Navigate.
Contact Us.
1043 Virginia Ave, Suite 217
Indianapolis, IN 46203
Office: 317-602-6641
Loading Events
Health Check: Vax or Test
Sep 18

Mike & The Moonpies

HI-FI
$20 – 25
Presented By: 2021 Holler On The Square
Doors: 8:00 pm
Start Time: 9:10 pm

HEALTH CHECK REQUIRED: Proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or negative COVID-19 PCR test within 72 hours or negative Antigen test with 6 hours.

Download the Bindle Mobile Health App and verify your vaccination and/or test status to expedite entry to the venue.

Holler on the Square is a festival-like series of concerts at HI-FI and HI-FI Annex spanning September 12-19, 2021. Join us for 8 days of live music with performances taking place in both venues, all week. Check out the daily schedule, full lineup and get your tickets now. All shows are individually ticketed.
Add to Calendar 09/18/2021 09:10 PM09/19/2021 12:30 AMMike & The MoonpiesMore Information: https://houselightventures.com/event/mike-the-moonpies/HI-FI
Learn More About This Show

Buy Tickets

ARTIST PROFILE | Silverada (fka Mike & The Moonpies)

Americana/FolkCountry

Evolution. It's what keeps the best bands afloat — song after song, show after show, record after record.

Mike Harmeier was still in his early 20s when he formed Mike and the Moonpies. From the start, they were the definition of a workingman's country band, cutting their teeth with five-hour sets on Austin's dancehall circuit before spreading their music to the rest of America. By the early 2020s, they'd become global ambassadors of homegrown Texas music, flying their flag everywhere from Abbey Road Studios (where they recorded 2019's Cheap Silver & Solid Country Gold with help from the London Symphony Orchestra) to the Grand Ole Opry.

The growth was remarkable, but all that momentum left Harmeier and his four bandmates — drummer Taylor Englert, guitarist Catlin Rutherford, bassist Omar Oyoque, and steel guitarist Zachary Moulton — looking for something new. After all, their music had decidedly changed. Why shouldn't their name do the same?

Silverada marks a new chapter in the band's history. It's not just the title of the boldest release of the group's critically-acclaimed career; it's also the name of the reinvigorated band itself.

"Back in the day, all we wanted to do was play the Broken Spoke," says Harmeier, nodding to the hometown honky-tonk in Austin, TX, where Silverada began sowing the seeds for a sound that mixed timeless twang with modern-day dynamics. "We had different aspirations back then. We were still figuring out what kind of band we were gonna be, and that took a lot of time and a lot of records."

A lot of records, indeed. Silverada marks the group's ninth release, and it balances the strengths they've accumulated along the way — sharp, detailed songwriting that bounces between autobiographical sketches and character studies; gorgeous swells of pedal steel that drift through the songs like weather; a rhythm section capable of country shuffles, hard-charging rock & roll tempos, and everything in between — with a willingness to break old rules and open new doors. "Radio Wave" is a roots-rock anthem for the highway and the heartland, peppered with Springsteen-worthy hooks and War On Drugs-inspired atmospherics. "Eagle Rare" launches the band into outer space during its explosive middle section, which the band improvised in the recording studio. "Stay By My Side" showcases Silverada's road-warrior credentials — the band recorded the track live during a tour across the American Southeast, capturing it in a single take at Capricorn Sound Studios in Macon, Georgia — while "Wallflower" blends the organic with the otherworldly, finding room for harmonized guitar solos, driving disco beats, and 808 percussion.

"Going into the studio, everybody in the band felt inspired to do something bigger than what they'd done before," Harmeier explains. "We all knew we were at a precipice, and we wanted to jump. I brought in some songs that were metaphorical and not always straightforward, and that showed the guys that I wanted to take this music somewhere new… so they threw their own rulebooks out the window, too."

Harmeier wrote the bulk of Silverada in his backyard studio, surrounded by dozens of books he'd picked up at a local Goodwill. "We'd been on tour for so long, playing the same set for almost two years, and I wanted to write something that was a departure," he remembers. Jeff Tweedy's books on songwriting were a big help, but Harmeier pushed himself to get weird, too, finding inspiration in everything from astronomy texts to sci-fi novels. "I would read some, work a little bit, read some more, and work a little more," he says of the creative process. "I spent a full month in that studio, going there every night, making word ladders and highlighting lines and learning to free write."

Recorded at Yellow Dog Studios with longtime producer/collaborator Adam Odor, Silverada propels the band forward without losing sight of their roots. "Stubborn Son" — a loving, unsparing sketch of the family patriarch who set Harmeier's creativity in motion — unfolds like a close cousin to Steak Night at the Prairie Rose's title track, laced with fiddle solos from longtime George Strait collaborator Gene Elders. "Doing It Right" channels the same throwback, slow-dance ambiance that informed 2019's "You Look Good in Neon." "Load Out," which chronicles the grind of blue-collar jobs both on and off the road, could've found a home on 2021's One To Grow On.

There's a smart sense of history here — a celebration not only of where the band is headed, where they've been, too. Even so, Silverada doesn't spend much time looking in the rearview mirror. Instead, it keeps its gaze focused on the road ahead. This is a snapshot of a band in motion, chasing down the next horizon, writing the soundtrack to some new discovery. It's the sound of alchemy, of some new metal being forged. And like silver itself, Silverada shines brightly.

"We spent the first part of our career figuring out who we are and what we're good at," says Harmeier. "Now we want to evolve not only the sound of the band, but the dynamic of the live show, too. We're all lifers here. We're in this for the long haul. Silverada is us setting the stage for the next leg of the journey."

READ MORE »READ LESS »
CONNECT:

Supporting Acts

About the Venue

HI-FI is located inside the historic Murphy Arts Center in the heart of Fountain Square.  HI-FI shows virtually every night of the week and is known for finding new artists on the rise. The venue is acoustically one of the best sounding venues in the Midwest. The entrance is located at the front of the building on Virginia Ave and the Indianapolis Cultural Trail.

 
Amenities: Live Music, Premium Sound, Full Bar, 24 Draft Beers On Tap, VIP Seating, Street-Level Box Office
Upgrades: A limited amount of VIP seating upgrades (21+) are available for select shows.  Contact the box office to purchase or check availability: boxoffice@hifiindy.com.
Ticket Support: Box Office opens 1 hour before published door time. For ticket related questions please email boxoffice@hifiindy.com.
Parking: Street Parking, Bike Parking
Refund Policy: All tickets are non-transferable and non-refundable unless the show is canceled.  Shows affected by Covid-19 pandemic will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Contact the box office with any questions: boxoffice@hifiindy.com.
1043 Virginia Ave #4 Indianapolis, IN 46203

More Shows Like This

All Ages

Hank Ruff’s Holiday Hoedown

All Ages

Hairball

18+

Six Foot Sparkles

All Ages

Connor McLaren

18+

SABBATH

All Ages

Mac McAnally

All Ages

Emo Kids

All Ages

Mac McAnally

All Ages

The Vindys

All Ages

Big Head Todd and The Monsters