Down Home at Sagebrush

To get right to the point: Mike and The Moonpies shows are legendary. And, for a band that’s constantly on the road, performing more than 250 shows a year, they make sure their hometown shows are over the top. It’s about time you found out.

But first, a bit of background. Vocalist/songwriter Mike Harmeier has led the Moonpies through more than a decade of damn good storytelling, a deep connection to working people who refuse to be bogged down by the 9-to-5 grind, and a great reverence for the roots music keeping folks alive. You feel it fueling One To Grow On (2021), Harmeier’s homage to the soundtrack of people’s lives. “I knew I was writing a character-driven record, but I wasn’t sure who he was until we finished,” says Harmeier, who wrote the album during the height of quarantine, with endless rewrites and revisions going to bandmates and producer Adam Odor. The central figure “is a bit of me, a bit of my father, and a bit of my friends. He’s the Everyman. He’s everyone I know, and everyone I don’t know…Everyone I know who isn’t a musician is working construction.They’re putting one foot in front of the other and trying to appreciate the moment they’re in, while basically working 24/7, 365. A lot of people live their lives that way, and they inspired me to write a working man’s story.”

Before heading back on the road next month, Mike and The Moonpies has a party lined up tomorrow night, Saturday Nov. 25, at Sagebrush, 5500 S. Congress Ave. The Moonpies are on at 9 p.m., followed by The Tender Things at 11 p.m. Your best bet is to get to Sagebrush early evening for a set by David Ramirez at 7 p.m.