Grain Thief

Grain Thief Live at Cafe Wha? | Fri, Nov. 14th | 6PM Show, 5PM Doors

There’s something special that sometimes happens when inspiration, talent, and a truckload of hard work comes together just right. You can’t always count on it, and you for sure can’t plan on it, but every once in a while the stars align and a timeless piece of art finds its way into the world. Boston quintet Grain Thief have released a series of critically acclaimed records that blur the lines between country music and bluegrass, while building a national audience off the strength of their live performances. 

Their new long-player House of the Dog is a testament to perseverance, friendship, and the simple perfection found between friends, acoustic instruments, and a microphone. It is a record that unfolds with an easy grace, full of brand-new tunes you’re sure you’ve heard before, and feels as comfortable as broke-in denim. 

Patrick Mulroy (guitar, vocals), Zach Meyer (mandolin, vocals), Michael Harmon (bass, vocals), Tom Farrell (resonator guitar), and Alex Barstow (fiddle) have worn the chrome off their frets doing it the hard way. They’ve honed their skill as songwriters and musicians–and deepened their bond as musical brothers–through prior releases Animal (EP, 2015), Stardust Lodge (2018), Gasoline (2020), Something Sour, Something Sweet (2021) and the live record Ain’t Hungover Yet (2022) exploring the boundaries of Americana while showcasing the group's core as a roots string band. 

Grain Thief has spent the past few years playing shows, festivals, and folk conferences around the country. They have welcomed new family members, bid farewell to others, maintained daily grinds, ground daily coffee, rehearsed and run a weekly residency gig together, and still always find the time to keep pushing forward. “It’s been really cool to watch a few more years of growth of the band” says Harmon. “To us at the end of the day, we’re just a couple normal dudes tryin’ to get together and play tunes. That other folks seem to enjoy what we’re doing is an absolute cherry on top.” 

Written in various truck cabs, country cabins both rustic and bougie, and a few psychedelic weekend writing sessions, the bulk of House of the Dog was tracked at Harmon’s studio, Wachusett Recording in Princeton, MA. “We have made records there throughout the years, so it feels like a good home base in which to hunker down and focus,” explains Mulroy. “Mike was working at a nonprofit called Avaloch Farm in Boscawen, NH last year, and we thought it could be cool to record an instrumental track live in their big barn: “Tapawingo.” We opened the barn to the outside while recording to get a cooler vibe going, and there was a tractor cutting hay across the field while we recorded. Listen hard and you might be able to hear it.” The record was co-produced by Brad Bensko, who specializes in analog recording and production. 

Thematically, House of the Dog continues the Grain Thief tradition–that is the country and bluegrass tradition–of sharing deep musings on the human experience by wrapping

them in tales of the everyday. “We tell stories that are authentic to who we are, and while uniquely our own, will probably strike a chord in those who listen,” says Harmon, “though it’s not really intentional. Work grinds, life experiences, family stuff, moral values, and sometimes even just crazy rants find themselves turned into song.” At the end of the day, perhaps that’s the secret to the magic woven into the melodies of House of the Dog. Like all forms of music that trace their roots back to the oral tradition, it is deeply sincere, stripped of artifice, and delivered with an emotional directness that resonates deeply. Grounded in tradition, yet decisively contemporary, and presented with extraordinary musicianship and earnest intention, House of the Dog is destined to take its rightful place in the canon of American music. 

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