SONG PREMIERE: Patrick Mulroy of Grain Thief Steps Out Bold On Rootsy “Music’s Not Enough”

If everyone can make dough on their passionate side hustle, the world certainly would be a happier place. The few that can cash in on their musical gigs are certainly far & few but for Grain Thief’s Patrick Mulroy – there might be no harder worker out there. On his new single, “Music’s Not Enough” that Glide is premiering below off his upcoming solo album Other People’s Houses, Mulroy confronts the challenge of pursuing “the dream,” while keeping one chord in reality. The singer-songwriter molds the quiet strength of ’70s folk and country with a fervently emotive vocal tone that recalls Jason Isbell and Todd Snider.

“Music’s Not Enough is a song that grew out of the exhaustion that stems from my double life. It’s no secret that it’s hard to find financial security playing music. I certainly haven’t found it there, and so I make most of my money remodeling people’s kitchens. Grain Thief is a band that hustles and works. We played 75 dates in 2019, all with full time jobs. We love what we do, even if it doesn’t make cents,” describes Mulroy.

On Other People’s Houses, songwriter/vocalist/guitar player Patrick Mulroy seamlessly melds the acoustic Americana for which his band Grain Thief is known with the buoyant Heartland rock of his youth to craft a sound at once unique and eminently familiar

Before Boston quintet Grain Thief developed their string band hybrid of bluegrass and country, it was the name under which Mulroy performed as a solo artist. “Our five brains make a great creative team, and I wouldn’t change a thing” explains Mulroy. “All the success we’ve had has been because of that team. But there is something different artistically about writing by yourself.” A prolific songwriter, Mulroy found himself sitting on a stack of tunes that didn’t quite fit the Grain Thief aesthetic. When the global pandemic put the group’s tour plans on hold, Mulroy decided the time had come to put these songs to tape.