Welcome to the Stage: The Little Moon Travelers
06/12/2024 02:13PM ● By Casey Hopkins
(Photo: The Little Moon Travelers perform at WinterWonderGrass last March, 2024. Courtesy of Tobin Voggesser.)
Featured in Steamboat Magazine Home Edition 2024.
Steamboat Springs, CO - COVID brought an unprecedented amount of change to our collective lives. Remote work and Zoom meetings; sidewalk cafes and curbside pickups; more camping and hiking and being outdoors – but for five local musicians, the pandemic and some guitars around a campfire helped create the valley’s next quintet: The Little Moon Travelers.
Made up of Von Wilson, Aaron VanWyk, Kay McKenzie, Eric Baker and Jeremy Campbell, The Little Moon Travelers are a folk-bluegrass band with a unique blend of Americana influence and a feel-good, old-time sound. “What’s super fun and cool about our crew is that it’s a group of makers,” Jeremy says. “Von is a blacksmith and chiropractor, Eric owns Harvest Skis, you’ve got Kay at Steamboat Hatter making those cool hats,” Jeremy continues. “We’ve all had our bands throughout the years and done the heavy bar gigging, then during COVID we started doing a lot of bonfire playing. All this was really just sort of in the interest of keeping the music going and playing and having fun.”
In early 2023, Jeremy, Von and Aaron decided to bring their picking from the backyard to a live show. They chose Perry-Mansfield in Strawberry Park, a space originally built as a performing arts school for dance and theater in 1913, which is quickly turning into one of Steamboat’s newest contemporary music venues. Soon after, Eric and Kay joined in and they turned into the band they are today. “We’ve really been trying to keep it fun, but also learn from the lessons we’ve had from all these previous bands,” Jeremy says. “Now we’ve got this group of five musicians that are insanely talented cats and I’m super grateful.”
Much of Little Moon Travelers music is written by Jeremy, who says some of his biggest songwriting influences were born from a six-month stint of enduring symptoms from long COVID. “Surprisingly, one of the things that came from that was this renewed drive and spring of songwriting,” Jeremy says. “A big draw to me to lead this band and really push it forward is the fact that I’ve been writing a ton of music. This crew helps bring the music I’m writing to life and give it some incredible dimensions. Everyone is bringing some kind of input.”
After being added to the WinterWonderGrass bill at the last minute and a sold-out springtime show at Perry-Mansfield, the band plans to move forward with their live shows at a slow and steady pace. “One of the things we’re taking from previous experiences in bands is that we’re not trying to pack our calendars,” Jeremy says. “We want to really pick out fun things to do. We’re just as content doing a bonfire as we are playing WonderGrass. We’re just music geeks and we love doing what we’re doing.”
It’s no secret that despite the ebb and flow of the local music scene, as Jeremy puts it, the community is incredibly supportive of all the musicians that share their talent. “This valley is known for having some phenomenal musicians,” he points out. “It’s a tiny town with some amazing talent. Original music is still alive and well in Steamboat.”
Featured in Steamboat Magazine Home Edition 2024.
Steamboat Springs, CO - COVID brought an unprecedented amount of change to our collective lives. Remote work and Zoom meetings; sidewalk cafes and curbside pickups; more camping and hiking and being outdoors – but for five local musicians, the pandemic and some guitars around a campfire helped create the valley’s next quintet: The Little Moon Travelers.
Made up of Von Wilson, Aaron VanWyk, Kay McKenzie, Eric Baker and Jeremy Campbell, The Little Moon Travelers are a folk-bluegrass band with a unique blend of Americana influence and a feel-good, old-time sound. “What’s super fun and cool about our crew is that it’s a group of makers,” Jeremy says. “Von is a blacksmith and chiropractor, Eric owns Harvest Skis, you’ve got Kay at Steamboat Hatter making those cool hats,” Jeremy continues. “We’ve all had our bands throughout the years and done the heavy bar gigging, then during COVID we started doing a lot of bonfire playing. All this was really just sort of in the interest of keeping the music going and playing and having fun.”
In early 2023, Jeremy, Von and Aaron decided to bring their picking from the backyard to a live show. They chose Perry-Mansfield in Strawberry Park, a space originally built as a performing arts school for dance and theater in 1913, which is quickly turning into one of Steamboat’s newest contemporary music venues. Soon after, Eric and Kay joined in and they turned into the band they are today. “We’ve really been trying to keep it fun, but also learn from the lessons we’ve had from all these previous bands,” Jeremy says. “Now we’ve got this group of five musicians that are insanely talented cats and I’m super grateful.”
Much of Little Moon Travelers music is written by Jeremy, who says some of his biggest songwriting influences were born from a six-month stint of enduring symptoms from long COVID. “Surprisingly, one of the things that came from that was this renewed drive and spring of songwriting,” Jeremy says. “A big draw to me to lead this band and really push it forward is the fact that I’ve been writing a ton of music. This crew helps bring the music I’m writing to life and give it some incredible dimensions. Everyone is bringing some kind of input.”
After being added to the WinterWonderGrass bill at the last minute and a sold-out springtime show at Perry-Mansfield, the band plans to move forward with their live shows at a slow and steady pace. “One of the things we’re taking from previous experiences in bands is that we’re not trying to pack our calendars,” Jeremy says. “We want to really pick out fun things to do. We’re just as content doing a bonfire as we are playing WonderGrass. We’re just music geeks and we love doing what we’re doing.”
It’s no secret that despite the ebb and flow of the local music scene, as Jeremy puts it, the community is incredibly supportive of all the musicians that share their talent. “This valley is known for having some phenomenal musicians,” he points out. “It’s a tiny town with some amazing talent. Original music is still alive and well in Steamboat.”