The C2C Sit Down with Niko Moon
A hit songwriter of multiple number one hits and a genre-defying artist in his own right, Niko Moon is finally able to bring a GOOD TIME to C2C: Country to Country in London, Glasgow and Belfast in March. Whilst due to perform at the festival in 2020 (but we all know what happened that year) and having previously performed in London back in 2017 alongside Zac Brown and Ben Simonetti as part of Sir Rosevelt, these will actually be the long awaited first UK shows of his own.
Moon released his latest project “THESE ARE THE NIGHTS” in November, where the four-song collection captures the magic of slowing down and enjoying life’s simple pleasures. Written over two weeks with longtime partners Danny Majic and David J during his “THESE ARE THE DAYS” tour, the EP reflects Niko’s journey on the road and his deep appreciation for the little things that make life sweet. Earlier this week Niko joined us over Zoom to look ahead to crossing the Atlantic and what the rest of 2025 has in store.
Hey buddy, how are you doing?
“I’m doing great brother, how are you?”
Doing really good, it’s great to see you Niko.
“You as well, I can’t wait to get over there and hang out.”
It’s been a long time coming, I was looking back and thinking when did you last play in London, then realised oh no! It was meant to be in 2020
“Yeah exactly, I was there for one day and not even a day, just a few hours and then my manager was knocking on my hotel room saying we gotta go right now, or else we might not be able to get back. So, I’m super grateful to finally be able to get over there and play my first shows over in the UK.”
I’m so excited for it man, some people here will be aware of you from the time you did play in London but not for a Niko Moon show and it’s wild to think that the Sir Rosevelt show was the only time you have been on stage here but we’re really pumped to see you do your thing at C2C.
“I can’t wait man, I like to think of my shows as a vacation so fingers crossed that the weather stays nice and warm so that we can bring the vacation when we enjoy the show together.”
Moon released his latest project “THESE ARE THE NIGHTS” in November, where the four-song collection captures the magic of slowing down and enjoying life’s simple pleasures. Written over two weeks with longtime partners Danny Majic and David J during his “THESE ARE THE DAYS” tour, the EP reflects Niko’s journey on the road and his deep appreciation for the little things that make life sweet. Earlier this week Niko joined us over Zoom to look ahead to crossing the Atlantic and what the rest of 2025 has in store.
Hey buddy, how are you doing?
“I’m doing great brother, how are you?”
Doing really good, it’s great to see you Niko.
“You as well, I can’t wait to get over there and hang out.”
It’s been a long time coming, I was looking back and thinking when did you last play in London, then realised oh no! It was meant to be in 2020
“Yeah exactly, I was there for one day and not even a day, just a few hours and then my manager was knocking on my hotel room saying we gotta go right now, or else we might not be able to get back. So, I’m super grateful to finally be able to get over there and play my first shows over in the UK.”
I’m so excited for it man, some people here will be aware of you from the time you did play in London but not for a Niko Moon show and it’s wild to think that the Sir Rosevelt show was the only time you have been on stage here but we’re really pumped to see you do your thing at C2C.
“I can’t wait man, I like to think of my shows as a vacation so fingers crossed that the weather stays nice and warm so that we can bring the vacation when we enjoy the show together.”
With it being your first show here, I guess it’s a bit different to shows in the States where you are focused on “THESE ARE THE NIGHTS” and everything that is on the way but here there are people that go back five years and have been waiting to hear you play things from “GOOD TIME” through “COASTIN’” and “BETTER DAYS” so it’s going to be hard to try to fit everything into a forty five to fifty minute setlist.
“Yeah, man I'm just going to do a little bit of each era you might say so that everybody who really digs the first album will be able to enjoy the show and then the people that are digging on the new stuff the exact same way. It's going to be a little bit of a collage of the past few years.”
Well, let's talk about a new stuff to start with. We had the four track project come out in November which you wrote whilst you were on the road with Danny Majic and David J which you all knocked out in a couple of weeks. I know you provided a narrative around each of the tracks but did the three of you set aside some time to make an EP or did it just happen naturally?
“I grew up living pretty close to the lake and so for me a lot of my best memories came being waterside and I wanted to make an EP that took you there, took you by the lake around sunset time. That was the goal and hopefully when people listen to it, it brings them close to the water.”
In terms of the process, I know you have worked with Danny and David a lot but it was the first time you have put out a collection where it wasn’t predominantly written with your wife Anna and Joshua Murty so did it feel different to not have the two of them so heavily involved in a project?
“It was fun, as an artist you're always wanting to keep things fresh and explore new territories, you don't wanna paint the same picture twice. Me and Anna having our little baby girl now who's just a little over two years old, she's been so wrapped up in being an amazing mother and she's also huge on the creative side of all things Niko Moon. So, locking in with Danny and David on the EP was so much fun, and we're actually working together now on the next full-length album that's gonna be coming out this summer. I'm just having so much fun creating with them, they're really fantastic guys and I think the truest test on if things work good is if you get a good song at the end of the day and every time we get together a really, really, really good song happens.”
