Prologue - 10th Anniversary 3LP Box Set

Release Date - September 24, 2021  Thirty Tigers

In North Hollywood in April of 2011, on a 5-day break in a 2-month tour, The Milk Carton Kids recorded Prologue — their first studio album. They used four microphones, two guitars, and their two voices. After its release on July 19th, the band would go on to play thousands of shows, dozens of festivals and television appearances, and garner three Grammy nominations. 10 years on, The Milk Carton Kids have become stalwarts of the global folk scene even as the world has changed around them.

The Prologue 10-Year Anniversary Deluxe Box Set pulls the curtain back on this seminal album, featuring original iPhone writing demos, early live versions, rehearsals, photos and other ephemera from the band’s formative days.

According to Joey Ryan: “We wanted to commemorate this milestone for anyone who has loved Prologue, of course, but also for ourselves. Those early days were such a blur, but we kept so much of it in iPhone recordings, posters, ticket stubs, tour laminates. Putting it all together got pretty emotional. This was the album that changed our lives.

This anniversary edition is accompanied by an original essay from author and music critic Kim Ruehl describing the state of folk music in 2010 when TMCK came on the scene, as well as their contribution to it.

“Considering all that was happening in the recording industry during the demise of MySpace and the rise of Twitter—an atmosphere in which literally anyone could record at home on GarageBand or ProTools and throw their music up for an audience to find—Ryan and Pattengale made a different impression. Though they were clearly a couple of guys in costumes on a stage, they may as well be sitting in the living room, speaking in clear, poetic strokes about how they worry for the future and can’t let go of the past—two themes that have rooted folk music for the past few centuries.” - Kim Ruehl, excerpted from "Prologue Forward: A Decade On."

Track Listing

LP One - Original Album

1. Michigan
2. Undress The World
3. Milk Carton Kid
4. One Goodbye
5. No Hammer to Hold
6. There By Your Side
7. New York
8. Stealing Romance
9. I Still Want A Little More
10. Des Moines, IA

LP Two - The Evolution of “Michigan” and The Evolution of “New York”

1. Michigan (Joey Solo Demo)
2. Michigan (Early Duo Demo #1)
3. Michigan (Early Duo Demo #2)
4. Michigan (First-Ever Live Performance)
5. New York (Kenneth Solo Pre-Lyrics Shedding)
6. New York (Kenneth Solo Early Demo)
7. New York (Early Duo Demo)
8. New York (Writing the Intro)
9. New York (Live from Lincoln Theatre)

LP Three - Demos/Live Performances

1. Undress the World (Early Demo)
2. Milk Carton Kid (Early Demo)
3. One Goodbye (Kenneth Solo Demo)
4. One Goodbye (Duo Demo)
5. No Hammer to Hold (Early Duo Demo)
6. There By Your Side (Duo Demo)
7. There By Your Side (Live from SPACE)
8. Stealing Romance (Kenneth Solo Demo)
9. I Still Want A Little More (Early Duo Demo)