No live music experience can match a Texas dance hall on a Saturday night with a hot country band on stage and a roomful of people two-stepping around a hardwood floor. When that dance hall is the Old Coupland Dance Hall and that band is Mike and the Moonpies, you have officially arrived in Honky-Tonk Heaven!

Working out a road trip itinerary that would get me from a Cody Canada show in Gun Barrel City, Texas, to a Blackberry Smoke show in Lake Charles, Louisiana, I found a Mike and the Moonpies show that fit perfectly. Little did I realize how life-changing that decision would be.

Coupland, Texas, is a tiny place between Taylor and Elgin just east of Round Rock and about an hour’s drive from downtown Austin. The building that houses the dance hall dates from 1904 and at times has also been home to a drugstore, hardware store, newspaper, grocery, and tavern. In 2007 it was converted into its present 7,000 square-foot dance hall with an attached restaurant and even a bed & breakfast (decorated like a 19th century brothel!). Stevie Ray Vaughan shot his video for “Change It” in 1985 at the tavern. More recently, Hayes Carll made his “Times Like These” video at the dance hall and Kevin Fowler’s live version of “Don’t Touch My Willie” was recorded at Old Coupland in 2004. All of this history and, before last Memorial Day weekend, I had never heard of the place. Now I can’t wait to get back.

When Mike and the Moonpies ventured out of Texas to promote their Mockingbird album in early 2017 they made a short tour of the southeast that included a stop in Birmingham. After the opening band and their small entourage left the club following their set, my wife and I were literally the only people there except for the sound guy and the bartenders. That night we got a private show and the band played like the place was packed. We were instantly hooked. Since then, the band has soared in popularity with the success of their breakout record Steak Night at the Prairie Rose, followed by the hugely popular Cheap Silver and Solid Country Gold which was recorded in London at the famous Abbey Road studio. Last year they released a collection of “lost” songs by the late Gary Stewart titled Touch of You that has added to their honky-tonk legacy. They’ve recently released a new single and an album of new material titled One To Grow On is scheduled to drop in August.

There may not be a tighter combination of electric guitar and pedal steel in a band today than Catlin Rutherford and Zachary Moulton. Mike Harmeier is an easygoing and confident frontman with a singular voice. Kyle Ponder drives the band from the drum kit and Omar Oyoque is the most charismatic bass player in country music. Period.

Two nights after we first met Mike and the Moonpies in 2017, they were back in Alabama playing at Standard Deluxe. We were unfamiliar with the venue but knew we had to catch this band again, so we made the short road trip to what we discovered was one of our state’s most unique concert venues.

US 280 begins (or ends) in Birmingham and reaches all the way to Savannah, Georgia. The old section of the highway between Alexander City and Opelika, Alabama, passes through the tiny town of Waverly in Lee County just next to the Chambers County line. Right across the two-lane road from the town cemetery sits an old cotton warehouse which has been converted into a print shop operated by graphics designer Scott Peek. He opened Standard Deluxe in 1991 and began hosting music events in 1994. Just down the hill from the shop is the outdoor stage which hosts the larger events such as the annual “Boogies” each spring and fall, as well as other festivals and the more popular touring acts. Also on the grounds is the “Little House,” which seats about 50 in old church pews and auditorium chairs and is perfect for more intimate shows. That’s where we saw Mike and the Moonpies for their first (and second) appearances at Standard Deluxe. Two weeks after we caught the show in Coupland we saw the band again this time on the outdoor stage. We have also seen shows from Shinyribs, Dale Watson, and Chris Knight at Standard Deluxe and have helped work the gate for one of the “Heart of Waverly” festivals. It is a magical place and should be on your bucket list for concert venues.

We returned to Standard Deluxe two weeks after the Moonpies show to catch The Band of Heathens. Other than a few appearances in Key West at Mile 0 Fest and a couple of one-off local shows in Texas, this was their first time back on the road since the 2020 pandemic shut everything down. BoH had one of the more entertaining online presences during the quarantine with their “Good Time Supper Club” shows. Each member of the band would connect on screen and they would play both individually and collectively with singer/guitarists Gordy Quist and Ed Jurdi acting as co-hosts. Keyboard wiz Trevor Nealon (who is also in a Grateful Dead tribute band in Austin) would present some fascinating details about the many Dead live shows during his “Dead Minute” segment. Drummer Rich Millsap is the band’s “philosopher of the almighty LP” earning him the nickname “Vinyl Richie” and each week he would feature a selection from his massive collection. Every show would also feature a new cocktail mixed by bass player Jessie Wilson. The shows are all archived and make for some great entertainment.

After the Standard Deluxe show I chatted with Gordy Quist about the new Jason Eady record he produced coming out in late August. He absolutely lit up with excitement talking about how the album was recorded and the musicians in the session. He hinted of several more tracks that were also recorded with Jason and wife Courtney Patton that could be released later.

Jason shared some of the new tunes when I caught his acoustic show with Adam Hood earlier this summer. Both have found success in Texas after starting out in the Deep South. Jason is from Mississippi and Adam is an Alabama boy. They told the story of how at one time they billed themselves as “The Southern Brothers.” Adam announced he also has a new record coming out this fall and features members of Blackberry Smoke as the session musicians.

The summer schedule is shaping up nicely with a few festivals and more road trips on the calendar. Can’t wait to share all the fun from the road.