Silverada w/ The Pink Stones

$20 Advance /$25 Day of Show

Silverada

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."

The Pink Stones

“We believe in some pretty strict rules,” says Pink Stones frontman Hunter Pinkston. “We also believe in breaking them. This band was built on reimagining tradition, on honoring the old ways while pushing them someplace new.”

On their intoxicating new album, Thank the Lord...it’s The Pink Stones, Pinkston and his bandmates do precisely that, offering up a joyful, adventurous take on ’60s twang that blurs the lines between cosmic country, folk, bluegrass, soul, and psychedelic rock. Recorded once again with co-producer/engineer Henry Barbe (Drive-By Truckers, Deerhunter) in the band’s hometown of Athens, GA, the collection showcases a more deliberate, mature side of The Pink Stones’ sound, one that reflects all the personal and sonic growth that’s defined the last few years for the hard touring five-piece. The songs on Thank the Lord... are humble and timeless, full of wry, sardonic wit and rich, evocative storytelling, and the performances are easygoing and amiable, with an effortlessly natural feel that belies the masterful craftsmanship behind them. The result is a record that wears its influences proudly on its sleeve, even as it a subverts expectation, a work of poignant longing and playful humor that tips its cap to everyone from Merle Haggard and Earl Scruggs to Don Williams and The Byrds as it looks both forwards and backwards all at once.

“A lot has changed since the last record,” says Pinkston. “We’ve grown up, traveled all over the world, said goodbye to old bandmates and welcomed new ones. All of that’s helped our sound grow and evolve into what it is now.”

Started alone by Pinkston in his Athens apartment, The Pink Stones quickly emerged to widespread acclaim with their 2021 debut, Introducing...The Pink Stones, which earned praise from Rolling Stone, Under The Radar, No Depression, American Songwriter, and more. The band returned two years later with their similarly well-received sophomore effort, You Know Who, which featured an appearance from Nikki Lane and landed on Bandcamp’s Best Country Music of 2023 list. Dates across the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia followed, including festival appearances from 30A to Hopscotch, and while the band’s rapid growth could be traced in large part back to the undeniable energy of their raucous, freewheeling live shows, working at such a relentless pace came with a price.

“We were touring constantly the year after You Know Who came out,” Pinkston recalls, “and some of the guys realized that wasn’t the best fit for them. That forced me to find the kind of players who really wanted to be on the road all the time, and it forced me to step up and play more lead guitar, which naturally affected the kind of music we were making together.”

With new additions Caleb Boese (pedal steel) and Michael Alexander (drums) joining Pinkston (guitar/vocals) and longtime compatriots Adam Wayton (bass) and Neil Golden (keyboards), the band resumed touring at their usual breakneck speed, working up tunes for roughly half the new record live before heading into the studio.

“I wanted to keep things fresh for the recording process, so even though we’d played a bunch of the songs on the road, I made sure there was still plenty of material the guys hadn’t heard until it was time to record,” says Pinkston. “There’s just something about the sound of a band finding the songs as they’re playing them for the first time that you can never recreate.”

That sense of raw discovery and excitement is plain to hear on Thank the Lord..., which opens with the shuffling title track. Featuring mandolin and vocals from bluegrass phenom Wyatt Ellis, the tune is laidback and self-assured, dazzling in the depth and breadth of its musicianship without ever resorting to flashiness or cheap thrills. Pinkston’s tongue is planted firmly in cheek here as he gives thanks to God for the lover that’s made his life complete, and it’s not the last time he’ll offer up a sly take on country music’s longstanding—and sometimes conflicted—relationship with religious imagery. The tender “Such A Sight” (featuring former Pink Stones pedal steel guitarist John Neff on dobro) finds Heaven right here on Earth, while the waltzing “Start With Your Name” contemplates the ninth commandment’s prohibition on deceit and dishonesty, and the puckish “Hometown Hotel” forgives itself for some good old-fashioned sinning.

“I’ve never been religious,” says Pinkston, “but I’ve always been fascinated with those early country guys who sang gospel tunes and wore suits with crosses on them even while they were getting into some pretty immoral stuff. I wanted this album to touch on both sides of that coin.”

Despite its flirtations with virtue and vice (Pinkston stands in front of a church on the cover, casting a shadow with a subtle pair of horns), Thank the Lord... is, at its heart, a classic Pink Stones rumination on human connection, on love, loss, and desire. The aching “Real Sad Movies, Big Jet Planes” can’t seem to escape reminders of the one who got away; the honky-tonking “If I Can’t Win (With You)” learns to go it alone; the Latin-tinged “Cold Eye of Leaving” (featuring vocals from longtime Pink Stones manager Drew Beskin) watches love walk out the door; the bittersweet “Summer’s Love (Winter’s Pain)” comes face to face with loneliness; and the lilting “Hard To Kill” grapples with emotions that just won’t seem to fade. “It’s hard to kill / The way that you feel,” Pinkston sings over soaring pedal steel and driving fiddle (played here by special guest Libby Weitnauer). “When love’s still real / But down went the deal.”

“I’ve always tended to gravitate toward those kinds of stories as a writer,” says Pinkston. “Heartbreak, regret, unrequited love, that’s our wheelhouse.”

And yet it’s perhaps the most hopeful tune on the record, the effervescent “Too Busy,” that best encapsulates the magic of Thank the Lord..., with its infectious melody and double-timed chorus all delivered with the relaxed, unhurried air of someone who’s found exactly what they want (and knows exactly how to hold onto it).

“Our last record got really loud and fast and in your face at times, but it was important to me that we lay back on this one,” explains Pinkston. “The band played softer, I sang softer, and we just embraced the mystery of it all.”

That is, of course, until the song’s final seconds, when the band’s gentle serenity gives way to an all-out psych-rock jam featuring Curtis Callis on banjo. It’s a brief, but potent reminder: some rules are made to be broken.

Silverada w/ The Pink Stones

Sunday, October 18th, 2026

Charleston Pour House | Main Stage

Doors 7:30PM / Show 8:30PM

$20 ADV / $25 DOS

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*Show is 21+.  Attendees under the age of 21 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Attendees under 21 will be subject to a $5 surcharge. The surcharge must be paid in cash at the door on the day of the event.