With his smooth voice and optimistic energy, people can’t help but be drawn to Niko Moon. As a talented songwriter he has had hits for Zac Brown Band including “Loving You Easy” and “Homegrown,” Rascal Flatts’ “Back To Life,” and has worked alongside Michael Franti as both co-writer and producer on his music.
Now with his recently released debut album GOOD TIME, Moon is spreading his positivity with upbeat melodies, addicting hooks, and a sound that is all his own.
“I’ve always felt like an artist from the time I was a kid or from the time I first started making music, but the songwriting door opened up first,” he explains. “I love every part of music. I love the songwriting part, I love the producing part, the engineering part, and the being the artist part. The songwriting door opened up first and I ran through that as fast as I could, and I’ve had such a blast. I’ve had so much fun creating [and] helping artists make the best songs that they can for them and helping artists become the best that they can be and writing songs for them. It’s so much fun. I really enjoy it, but I’ve always felt like an artist. I’ve always felt like I’ve heard Country music in a certain way that was unique to me, and it was a matter of just finding the right time to do my thing and now’s that time.”
Growing up in a household that valued the power of music, Moon was surrounded by creativity from an early age and knew it was his path in life. Moon wears many hats when it comes to making music, not only does he perform his songs as an artist, but he writes and produces as well. Having a hand in every aspect of bringing his music to life is something that he connects back to his upbringing and being surrounded by a family that cultivated his curiosity.
“I grew up in a really musical household and they always really nurtured that love for music with me,” Moon says of his parents. “It’s a big reason why I think I’m doing what I’m doing is ‘cause I was born into this musical family that really encouraged my curiosity for not just music, but how music worked. So, I’ve always been fascinated with how a song is written and how a song is made in the studio and everything. Every part of it from an idea all the way to performing it on stage, I love every aspect of it.”
Spending his formative teen years in Douglasville, Georgia, geography played a substantial role in developing not only his love of music, but it also became the thread that wove together the beginnings of his unique sound.
“I mean the impact of where I grew up is gigantic for the sound,” he explains. “I was living out in the country. I was probably 15 minutes away from where Travis Tritt lives and about 30 minutes from where Alan Jackson lives, so those guys were big influences on me. But I was also an hour away from Atlanta, so the drum sounds from Atlanta were a big influence on me too growing up. So that’s why my music sounds the way it does. It’s very much Country music you know, but I like my Country to hit. It’s just all influences from where I grew up and I’m just trying to make my music sound as honest and authentic as I possibly can to who I am and where I’m from.”
The album is one that Moon is proud to say is truly him from start to finish. Moon wrote all but one song—the album’s closing song, a cover of Travis Tritt’s “It’s A Great Day To Be Alive” —on the 14-song album and did it alongside his wife Anna Moon and good friend Joshua Murty. He and Murty produced the album together, which was recorded in its entirety in a studio in Moon’s house.
“My team is amazing because they literally just let me do my thing,” his says of his creative process. “I make all my music at home, in my studio at home, and I write all of my songs with my wife and one of my best buddies. It’s a very family type of homegrown-style way of making the music. This album is truly from my family to everybody. My management, my record label and everybody involved with me has been so great about just letting me do me and believing in that.”
GOOD TIME is a collection of feel-good songs filled with banjo and all the key elements of Country, but with a twist of creative back beats that lend to the music’s signature edge. When it comes to songs on the album, his single “PARADISE TO ME” is one of Moon’s favorites and a nod to his fond memories of growing up living the lake life. “That’s a song that I really love,” he says of “PARADISE TO ME”. “It’s all about my memories growing up on Lake Lanier, which is a lake down in Georgia…I wanted to write a song for all my lake people. I got another one called ‘WITHOUT SAYIN A WORD,’ that’s a song I wrote for my dad that is pretty special to me.”
Moon places great importance on staying true to himself and his sound, as he has been encouraged by his father to not try to become like anyone else.
“It was really important for me for it not to sound like anything that was out,” he says of the album and his music. “Because my dad always told me, ‘Hey man, with the music stuff, be yourself. If you be yourself then you won’t sound like nobody else ‘cause there’s only one you.’ I think that’s like a really simple way of looking at it and a very true thought too. So, I’ve just tried really hard to just focus on what I like as far as sounds and what my influences are…”
As he is living out his dream of being an artist, Moon plans to continue writing for other artists as he says he really loves “playing in both sandboxes.” He’s even been writing with Lady A while out on the road with them as he opens up on their What a Song Can Do Tour alongside Carly Pearce and Tenille Arts.
“It’s been awesome,” he says of touring with Lady A. “They’re so nice. I didn’t know none of them until this tour, never even met them and they are the sweetest people. I love them. They’re so kind and really creative. They’ve just not only been so welcoming to me, but to my band and my crew too. It’s been great…”
GOOD TIME gives listeners a glimpse into who Moon is and the optimistic way he lives his life, as he shares his glass half full perspective and message of positivity with the world.
“…It’s been a labor of love and I’m so proud to have made it with the people that I made it with,” he says of the album. “I feel like it’s just exactly what I want to say to everybody out there, to the Country music world and I feel like it’s just absolutely me. That’s all I wanted when I very first started making the music was to make sure I made music that I felt like, ‘If my life had a sound what would it sound like?’ and I feel like this is it. I just love people and I love making people happy. I’m a simple guy with a simple message and that’s just ‘Life is short. Have fun. Have a good time.’ So, hopefully this album can help people do that.”
Moon has released a collection of six mini music videos to go along with the album. Check out behind-the-scenes content of the making of these videos here.