Silverada Slays Jackalope Jamboree to Celebrate Album Release
Seven minutes after their new self-titled album hit streaming services at midnight Eastern, 9:00 p.m. Pacific, the greatest live country band in the world took the stage at the Jackalope Jamboree in Pendleton, Oregon to slay an enthusiastic crowd.
After making a dramatic name change in January from Mike and the Moonpies, and taking a very slightly new direction on their new self-titled album (read review), there has been some concern if Silverada would still have the magic that has many considering them the most underrated band in American music. That concern was put to bed in Pendleton. They played all but one or two of the new songs, as well as a bunch of old favorites in a stellar and blistering set (see set list below).
One thing that has always marked the Silverada (or Mike and the Moonpies) experience is that their songs are even better live. They’ve already been featuring the new tracks “Radio Wave” and “Wallflower” in concert for a while, and opened the set with them. But with the crescendo of energy involved in the composition of the songs “Eagle Rare” and “Hell Bent For Leather,” the live experience expounds on the studio tracks. They even chose “Hell Bent For Leather” as the show ender.
If Silverada is one of the best live bands in country, there’s just about no better setup/opening band to get the crowd animated than The Vandoliers from Dallas, TX. They’ve been doing it for years, and as frontman Joshua Fleming said from the stage, “I’m damn good at it.” If fact, they were so damn good, you almost were worried about a lull once Silverada came out on stage.
Jade Jackson also played between the two bands on a side stage, and did an excellent job as well. But Silverada was up for taking on all comers, and ultimately wrecked the Jackalope Jamboree stage.
It was the loudest concert this set of ears had experienced in perhaps a dozen years. In fact, it was so loud that it ventured into the territory of being problematic. Quite a few people, especially in Jackalope’s massive grandstand, had emptied by the encore. Whereas the balance of energy and volume for the Vandoliers was perfect, it’s almost as if the sound crew felt it needed to be up another notch for the Silverada headliners, and pushed it too far.
Nonetheless, if you were a true Silverada fan, you stuffed cigarette butts in your ears in necessary and partied on, which many did for 22 songs and past the scheduled end time.
Silverada is here, but the spirit of the band that you fell in love with once called Mike and the Moonpies never left.
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See set list at bottom. All photos by Kyle “Trigger” Coroneos. For more live coverage from the Jackalope Jamboree and other live events, follow Saving Country Music on Instagram.
(Mostly) complete track list:
1. Radio Wave
2. Wallflower
3. Paycheck to Paycheck
4. Mockingbird
5. Load Out
6. Stay By My Side
7. Rainy Day
8. Anywhere But Here
9. Road Crew
10. Steak Night at the Prairie Rose
11. Doing It Right
12. Beaches of Biloxi
13. Eagle Rare
14. ???
15. Danger
16. ???
17. Look Good in Neon
18. Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em
19. Hour on the Hour
20. We’re Gone
Encore
21. Cheap Silver
22. Hell Bent For Leather
June 28, 2024 @ 12:38 pm
Can’t wait to catch them live for the first time in Asbury Park at the Wonder Bar a small (300 capacity venue) place in August
June 28, 2024 @ 12:53 pm
“In fact, it was so loud that it ventured into the territory of being problematic. … Nonetheless, if you were a true Silverada fan, you stuffed cigarette butts in your ears in necessary and partied on …”
Um, no thanks.
I saw them in Newcastle, UK, in April 2023, and was similarly assaulted by a wall of sound. I like the music, but I don’t need that – and I’m increasingly reluctant to put up with it.
Previous shows, over various years, in Austin Texas, have been fine.
Each to his/her own, of course. But I’m over having my hearing fucked.
June 28, 2024 @ 2:12 pm
This is rarely if ever the band’s fault. It is on the venue, or more specifically, the sound guy. I am very aware of how “old man” it sounds to say the sound is too loud. I had top-line hearing protection in, purposely did not stand in front of any speakers, and my ears are still ringing. I’ve been at 30,000-capacity festivals with massive sound stages and never experienced sound barking in my face like that. Only in small clubs with deaf sound guys do you regularly have that kind of issue.
July 3, 2024 @ 6:48 am
Presumably, we’re all responsible adults here and can purchase and wear professional-grade musician’s earplugs (cheaply sold on Amazon etc.). I’ve attended many hundreds of live shows across all genres (metal, hard rock, EDM, country) over the past thirty years and have worn earplugs every time. Not a huge inconvenience.
July 3, 2024 @ 8:25 am
For the record, for the Silverada set, I was wearing professional-grade musician’s earplugs and purposely did not stand in front of any of the speakers. I go to many, many shows and festivals. It was sol loud it blew through that ear protection where I got the worst ear ringing/temporary hearing loss in over a decade. That’s a problem.
Again, I don’t want to be “old man” about this. I understand that complaining about loud music comes at a peril of someone seeming like a Karen. The Silverada set was too loud. I shared my experience in hopes it can be learned from.
July 3, 2024 @ 10:50 am
Well, that sucks. Most Moonpies/Silverada shows I’ve attended, I’ve seen Adam Odor in the sound booth or hovering nearby. Shame he (maybe) wasn’t there this time to help with that issue. It’s always a bad look for any band in a live setting, no matter how good the music is, when the audio sucks.
