedy where he puts a new spin on some of his older songs. While some artists bemoan playing their earlier work, Grider appreciates the tunes that helped get him where he is today.

“I do still enjoy (the older songs), quite a bit actually,” he said. “Anything that has hung around in the set list has done so for a reason. The songs are the building blocks of an artist’s career, and busting into “Smallest Town on Earth” or “Summer and Sixteen” or “South of the Border” remind me of where I’ve been and how far I’ve come...and how far I still want to go!”

While Grider delivers a ballad well, his real strength is in his ability to create a fun, toe-tapping song with a fun story. “One Night Taco Stand” is unique and makes you smile, “Tulsa” is a quirky conversation that quickly becomes a confrontation between a smitten man and the Oklahoma town keeping the apple of his eye stuck in traffic, and “Top of the Bottle” is about the fun and trouble that can come with a night of drinking.

Each song has one thing in common; they make you hit the dance floor.

Grider even tackled the classic Christian goodbye hymn “God Be With You Till We Meet Again” with help from his wife, fellow rising artist Kristi Grider. Kristi released a self-titled EP last year and the couple have a collaborative project coming out later this year.

Austin honky-tonkers the Drew Fish Band will open the show at 8 p.m. as they celebrate the recent release of their latest album, Wishful Drinkin’.

Tickets are still available at

The Liberty Inc.

06/17/2017

I'd love to review some new music or a local show, but sports has me tied up most of the time, but I wanted to let y'all know about the new Jason Isbell record that dropped today. The greatest songwriter of my generation has done it again! I smell another Grammy!

05/05/2016

Willie Nelson's "Summertime" review from early March.

05/05/2016

This isn't a review, but after Merle Haggard died I felt compelled to share what the man meant to me.

05/05/2016

I've been so busy with spring sports I haven't had a chance to keep the music page updated...but I'll be posting my most recent stuff shortly. Thanks for following!

12/09/2015

WIN FREE TICKETS TO CLINT BLACK!
The Clint Black show is tomorrow night and the Roswell Daily Record is giving away two tickets in the preferred seating section, including early entry to the lounge. For your chance to win, simply like this post and leave a comment with your favorite Clint Black song. The winner will be picked tomorrow at noon.
Special thanks to Josh Ragsdale, owner of Pecos Flavors Winery and The Liberty, for the tickets and doing his part to bring fantastic entertainment to Roswell!

12/08/2015

Longtime friends and Red Dirt staples, Cody Canada and Mike McClure released a double-live, acoustic album on Nov. 13, 2015, full of fan favorites from their respective catalogs, as well as several covers of songs by the late, great Tom Skinner.