“Yeah, man I'm just going to do a little bit of each era you might say so that everybody who really digs the first album will be able to enjoy the show and then the people that are digging on the new stuff the exact same way. It's going to be a little bit of a collage of the past few years.”
Well, let's talk about a new stuff to start with. We had the four track project come out in November which you wrote whilst you were on the road with Danny Majic and David J which you all knocked out in a couple of weeks. I know you provided a narrative around each of the tracks but did the three of you set aside some time to make an EP or did it just happen naturally?
“I grew up living pretty close to the lake and so for me a lot of my best memories came being waterside and I wanted to make an EP that took you there, took you by the lake around sunset time. That was the goal and hopefully when people listen to it, it brings them close to the water.”
In terms of the process, I know you have worked with Danny and David a lot but it was the first time you have put out a collection where it wasn’t predominantly written with your wife Anna and Joshua Murty so did it feel different to not have the two of them so heavily involved in a project?
“It was fun, as an artist you're always wanting to keep things fresh and explore new territories, you don't wanna paint the same picture twice. Me and Anna having our little baby girl now who's just a little over two years old, she's been so wrapped up in being an amazing mother and she's also huge on the creative side of all things Niko Moon. So, locking in with Danny and David on the EP was so much fun, and we're actually working together now on the next full-length album that's gonna be coming out this summer. I'm just having so much fun creating with them, they're really fantastic guys and I think the truest test on if things work good is if you get a good song at the end of the day and every time we get together a really, really, really good song happens.”
I guess it was quite a therapeutic project to release because a lot of the messages through the songs are about slowing down and taking the time to appreciate things. Where you are on the road and things are happening, it feels really good because you are the good time guy after all but we’re not doing just something that is a breathe and relax musically but also you could do that yourself as you’re writing these songs.
“That’s such a good point. Life is so busy right now with the road and every time I get by the water, it’s like I hit the reset button in my brain and everything's all right again. I think a lot of people feel that feeling when they get by the water, just that that slow down, that reduction of the pressure in the mind, you know. I want to bring that out there to the people so that when they put it on and they're having one of those days, it can be the type of EP you could throw on and you just can take a deep breath again.”
One thing that you do when you've released music, which is quite interesting is that every song title and every album title that you're putting out is all in capital letters. It’s funny because I was talking to a female artist last week who did the opposite and had stylised her entire new project in lower case. Where does the ALL CAPS come from and is there anything particular behind it?
“That’s a great question, nobody has ever asked me that. The reason I do all CAPS is because I’m also a producer and I was a songwriter for a lot of years before finally taking that big leap into doing the artist thing myself. I work in Pro Tools, there's a lot of different programs out there that you can work in, but I work in Pro Tools and when I'm labelling everything in Pro Tools, I do everything in all CAPS. It's just easier for me to see it when I'm not looking at upper case and lowercase so for me, just seeing it all in all CAPS, whether it's all my tracks listed out like SNARE, KICK and all that, it’s always all in CAPS and the titles of the are always in all CAPS too. For me, I'm just so used to seeing those song titles in Pro Tools in all CAPS that it’s how it naturally is supposed to be.”
I brought up before how you have worked a lot with Anna, Joshua, Danny and David but on the “BETTER DAYS” album, there is a certain Michael Hardy amongst the writing credits. How did the write with Hardy come about and then going on to have him feature when you cut that track?
“You know, the first time we ever wrote a song together our teams got us a connected so that we could just see if it was gonna vibe or not. The writing room is a lot like a relationship, you know? There's a chemistry aspect to it and it's hard to put your finger on it, but sometimes it just feels natural and we knew the first time we wrote together that there was a very natural kind of way about us writing and we got a really great one in. He's someone that I really respect because he's very authentic with who he is as an artist and when I'm looking for artists that I love, that's really the main thing I'm going for, even more important than even how good they can sing. It is whether it is genuine, is this authentic? Do I feel like I'm getting the real person here when I'm listening to their music and it's something that I love about Hardy, he's just being himself. Our song that we wrote “AIN’T NO BETTER PLACE” for me, I just find so much peace of mind being a little bit out of the city and kind of living that rural life style. He comes from the state of Mississippi, so we connected on that immediately and there was also a rockier edge to the song. With Hardy leaning into that, we just thought it was like this great kind of hybrid between my world and his world.”
“That’s such a good point. Life is so busy right now with the road and every time I get by the water, it’s like I hit the reset button in my brain and everything's all right again. I think a lot of people feel that feeling when they get by the water, just that that slow down, that reduction of the pressure in the mind, you know. I want to bring that out there to the people so that when they put it on and they're having one of those days, it can be the type of EP you could throw on and you just can take a deep breath again.”
One thing that you do when you've released music, which is quite interesting is that every song title and every album title that you're putting out is all in capital letters. It’s funny because I was talking to a female artist last week who did the opposite and had stylised her entire new project in lower case. Where does the ALL CAPS come from and is there anything particular behind it?