July 3, 2024 @ 1:25 pm
Right?!
All they have to do is pull a Jamey Johnson, & Voila – problem solved.
July 3, 2024 @ 4:39 pm
Adam Odor was there. I saw him behind the stage, though he may have never made it to the front of house.
Honestly, it is not a huge deal. Just an observation I offered up constructively.
June 28, 2024 @ 3:34 pm
Yes Silverada no doubt are a great band, like Billy Strings however the new Johnny Cash ‘Songwriter’ is nothing short of brilliant. I’ll be spinning it for a long, long time. Pete
June 28, 2024 @ 6:02 pm
I have to agree. The new cash album will be the best album all year unless haggard, jones, or maybe williams releases one from the other side. Great stuff.
June 28, 2024 @ 3:47 pm
Looking forward to seeing them live for the third year in a row. Saw them at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle with Kaitlin Butts in August of 2022, then again in October of last year at the Tractor with Taylor Hunnicutt. Second time my wife and I brought my brother and he loved the show.
This year they’re at the Crocodile in September, and we’re bringing not only my brother, but my sister, my wife’s sister, and my aunt and uncle.
I had never been to a concert other than Postmodern Jukebox when I saw Mike and the Moonpies that first time. I’ve since seen Gabe Lee at a tiny venue, and both Jon Pardi/Midland and Cody Jinks/Turnpike Troubadours at arenas. None of them have compared to the two Mike and the Moonpies concerts, with the Gabe Lee show coming closest.
June 28, 2024 @ 4:07 pm
Well take it from me, if you feel the music is way too loud, best to get out of there or not go. You dont want to end up like me. I have very little hearing left in my left ear and ringing in that ear to boot which is probably the worst thing because hearing aids dont fix that, right is mostly ok. So best to care about whole body health, maybe make sure to have good hearing protection.
June 29, 2024 @ 10:42 am
I attend a lot of concerts and too loud and poor balance spoils it. The soundman is so important. I recall seeing Miranda Lambert a few years back. I could hear her band but not her voice, Same for Ashley McBryde a few years ago (thankfully this year, she was superb). Too many singers see m to think they have to shout over their band which is too loud. I want to see a good band but I do want to hear the singer sing, not shout.
June 29, 2024 @ 10:43 am
Loudest show I’ve ever been to was Metallica during the Black album tour. I was in eighth grade, and my buddy won the last two tickets being given away by a local radio station. His parents drove us six hours round trip to Atlanta and back because we had school the next morning. It was so loud I had to plug my ears just to figure out what song they were playing. That being said – I was thirteen, had recently gotten WAY into metal, Metallica were godlike to me, and it was my first real concert (bought a bass guitar and started a band immediately) – it was the most exciting and influential show I’ve ever been to.
June 29, 2024 @ 11:49 am
Concert Tip: Try to park yourself right in front of the sound booth where the FOH engineer is working the PA. This spot in the venue often has the best sound. If you find yourself here and it still sounds like shit, that’s on the sound guy. Some venues are more persnickety than others with each venue having more temperamental spots than others. I’ve been on the rail for many shows and the sound was terrible, standing by the FOH engineer usually solved the problem.
That said, sometime it’s just too loud – I recall seeing the Moonpies in Denver last year and it was really loud and the mix was muddy most anywhere I moved to.
June 29, 2024 @ 1:11 pm
This is a good tip, and one I sometimes follow, especially if I have concerns about the sound. Obviously if you’re standing in front of the speakers, or the satellite speakers they often put in front of the stage, it can be too loud and you need to find a better place to stand. In the case of Silverada, I made sure not stand in the wrong place, and it was still too loud. I suspect it was too loud for a lot of the folks way back in the grandstand as well.
These days a lot of venues are equipped with iPads where the sound guy can go throughout the crowd and balance the sound from different parts of the room. Though for large sound stages, that rarely happens.
July 3, 2024 @ 8:55 am
I quit going to Allman Brother’s in the late 90’s because Dickey Betts refused to turn down. It eventually caused a lot of strife in the band and even resulted in Jack Pearson quitting the band to protect what was left of his hearing.
I loved Dickey’s playing but was very happy to start hearing them live again after he departed. Saw them 25 times at the Beacon in NYC and the sound was always perfect and comfortable.
Going to listen to the new album today. Thanks for the Silverado review.
July 5, 2024 @ 6:11 am
After listening to this album a few times, I can say that I am over the name change. Solid album. A moderate departure and a little more accessible, but they haven’t sold their souls. Reminds me of when Kathleen Edwards released her fourth album, which was Voyageur. A bit more “modern”, but still quite good.
July 5, 2024 @ 9:42 am
Alison Krauss & Union Station are the greatest live band in any genre.
It’s too bad Alison has spent the better part of 15 years slumming it with Robert Hack.
August 8, 2024 @ 5:47 pm
Late comment on this post, but re reading it as I sit at the bar at Shank Hall in Milwaukee, WI waiting my turn to see these dudes!
Got my album and t shirt from the merch table already. Bartender said they’ve sold about 90 tickets.
Let’s go, boys!