By DJ Dave Hoffenberg
Sahara Moon, 22, released her “Worthy” EP on Nov. 12. I highly recommend getting it. Moon is a singer/songwriter from the Long Beach Island area in New Jersey, but you may have caught her Killington shows last winter when she came up to play with Daniel Brown. You can find her on all the social media platforms, the streaming services and at her website, sarahamoonmusic.com.
Moon met Brown at an art gallery gig in 2016 in New Jersey. They were both on the bill, which Moon said was an awesome time. They had an instant connection and have performed together many times since. Moon said, “Dan’s awesome and a great buddy of mine.” It’s those art gigs that really got her started. “My music really resonated with creative artists.”
Moon got into music through her younger sister, Zinnia, 15, who introduced her to musical theater while she was in high school. Moon said, “The whole musical theater performance thing introduced me to the performance aspect of everything.” Shortly after, she did vocal lessons for one year. “I really honed into the craft of guitar playing and my song writing skills. I started getting into the composition and the creating of my music.”
Moon started playing and writing music in 2014. It was two years before she first performed live at her cousin’s school. He was a “Star Student of the Week” and asked her to play at his preschool classroom and perform for the class. Moon said, “That was a big exciting moment for me. It was my first time performing in front of strangers.” From there she started playing open mic nights, and soon, that turned into a full time gig schedule.
She had a regular schedule going until Covid hit. She said, “The beginning of the pandemic was interesting for everyone across the board. There was no music at all going on so I was doing these live stream performances every Wednesday night for three months straight on Facebook.” She said it was really cool because it lifted everyone’s spirits, including her own.
She added, “It was really inspiring to see return faces tuning in every week and they would thank me for healing them during these difficult times.”
As the summer hit and restaurants were able to have outdoor seating, Moon was able to perform at some. She was grateful to be able to play music out again. Her and her sister performed at Manahawkin Lake Park and had a socially distanced event that 200 people attended. Moon said, “It was really cool because there wasn’t many things like that happening. Music was a huge staple for people to get through everything. It was a good thing to provide something for people to feel better.” Now with cases rising and indoor shows only, Moon has taken a step back from performing to be on the safe side.
Back in high school she released “East Coast Girl,” an EP which has since sold out. She then released a single, “New York” and also has a live CD from a show she performed at Rockwood Music Hall, a favorite place of hers to play in NYC. That show features 11 of her originals. This latest release was her big debut because it’s out everywhere.
Last December, she and her session musicians went to Dreamland Recording Studios in upstate New York and recorded “Worthy” in one weekend. There was a lot of effort put together for the release and then the pandemic hit and Moon was uncertain about its future. She lost some big gigs like opening for Tower of Power in Brooklyn and performing at the May Day Music Festival in Long Island. She usually would perform some CD release shows but will do so when the time is right. For now you can support her by buying the CD. Moon encourages people to stream it and share it.
Moon really enjoyed getting into the studio. “It was such a rush of feelings. I was nervous but excited to be there. I was the only one in the vocal room and the musicians were in the acoustic room. We all played together like a band at a rehearsal, it was cool. Aside from the creative process, getting into the studio and having it all come together is kind of magical. It’s really thrilling and exciting.”
She described “Worthy” and said, “I pulled together my three songs that I really feel connected with people. I chose “Worthy” as the title track because it’s about knowing your own worth and owning who you are and accepting everything about you. Despite the struggles or any self-doubt anyone may have, you can overcome that by knowing your worth and achieve things at 100%.” Track 1, “Everything Will Be Alright” is a romance song set in the 70s. Track 3, “Beauty In A Rose” is a personal song for Moon. She said, “It’s about the loss of my grandmother. It goes out to everyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one. It’s there to provide some hopefulness and to see a new day and see the beauty in the memories shared of the people who have passed.” The EP to me has a cool vibe.
She hopes the music industry bounces back and she’s able to perform in the spring. Over the next year, she’ll be working on releasing a full-length album.
