Life on the Kansas prairie has been good to Truckstop Honeymoon’s Mike West and Katie Euliss in the post-Katrina era. Except, that is, on Mardi Gras day, when Euliss finds things a bit drowsy in the quaint university town of Lawrence. The situation inspired “Mardi Gras in Kansas” from the group’s new CD Great Big Family.

Since Mardi Gras fell on February 5—coincidentally, West’s birthday—the doubly motivated Euliss contacted local musicians to see if...