Silverada
Mike Harmeier was still in his early 20s when he formed the band now known as Silverada. From the start, they were the
definition of a workingman's country band, cutting their teeth with five-hour sets o n 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 band's newest self-titled album, '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 t o the hometown honky-tonk
i n 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. W e were still figuring out what kind of band w e 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 i t 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 i n 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 i n 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 rule books 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 i n 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 i n motion - unfolds like a close cousin t o 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 i s 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 i s a snapshot of a band i n 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 t o
evolve not only the sound of the band, but the dynamic of the live show, too. Silverada is us setting the stage for the next
leg of the journey."
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The Southgate House Revival - Sanctuary
Sun
June 21, 2026
7:00 pm
(Doors: 6:00 pm )
18 and up