Album Review – Tris Munsick & The Innocents – “Big Medicine Moon”

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photo: BonaFide Cowboy


#512 (Western) and #510.2 (Honky Tonk) on the Country DDS.

From the eastern slope of the Big Horn mountains in Wyoming, Tris Munsick and the Innocents offer a portal from the mundane to the rugged and adventurous through country songs with Western flair that exploit the timeless appeal of cowboy music rendered authentically.

In Western music, the name Munsick means a little something more than other surnames. In Wyoming and the surrounding areas, it’s best known as the name behind The Munsick Boys. Led by New Mexico Fiddle Champion and father Dave, boys Tris, Sam, and Ian regale audiences with Western songs speaking to the rugged landscapes and ranching life that many in Wyoming enjoy.

As The Munsick Boys grew up, they also started pursuing solo careers. Perhaps best known among them is Ian Munsick, who found pay dirt after moving to Nashville, signing with Warner, and instilling Western themes and imagery into songs that otherwise have a distinctly accessible sound to compliment Ian’s higher pitched voice he employed in his family band’s harmonies. Ian’s collaboration with Cody Johnson on the song “Live Live Cowgirls” is one of three Certified Gold singles Ian Munsick now owns.

Tris Munsick and his band The Innocents have charted a decidedly different direction. There’s no dilution, dulling of the edges, or active effort to entice a wider audience to the music by making it more accessible. Instead, Tris Munsick has chosen to deal in a more dedicated form of the Western discipline. If it attracts a wide audience as well, awesome. But this is genuine Western music at its core that unabashedly embraces the tried and true modes of the genre. It’s steel guitar and fiddle. It’s songs about country and Western life. It’s the real deal.


If anything, what’s now Tris Munsick’s third album since 2017 takes an even more traditional country approach compared to a Western one. This is a hard country, honky tonk record, just from a Western perspective. And aside from a cover of Merle Haggard’s “Red Bandana,” all these songs spring from the pen of Tris Munsick, and Tris Munsick only.

Big Medicine Moon is just a great listening record. Put it on, and let the country and Western sounds shepherd you away to somewhere a little more Western, and a little more innocent. There’s not a track to skip in the bunch, and Tris Munsick’s songs are a perfect example of how to take timeless themes, set them to timeless sounds, but still make something that feels new and fresh.

This is music that appeals to the present day, but would have been appealing 50 years ago, and will still be appealing and relevant 50 years from now. What makes this country music Western is little references within the lyricism about the Western way of life. Western music also comes with a little more wisdom than wit. When Tris Munsick sings about the windshield being bigger than the rearview mirror, you feel it, and take it to heart.

The Munsick Family plays an important role in Western music. Tris Munsick’s brother Ian acts as an critical bridge from the mainstream and accessible with songs that take a more sensible and contemporary approach. But where it leads you to is the world of Tris Munsick and the Innocents where the most authentic and unadulterated Western expressions are kept alive.

1 3/4 Guns Up (8.1/10)

Purchase from Tris Munsick and the Innocents



From the Big Horn Mountain in northern Wyoming,

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