Moon Hooch Announce New EP // West Coast Tour Kicks Off Tonight

MOON HOOCH Announce New EP 'LIGHT IT UP' Due April 6

WEST COAST TOUR Starts Tonight In PHOENIX

"I'm telling you these guys are cool. You know they're cool." - IGGY POP 

 "Synthesizing the skronk and creativity of jazz into modern party music is Moon Hooch's speciality." - THE LINE OF BEST FIT

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.

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MOON HOOCH
Tour Dates

US West Coast
March 24 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
March 25 Reno, NV @ The Saint
March 27 Eugene, OR @ HiFi Music Hall (sup. Turkuaz)
March 29 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
March 30 Seattle, WA @ Nectar Lounge
March 31 Seattle, WA @ Nectar Lounge
w/ The Accidentals opening all dates except 3/27

Europe / UK 
3 April Lille, FR @ L’Aeronef
4 April Nantes, FR @ Stereolux
5 April Rouen, FR @ Le 106
6 April Cenon, FR @ Le Rocher de Palmer
7 April Paris, FR @ Festival Chorus des Hauts de Seine
8 April Rambouillet, FR @ L’Usine A Chapeaux
12 April Saint-Jean-de-Védas, FR @ Victoire 2
13 April Marseille, FR @ Le Molotov
14 April Cully, CH @ Cully Jazz Festival
15 April Annecy, FR @ La Brise Glace
19 April Oslo, NO @ National Jazz Venue
20 April Trondheim, NO @ Dokkhuset
21 April Bodo, NO @ Sinus
24 April Skien, NO @ Folkque
26 April Bergen, NO @ Garage
27 April Kristiansand, NO @ Vaktbua
28 April Gjoevik, NO @ Kulturhus
4 May Stavanger, NO @ Mai Jazz Festival
5 May London, UK @ Love Supreme Festival at The Roundhouse
6 May Bristol, UK @ Thekla

US / Canada
May 18 Asheville, NC @ Highland Brewery (sup. Moon Taxi)
June 7 Stephentown, NY @ Disc Jam Festival
June 15 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
June 17 Minneapolis, MN @ Turf Club
June 18 Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium
July 1 Montreal, QC @ Montreal International Jazz Festival

Europe
6 July Saint-Denis-de-Gastines, FR @ Au Foin de la Rue Festival
10 July Rotterdam, NL @ North Sea Round Town Festival
21 July Stuttgart, DE @ Jazz Open Festival

US
August 10 Croydon, NH @ Wild Woods Music and Arts Festival