Bill Kirchen's Monsters of Montrose

Bill Kirchen is playing McGonigel's Mucky Duck on Saturday, October 31, 2026, as part of an early-evening Halloween party. He's performing with his Monsters of Montrose, with Rick Richards and Jack Saunders on the bill and Marty Muse joining in on steel guitar. It's an early show, so you'll be out well before the midnight rush.

If you're not familiar with the name, Kirchen is a founding father of the proto-Americana group Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen. Their song 'Hot Rod Lincoln' was built around his trademark guitar licks and hit the nationwide Top 10. He was nominated for Best Country Instrumental at the Grammys in 2001, and that same year he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Washington DC Wammie Music Awards alongside Dave Grohl and John Philip Sousa. He's recorded with Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Dan Hicks, Maria Muldaur, Hoyt Axton, Hazel Dickens, Gene Vincent, and Link Wray, and he toured as a guitarist with Emmylou Harris.

He's put out more than two dozen albums over the years. Among the more recent ones are the 2023 Lost Planet Airmen reunion CD Back from the Ozone and the 2021 LPs Waxworks and Tombstone Every Mile, both on the Last Music Company label. Critics have called him "a musical treasure, a fantastic player, and... very much a pioneer."

The show is an early-evening Halloween party at McGonigel's Mucky Duck, Houston's premier Irish pub and live music venue, where costumes are appreciated. It starts at 6 PM on Saturday, October 31.