Bio
Moon Valley is led by St. Louis-based artist Gavin J. Duffy, & inspired by our global multi-cultural tapestry and folklore, he is joined by an incredible cast of talented and passionate musicians, all of whom bring their unique skills and experiences to the band. Long lasting friendship and respect are a corner stone for the Moon Valley recipe, this as well as an enduring love for the craftsmanship of song ignited the fire at the heart of this Collective!
Branded as a band leader through a wealth of performance experience including regional, national, as well as international touring, Gavin cultivated a lifelong pursuit to discover the many ways in which music defines, preserves, heals and connects us. Moon Valley collaborators have helped distill the nuances and reverence of that discovery into an explosive live performance etiquette, that weaves a unified web from the many colloquial dialects of global folk art!
Moon Valley is honored to have shared the stage with world class talent such as the Lost Bayou Ramblers, Bronwyn Keith- Hynes, The Mighty Pines, Yonder Mountain String Band and many more! Their live shows have become a tour de force, complete with foot stompin, horn blowin, & string dustin excitement!
Their first album, "Companion Songbook," was released in 2021, the album is a two volume collection of songs. Volume 1, an instrumental volume, written in honor of and named by the roads leading to Moon Valley; an actual place & where one finds a home at the edge of a vast and beautiful 300 acre wilderness! The second volume of Companion Songbook includes 6 lyric driven songs & both were written in the seclusion of our global pandemic. This album helped to form the nucleus of what became the Moon Valley ensemble.
The vibrant wilderness of Moon Valley's wildflowers and babbling creeks, the mighty river culture of the Mississippi from St. Paul to New orleans, the highlands of Bonnie Scotland as well as, the experience of a young immigrant studying Jazz in America, all of these and many more influences & experiences have collided to create a distinct sound & poetic world all of its own.
In 2023, the release of their second album Sun Mountain solidified the groups presence as a regional force as well as nationally touring act, featuring collaborations with notable New Orleans based musicians, Jason Mingledorf (St.Paul and the Broken Bones, New MasterSounds) and Charlie Holloran (John Cleary, The Four Tops, the Tropicales) in 2024
2025 brings us Clouds Parade, Pyramids Whisper the 3rd full length album set to be released on Aug. 22!!! The current performers and collaborators with Moon Valley listed below:
Moon Valley collaborators:
Brady Lewis (Trumpet)
Patrick O'Driscoll (guitar, vocals)
Tom Souders (banjo, vocals)
Rinn Netherton (fiddle, vocals)
Ryan "Green Bean" Bouma (Harmonica, Saxophone, Flute, Melodica & Hammond B3)
Simon Chervitz (bass)
Zel (vox & Harmony)
Dave Anderson (Pedal Steel)
Ryan Marquez (Piano)
Justin Branum (Violin)
Matt Rowland (slide guitar}
Randi Twehous (violin)
Brian Bennett (Upright Bass)
John Brighton (fiddle)
Dave Clark (Percussion)
Cannon Deweese (Drums and Percussion)
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