SPRINGVILLE, UTAH (ABC4) — Utah band Little Moon is making big waves in the music industry.
The indie folk-rock group first introduced their sound with the 2020 album Unphased. In just the last year, they’ve headlined the “Firelight Kickoff” show at Fork Fest, been featured on a national platform and recently signed with a label.
In 2023, ABC4 met with vocalist Emma Hardyman after the band won the NPR Tiny Desk Contest with their song “Wonder Eye” — no easy feat among 6,000 entries nationwide.
The band’s latest step is signing with Joyful Noise Recordings, an independent label headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Other artists on their roster include The Ophelias, Deerhoof and Joan of Arc.
Following their NPR Tiny Desk win, the local band caught the eye of both major and indie labels, but Joyful Noise stood out from the rest. Little Moon made the decision to sign with them this February.
In a recent interview with ABC4, Hardyman said she felt like Joyful Noise’s culture aligned with her beliefs. She commented that she respected their commitment to being as artist-friendly as possible and being open to pushing against the grain.
“At the end of the day, I felt respected and I felt like I had my autonomy,” Hardyman said. “I felt like I can actually have the ease and freedom that I desire in their entity.”
NPR Tiny Desk
NPR describes the Tiny Desk Contest as the search for the next undiscovered artist. Winners get a chance to play a set at the famous desk of Bob Boilen, the host of All Things Considered and co-creator of Tiny Desk, in an intimate show before embarking on a tour.
After winning in May 2023, Little Moon landed a Tiny Desk Concert, where they performed the contest-winning song “Wonder Eye”, as well as “We Fall in Our Sleep” and “Ghost Girl.”
Describing the choice of Little Moon as the winner last year, Bob Boilen said, “‘Wonder Eye’ was a clear and unanimous winner amongst our judges and for a good reason. It’s an explosive tune with a deeply emotional story. It’s a song of grieving and understanding with a dynamic performance.”
Hardyman explained that the song “Wonder Eye” came from a heavy place. She and her husband, Nathan Hardyman (guitar), wrote the song while his mother was in hospice care and they were in the process of leaving the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the faith they had grown up in.
Hardyman remarked that playing a Tiny Desk concert was wonderful and surreal. She said it was great to meet those involved with Tiny Desk, detailing how Bob Boilen even brought homemade bagels for the band.
“I think what I felt so surprised by was actually how comfortable it was. The people there, the environment, they were all very aligned with what I care about,” she said. “There were people giving advice — and giving good, sound advice that felt so respectful to honoring my autonomy and honoring my intuition and taking my time with all of this and letting myself be human. I feel like Tiny Desk really tries to emulate those values and those qualities of humanity.”
Hardyman said that taking first in the contest and the ensuing experiences still feel like a haze.
“We were very giddy. Even now, it’s still kind of dream haze mode because it’s just such a sudden shift, you know? For me, I notice I tend to take a long time to adjust to newness and adjust to new environments. It’s exciting, it’s new, hazy, crazy and all the emotions at once,” she said.
On the road
Following the concert, Little Moon headlined the Tiny Desk on the Road Tour, playing along with other contest entrants. Hardyman explained the 8-stop U.S. tour was incredible, yet nerve-wracking with so much sudden change.
“As incredible and exciting as it was, it was also a big shock to my system. I had to say goodbye to the old version of myself in an instant … I was really taken back by that,” she commented. “It was fascinating and really kind of a profound moment for me.”
What’s next?
With Joyful Noise, Little Moon is gearing up to release an album later this year. You can follow them on social media to get the latest updates. Many of the songs, Hardyman explained, have been with her since high school, and have evolved and changed over the years.
“This album is very, very personal,” Hardyman said. “It’s an album that we’ve worked on for, at this point, roughly four years. It’s been long in the making and this album has had many iterations of itself. It’s taken on various meanings and it’s a very sacred album.”
Little Moon is also preparing for upcoming performances. They will be playing at the Tree Fort Festival in Boise, Idaho this March and the Kilby Block Party at the Utah State Fairpark on May 12.
