When 2023’s Tiny Desk Contest winner Little Moon arrived at NPR, outward expressions of pleasure overshadowed the interior bundle of nerves this Springville, Utah band felt. The group’s profitable tune, “surprise eye,” unanimously wowed our contest judges Sharon Van Etten, Child Rose, Sudan Archives and Albina Cabrera. Tiny Desk senior producer Bobby Carter and I, additionally judges, had been in awe listening to singer Emma Hardyman’s 4-octave voice warming up behind the Desk. She and her husband, Nathan Hardyman, advised NPR’s All Issues Thought-about host Ari Shapiro that they started writing “surprise eye” whereas Nathan’s mom was in hospice care, and that he wrote the lyrics quickly after she handed. “‘surprise eye’ incorporates the thought of a number of deaths,” Emma shared. “I believe it took the bodily dying to assist us understand that dying is admittedly taking place on a regular basis — be it previous variations of ourselves, previous held beliefs, previous judgments even. And to that extent, we’re at all times grieving as nicely, which was additionally eye-opening.”

With out screens or vocal amplification, one of many hardest issues for a band to do when taking part in at my Desk is to get the stability and sound ranges proper. Emma and Nathan, joined by bandmates Bly Wallentine on bass, Bridget Jackson on harp, Chris Shemwell on drums and Grace Johnson on keys, all just about nailed it. The band’s set, which incorporates two unreleased songs (recorded for a brand new album), shows a variety of emotion and creativity with a promising future. The group can be hitting the street as a part of the Tiny Desk Contest tour, so if Little Moon is coming to your city, come and listen to this band’s distinctive sound.

SET LIST

• “surprise eye”
• “we fall in our sleep”
• “form, form residence”

MUSICIANS

• Emma Hardyman: vocals, guitar
• Nathan Hardyman: guitar, vocals
• Bly Wallentine: bass, rainstick, vocals
• Bridget Jackson: harp, vocals
• Chris Shemwell: drums, percussion, vocals
• Grace Johnson: keyboard, rainstick, vocals

TINY DESK TEAM

• Producer: Bob Boilen 
• Director/Editor: Kara Body
• Audio Engineer: Neil Tevault 
• Sequence Producer: Bobby Carter
• Videographers: Kara Body, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Sofia Seidel
• Audio Assistant: Hans Copeland
• Manufacturing Assistant: Elizabeth Gillis
• Tiny Desk Workforce: Suraya Mohamed, Josh Rogosin, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer
• VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
• Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann