Moonshine Bandits Celebrate Small Town America in ‘Two Bar Town’ [Exclusive Premiere]

Moonshine Bandits are releasing a new album, and they're giving Taste of Country readers an exclusive preview of one of the new songs. The duo pay homage to their own roots with "Two Bar Town."

The idea for the song came when they were on tour in New Mexico and driving through a small town. The phrase "two bar town" came up, and Dusty "Tex" Dahlgren wrote it in his song notes. That turned into the new song, which celebrates the small towns that are home to people just like they grew up with.

"Rollin down a two-lane road / Turn the radio on / Arm hangin' low out the window / Tom Petty on / I feel right at home / And I'm so damn proud / Hell yeah, I love this two bar town," they sing in the chorus.

Tex and Brett "Bird" Brooks from Moonshine Bandits originally hail from the small town of Los Banos, Calif., an agricultural town consisting primarily of dairies and farming. The duo got their start with the support of a local record store called Fantasia Records, where the owner, John, would let them sell their four-song demo and keep all of the money.

"I can still see John smoking cigarettes behind the counter and telling us to keep making music," Tex reflects. "If you are reading this John, I love you and owe you."

The lyric video takes fans on a trip around that town, to some of the spots that were special to the duo when they were younger that they still reminisce about today. "This is where we grew up. This is real," Tex says. "We wanted everyone to know the lyrics and see the imagery." Moonshine Bandits hope to follow up with a full-blown music video that they plan to shoot in their hometown, featuring their friends and family.

Bird worked with Mike Hartnett on the production for "Two Bar Town," and they called in Jake Clayton, who plays with Tanya Tucker, to play multiple instruments. Mark Miers played keys on the track, and Bird called up Ira Dean from Trick Pony to sing background vocals. "Ira is one of the most talented artists that I have ever met in Nashville," he raves. "We are so grateful to have had him on this track!"

"Two Bar Town" appears on Moonshine Bandits' forthcoming album, Gold Rush, which is their first release on their new self-owned and operated label, MSB Entertainment. The creative and financial control the new deal affords them has been hard fought.

"Those suit and tie guys laughed in our faces when they heard our sound, then they wanted us, then they made us follow their timelines, now it's our turn to call the shots," Tex says.

Big Smo, the Lacs and Berner also make appearances on Gold Rush, which is set for release on Oct. 5. The album is currently available for pre-order, including multiple special packages, and fans who order early will receive an instant download of "Two Bar Town."

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