Little Moon is an American indie folk rock band from Springville, Utah, and formerly a project of lead vocalist, singer-songwriter Emma Hardyman. Their first album, Unphased, was released in 2020. The band won the Tiny Desk Contest in 2023.
Little Moon | |
|---|---|
 Emma and Nate in concert in 2021 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Springville, Utah |
| Genres | indie folk |
| Years active | 2020–present |
| Labels | Joyful Noise Recordings |
| Members |
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Members
editThe band consists of Emma Hardyman on lead vocals and guitar with her husband, Nathan Hardyman on bass and guitar, Bly Wallentine on keyboard and other instruments, Bridget Jackson on harp, Chris Shemwell on drums, and Grace Johnson on electric guitar and keyboard.[1] "Little Moon" was, until at least 2020, a stage name for Emma.[2] Bly Wallentine encouraged Emma to make her act into a band,[3] which debuted in July 29, 2021.[4] By 2022, Little Moon referred to the band.[5]
Unphased
editLittle Moon released their first album, Unphased, in 2020.[6] It contains "Ballad of a Moon Child III," which was featured in the 2020 Tiny Desk Concert's "best of" roundup. Emma wrote that "nyctophila" (a prominent word in the song's lyrics) meant finding comfort in darkness.[7] Mindy Gledhill opened the album release concert, which featured 12 musicians in Little Moon. Writing for Salt Lake City Weekly, Erin Moore described how the band's "folk-infused" music reminded her of Joanna Newsom.[8]
Tiny Desk Concert
editLittle Moon submitted songs to the Tiny Desk Concert in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Emma said that applying to Tiny Desk became a ritual for the band. They won the NPR Tiny Desk Concert in 2023 for the song "Wonder Eye."[9][1] Emma said that the inspiration for the song came to her when she and her husband were visiting her mother-in-law in hospice care. After sketching out the song, she asked Nathan to compose the lyrics. Both were raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and they left the church over the pandemic.[10] Emma said that the death of a loved one helped them realize they are constantly mourning all kinds of deaths, and that the song shows how "accepting the mysterious, shadowy nature of death can deepen one's sense of humanity and soften the ways we see ourselves and each other."[1] Max Roth at Fox News described the song as starting with folk-rock and shifting into "anthemic rock" with "intimate and other-worldly" singing.[11] Palak Jayswal noticed the songs has similarities to hymns.[3] As winners of the Tiny Desk Concert, they toured in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Chicago, and Houston in 2023.[12] Before their Tiny Desk tour, they opened for Lord Huron and headlined for Fork Fest in June 2023.[13] [14]
Genre and critical reception
editThe band's music contains elements of folk, pop and indie rock.[14] Reviewing one of the concerts from their Tiny Desk Concert tour, Roni Birchack called their music "mesmerizing and fantastical folk music", the show "flawless", and complimented their banter.[15] At Provo Music Magazine, Zach Collier described them as a "quirky, authentic folk act".[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c Alvarado Matos, Yanius (May 15, 2023). "NPR Music's 2023 Tiny Desk Contest winner is Little Moon" (Press release). Washington, DC: NPR. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ Hardyman, Emma (August 27, 2020). "Hi I'm little moon and I'm bringing an ensemble of loved ones to play at @forkfestmusic with me". Facebook. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ a b Jayswal, Palak (June 10, 2023). "After winning NPR's Tiny Desk Contest, Utah band Little Moon is ready to make a big noise". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ Hardyman, Emma (July 26, 2021). "Ok it's been a hot minute". Facebook. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
I will be headlining at Velour, July 29th (THIS THURSDAY) with a full band–debuting new sounds even
- ^ Hardyman, Emma (February 15, 2022). "Show announcement: playing with the little Moon band next Thursday". Facebook. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ Means, Sean P. (May 16, 2023). "Hear the Utah band's song that won NPR's Tiny Desk Contest". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ Mannion, Elle (May 14, 2020). "The Best 2020 Tiny Desk Contest Entries We Saw This Week: Volume 8". All Songs Considered. Washington, DC: NPR. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ Moore, Erin (February 18, 2020). "Music Live Extra Feb. 18". Salt Lake City Weekly. Salt Lake City, UT: Copperfield Publishing.
- ^ a b Collier, Zach (29 June 2023). "Little Moon, Big Break". Provo Music Magazine. Provo, UT: Deseret Noise Co. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ Mannion, Ellie; Frame, Kara (July 31, 2023). "The power and heartbreak behind the song that won the Tiny Desk Contest". Tiny Desk Contest. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ Roth, Max (30 May 2023). Written at Springville, UT. "Utah band wins 2023 NPR Tiny Desk Contest". KSTU-FOX 13 News. Salt Lake City, UT: Scripps Media. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ "Tiny Desk Contest On The Road with Little Moon". nprpresents.org. Washington, DC: NPR. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ "Twilight Concert Lord Huron, Allie Crow Buckley, Little Moon – Gallivan Center". Twilight Concert Series. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ a b Johnson, Lottie Elizabeth (3 June 2023). "This Utah band beat out nearly 6,000 entries to win NPR's Tiny Desk Contest". Deseret News. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ Birchak, Roni (30 June 2023). "An ode to Little Moon (for Free at Noon)". WXPN. Philadelphia, PA: Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 3 August 2023.