Moon Hooch have announced the release of a new EP, 'Light It Up,' due April 6. Recorded at the bucolic and tranquil Gnomehaus just outside of Burlington, VT during a rare extended break from their perpetual touring schedule, it presents three songs that the band has been perfecting in their live show over an extended period of time. Known for their raucous dance party-inducing performances, it's only fitting that Moon Hooch capture that same raw primal energy in the studio. Co-produced by Tonio Sagan (Carl Sagan's grandson), 'Light It Up' delivers an intense 10-minutes of music. The EP's first single "Acid Mountain" was premiered by Pancakes & Whiskey and is available now for posting. The track hits streaming services, including Spotify and AppleMusic, this Friday, March 23. Moon Hooch begin a nine date headline West Coast tour tonight (March 21) in Phoenix that extends through the remainder of the month. It includes stops at Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles, Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, Wonder Ballroom in Portland and a two night tour closer at Nectar Lounge in Seattle. They'll then head to Europe in April for an extensive run that includes performances in France, Norway and the UK before heading back to North America for the summer festival season, highlighted by an appearance at the Montreal International Jazz Festival in July.
In just a few short years, the explosive horn-and-percussion trio Moon Hooch—Mike Wilbur (horns), Wenzl McGowen (horns), and James Muschler (drums)—have taken their exhilarating collision of virtuosic jazz, experimental funk, and pulse-pounding electronic dance music from busking on the New York City subway platforms to stages around the world, touring with the likes of Beats Antique, Marco Benevento and Galactic among others, as well as earning status as festival favorites and selling out headline shows in major venues. The trio initially turned heads in the music industry with their self-titled 2013 debut, which introduced their charismatic, unconventional sound to the world, but by then they were already well-known to straphangers in New York, who would react with such joy and fervor to their impromptu subway platform sets that the NYPD had to ban them from locations that couldn't handle the crowds. Soon thereafter they recorded an NPR Tiny Desk Concert that's since been viewed over 2.5 million times. Subsequently, they've released a series of acclaimed studio recordings that have all reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Heatseekers and Jazz Charts, as well as a 2017 concert recording, Live At The Cathedral, documenting their historic performance at NYC's Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
Onstage, the band now plays through a "Reverse DJ" setup, in which the live sound from their horns runs through laptops to process recorded effects. In addition, they utilize Moog synthesizers, as well as an EWI (an electronic wind instrument that responds to breath in addition to touch) and other more traditional instruments like clarinets. Wilbur added vocals to his repertoire, and Muschler, meanwhile, immersed himself in tabla studies in India in order to expand his percussion skills.
The band members all speak reverently of meditation and consciousness and the role it plays in their music, but equally close to their hearts are the environmental causes they champion. Moon Hooch tries to live up to their green ideals while traveling, playing benefit shows, supporting local farmers and co-ops, participating in river cleanups, and filming informative videos for their fans. The band runs a food blog, Cooking In The Cave, in which they highlight the healthy, sustainable, organic recipes they utilize with their mobile kitchen setup on tour and have teamed up with We Are Neutral to officially go carbon neutral on tour. For the members of Moon Hooch, commitments to consciousness, environmentalism, veganism, philosophy and peace aren't separate from their commitment to music, but actually integral parts of it. It's all tied into that same core approach that led to their discovery on the subway platform: try, even if it's just a little bit every day, to make the world less like it is and more like you wish it could be.
MOON HOOCH Tour Dates
March 21 - Phoenix, AZ - Last Exit Live ^
March 22 - San Diego, CA - Music Box ^
March 23 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom ^
March 24 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall ^
March 25 - Reno, NV - The Saint ^
March 27 - Eugene, OR - HiFi Music Hall ^^
March 29 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom ^
March 30 - Seattle, WA - Nectar Lounge ^
March 31 - Seattle, WA - Nectar Lounge ^
April 3 - Lille, FR - L'Aeronef
April 4 - Nantes, FR - Stereolux
April 5 - Rouen, FR - Le 106
April 6 - Cenon, FR - Le Rocher de Palmer
April 7 - Puteaux - Paris, FR - Festival Chorus des Hauts de Seine
April 8 - Rambouillet, FR - L'Usine a Chapeaux
April 12 - Saint-Jean-De-Vedas, FR - Victoire 2
April 13 - Marseille, FR - Le Molotov
April 14 - Cully, CH - Cully Jazz Festival
April 15 - Annecy, FR - La Brise Glace
April 19 - Oslo, NO - National Jazz Venue
April 20 - Trondheim, NO - Dokkhuset
April 21 - Bodo, NO - Sinus
April 24 - Skien, NO - Folque
April 26 - Bergen, NO - Garage
April 27 - Kristiansand, NO - Vaktbua
April 28 - Gjoevik, NO - Kulturhus
May 4 - Stavanger, NO - Mai Jazz
May 5 - London, UK - Roundhouse
May 6 - Bristol, UK - Thekla
May 18 - Asheville, NC - Highland Brewery *
June 7 - Stephentown, NY - Disc Jam Festival
June 14 - Hammonton, NJ - Beardfest
June 15 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
June 17 - Minneapolis, MN - Turf Club
June 18 - Fargo, ND - The Aquarium
June 24 - Rochester, NY - Rochester Jazz Festival
June 25 - Rochester, NY - Rochester Jazz Festival
July 1 - Montreal, QC - Montreal International Jazz Festival
July 6 - Saint-Denis-de-Gastines, FR - Au Foin de la Rue Festival
July 10 - Rotterdam, NL - North Sea Round Town
July 21 - Stuttgart, DE - Jazz Open Festival
August 10 - Croydon, NH - Wild Woods Music and Arts Festival
^ w/ The Accidentals
^^ w/ Turkuaz
* w/ Moon Taxi