“That’s a great question, nobody has ever asked me that. The reason I do all CAPS is because I’m also a producer and I was a songwriter for a lot of years before finally taking that big leap into doing the artist thing myself. I work in Pro Tools, there's a lot of different programs out there that you can work in, but I work in Pro Tools and when I'm labelling everything in Pro Tools, I do everything in all CAPS. It's just easier for me to see it when I'm not looking at upper case and lowercase so for me, just seeing it all in all CAPS, whether it's all my tracks listed out like SNARE, KICK and all that, it’s always all in CAPS and the titles of the are always in all CAPS too. For me, I'm just so used to seeing those song titles in Pro Tools in all CAPS that it’s how it naturally is supposed to be.”
I brought up before how you have worked a lot with Anna, Joshua, Danny and David but on the “BETTER DAYS” album, there is a certain Michael Hardy amongst the writing credits. How did the write with Hardy come about and then going on to have him feature when you cut that track?
“You know, the first time we ever wrote a song together our teams got us a connected so that we could just see if it was gonna vibe or not. The writing room is a lot like a relationship, you know? There's a chemistry aspect to it and it's hard to put your finger on it, but sometimes it just feels natural and we knew the first time we wrote together that there was a very natural kind of way about us writing and we got a really great one in. He's someone that I really respect because he's very authentic with who he is as an artist and when I'm looking for artists that I love, that's really the main thing I'm going for, even more important than even how good they can sing. It is whether it is genuine, is this authentic? Do I feel like I'm getting the real person here when I'm listening to their music and it's something that I love about Hardy, he's just being himself. Our song that we wrote “AIN’T NO BETTER PLACE” for me, I just find so much peace of mind being a little bit out of the city and kind of living that rural life style. He comes from the state of Mississippi, so we connected on that immediately and there was also a rockier edge to the song. With Hardy leaning into that, we just thought it was like this great kind of hybrid between my world and his world.”
We can’t wait to see you and I hope you get plenty of time to experience everything around finally playing on stage here.
“The thing I am most excited about is the people. For me, what I love so much about music is the human connection that it brings to my life. I mean, all my songs are positive, all optimistic, and you're right, people do think of me as me and the good time guy, but the reason why I'm all about the good times is because I'm a big believer that life is short and it should be lived happily. One of the best ways for me to enjoy life is spending it with people and everywhere I go, the first thing I'm interested in doing is digging my fingers in to the culture, to the people and get to know them. It's amazing how music can bring people together, ain’t a whole lot of things in this world that can bring thousands of people into a room together and celebrate life together, that's what I'm most looking forward to. For me coming together at a concert, I’m trying to celebrate life with everybody and that's why I'm always wearing the palm shirts when I perform, you know, the Hawaiian shirts, whatever you wanna call them and I'm always there for it. It's because for me, it's a way that helps me to get into that mindset of going on vacation and we ain't got to go to Fiji to go on vacation, you know, we could hit the pause button right there in the UK and have ourselves a real good time for an hour or so! I can't wait to go on vacation with you all man.”
Niko Moon will make his return to the UK in March where he will be appearing on the main stage at C2C: Country to Country in Glasgow, Belfast and London over the weekend of March 14th to 16th. Full festival details and ticket information are available on the WEBSITE and socials (INSTAGRAM / X / FACEBOOK).
His latest EP “THESE ARE THE NIGHTS” is out now and available HERE whilst you can full details of any upcoming tour dates on his WEBSITE and keep up with him socially on FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM & TIKTOK.
“The thing I am most excited about is the people. For me, what I love so much about music is the human connection that it brings to my life. I mean, all my songs are positive, all optimistic, and you're right, people do think of me as me and the good time guy, but the reason why I'm all about the good times is because I'm a big believer that life is short and it should be lived happily. One of the best ways for me to enjoy life is spending it with people and everywhere I go, the first thing I'm interested in doing is digging my fingers in to the culture, to the people and get to know them. It's amazing how music can bring people together, ain’t a whole lot of things in this world that can bring thousands of people into a room together and celebrate life together, that's what I'm most looking forward to. For me coming together at a concert, I’m trying to celebrate life with everybody and that's why I'm always wearing the palm shirts when I perform, you know, the Hawaiian shirts, whatever you wanna call them and I'm always there for it. It's because for me, it's a way that helps me to get into that mindset of going on vacation and we ain't got to go to Fiji to go on vacation, you know, we could hit the pause button right there in the UK and have ourselves a real good time for an hour or so! I can't wait to go on vacation with you all man.”
Niko Moon will make his return to the UK in March where he will be appearing on the main stage at C2C: Country to Country in Glasgow, Belfast and London over the weekend of March 14th to 16th. Full festival details and ticket information are available on the WEBSITE and socials (INSTAGRAM / X / FACEBOOK).
His latest EP “THESE ARE THE NIGHTS” is out now and available HERE whilst you can full details of any upcoming tour dates on his WEBSITE and keep up with him socially on FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM & TIKTOK.
