Cody Nielsen has been part of the Fayetteville music scene since the age of 14. His first band, Surf De Soleil, was an alternative rock outfit some will remember from a few years ago. Shortly after joining Surf, he also took up with Farmer and the Markets, the "busking" band that often plays the Fayetteville Farmers' Market on Saturdays. Today, he returns from a tour out West with the psychedelic pop of his debut solo project, Moonsong.
"All of the projects I've been a part of all have a different place within the music scene," Nielsen says. "For example, Farmer and the Markets probably wouldn't play Backspace, that's not really our place. But Moonsong, we love to play DIY venues -- Backspace, Stage Eighteen, Nomad's. So I've come to terms with all of my different projects having a different role [in the scene], and being comfortable doing different things."
FAQ
Moonsong
With Foggy Bobcat
WHEN — 9 p.m. today
WHERE — Stage Eighteen in Fayetteville
COST — $5-$10
INFO — facebook.com/moonso…, stage18live.com
BONUS — Moonsong’s music is available on Spotify, iTunes, YouTube and Bandcamp.
Though he's joined by his friends for the tour -- Andrew Cerra (guitar/keys/sampling), Liam McMahon (keys/vocals), James Schlecte (drums), Zach Tennant (bass/vocals) --Moonsong as a recording project is 100 percent Nielsen, from the arranging, writing and recording, down to the artwork for the EP.
"I want to contribute something that, when taken as a whole, you couldn't really compare to anything else. But when taken in parts, you could hopefully see the different influences I'm going for," Nielsen shares, "which thus far [have ranged] from psychedelic rock to '60s to today, a lot of pop music but also jazz, metal ... I just like to keep it diverse and like to keep the listener on their toes with ever-changing sections of music."
-- Jocelyn Murphy
NAN What's Up on 07/28/2017